What sort of a world

What sort of a world is it where a song entitled "Its Hard Out Here For A Pimp" gets a "Most Original Song" Award at the Oscars?

At the OSCARS.

I much prefer FrankenGirl's version.

Britney Spears releases un-airbrushed photos

The photos

Pertinent Thoughts on "Glee"

I am currently watching TV.
This is the first time I have watched Glee. The episode: "The Power of Madonna".

Now, all I know about Madonna is she was a singer, and she is a sex symbol. That is hardly what I would call empowering. But in this episode, Madonna is being held up as a good role model in terms of independence and the message of her songs.

I don't know many of her songs. Independence is a good thing. But the thing is, the independence is completely swallowed by the image.

And the dancing. The women of Glee are, happily, dancing in suits. But there is entirely to much of the bending-over, shaking of the hips, butt and chest to actually focus on any message in the song. Does no one dance with dignity anymore? Any hint of self-respect? Clearly not.

I was made to attend a school pep-rally for spring sports today. It was terribly boring, but I find it entirely offensive that the dance team should dress like they're "going clubbing" (something expressly forbidden in school attire) and dance so that they look like strippers.

You all know what I'm talking about. The slide of the hands down the sides, accentuated by the slow roll of the torso and hips, finished by a hip-thrusting, balanced-one-leg pose. The hip shaking. The chest bobbing. The bending over, legs spread apart, head suddenly coming up followed by the hands in one big, contorted pin-up. The focus on the hips, stomach area, and chest.

At a school assembly, nonetheless.
Where catcalls and whistling followed the dance.

Also: one person in the school on Glee, the guidance counselor, is "forbidden" to have Madonna played in her office because she has none of the "sexual magnetism" that Madonna had/has.

EDIT: Glee has a montage of bedroom scenes between the three 'couples' of the episode. Two of these couples are teenagers. I thought the idea was to not promote teenage sex. To keep people out of the idea that they must have sex. To support the girl who says, "No, I don't feel ready to have sex, I don't want too." to the boy she had a date with that night. Not have her change her mind after an episode filled with Maddona to eventually tell him "I'm ready".
So I am understandably relieved that after the commerical break, it is revealed that none of the couples actually had sex.
Good for you, Glee.

The Feminist Mystique

Short introduction: The book that started the 1960s feminist movement.



OH GOD NO.



It seems as if the 1950s were deliberately conspiring against the woman.



Some disturbing facts:

1. Housewives in the 1950s displayed the same sort of passivity as those who died in Nazi concentration camps or were Veitnam prisoners of war.


2. There were compulsory "Married Life" courses in some colleges for women.


3. Corporate America specifically tried to convince women that they belonged in the home because housewives bought oh-so-many projects.


4. "Feminity" was really a lack of emotional and mental development; women were literally not encouraged to discover themselves and stay at a perpetual state of childhood.


5. Psychological papers that refuted the commonly held "feminine" ideal was relegated to the fringe of science and never really reported.


6. Many college women were at school expressly to "catch a man".


7. Women who showed any sort of individuality or ambition were conditioned into thinking something was wrong with them and classified as having a "neurosis".


8. It was apparently impossible to have a satisfying marriage life and be employed.


9. Sex was the only way for most women to really establish an identity, i.e. "X's wife/girlfriend/lover".


10. "I wanna be a doctor when I grow up!" "No, honey, you're a girl. You're going to be a wife and have kids, just like mummy." (paraphrased)


11. So much more...

To make up for the lackluster writing in the last post.

I've been reading The Feminie Mystique for the past two days.

OH GOD NO.

I am so happy I am not living in the 1950s.

Will most likely review before/during/after my post on Are Men Neccessary?.

Back to the Topic At Hand

These posts are going to take up quite a bit less space than anticipated. Partly because it has been nearly a month since LeadAmerica, and my memory has gotten fuzzy.

So there will be a post about the people at LeadAmerica, our Capitol Hill day, our mock Congressional races, and a transitional post about Are Men Necessary? by Maureen Dowd.


So. Capitol Hill Day.
All the LeadAmerica people got to meet with one or two Representatives of their state and one or two Senators. The rest of the time we could just walk around. I would have liked to spend more time in the Library of Congress, but, alas, could not. If you're ever in DC, spend an hour or two there. It's beautiful, even if you don't much care for books.
Did you know: one of the Representative's buildings has a cafeteria and gift shop in it? The LeadAmerica attendees ate there. It was good.
One of my Senator's offices kicked me out without actually holding the scheduled meeting.

I know I don't sound very enthusiastic. Not particularly motivated by this much right now.
Sorry to anyone who was really interested in this.

I was going to resume... but...

The Girl Effect





And this:
Figure: Demystifying the Feminist Mystique