Fan fiction culture is unique (and not just because it’s one of the only spaces you’ll find dramatic YouTube readings of stories starring characters like “Enoby”, “Vlodemort”, and “Dumblydore”). It is also one of the few online spaces that is primarily female. This is a realm in which girls and women can mold popular culture to their… Continue Reading →
Embrace your grey: Society’s double-standard for aging men and women
Does anyone else feel exasperated with the whole “women must cover their grey hair” message? Daily, we are fed images of grey haired men, being told they are distinguished, successful, powerful and that they are even sexy, mature “silver foxes”, yet at the same time we women are taught to be horrified at the thought… Continue Reading →
Adventures in feminist wedding planning
I’m getting married, and I want to share with you just some of the ways that wedding planning has highlighted pesky gender expectations and body image pressures. We always said we’d never do it. “What would it add to our relationship?” we thought. Then one night, on a romantic whim (he was gone to Italy… Continue Reading →
Does #ThighReading help or hurt body-positivity?
Thanks to the advent of social media, we live in a culture where it’s easier than ever to share parts of our lives with others. That’s great news for the body-positive movement, which has started using the Twitter hashtag #ThighReading as a way to celebrate realistic, unaltered depictions of women’s bodies. This trend began after a Twitter user… Continue Reading →
Positive Exposure shines light on a different kind of supermodel
Meet Rick Guidotti. He’s a fashion photographer who takes pictures of some of the most beautiful people in the world—but they’re probably not who you’re thinking of. In fact, it’s not even who Guidotti would have thought about even a few years ago. At that time, beauty was epitomized by the supermodels he photographed every… Continue Reading →
Fitbits and weight-loss apps: Healthy or obsessive?
In my day-to-day life, I’ve noticed a peculiar bracelet cropping up (the latest in a never-ending steam of weight-loss gadgets). This bracelet has the strange effect of making the wearer walk around a room in circles for minutes on end. “What is this sorcery?” You ask? It is known as a “fitness tracker”, sold by leading… Continue Reading →
You’re allowed to get married if you’re fat
Being in my late 20s, I’ve spent a lot of time in the last few years going to weddings, including the weddings of a lot of my closest friends. I’ve watched as they stressed out about their extended families and worried about what music to play; I’ve talked with them as they picked dresses and… Continue Reading →
The false empowerment of naked dresses
In May 2015, I wrote a blog for About-Face about Taylor Swift’s recently-released video for “Bad Blood.” In the post, I argued that the scantily clad women in the video were “devalued from being strong warriors to being traditionally sexy females with bodies that exist to be objectified.” I posted it to my personal social media pages, and… Continue Reading →
Same ol’ formula continues in movies
I have basically stopped watching movies. I can’t bring myself to watch more than about two minutes of any movie before the steam inside my head has risen to the point where I need to leave the room or it will burst out, whistling like a kettle. Having observed the film industry for the best part… Continue Reading →