the hairpin – Bad Reputation

Pre-December Linkpost

linkpost bot — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 09:00:38 +0000

World AIDS Day is 1 December. Click that link and contact your MP to get better HIV education into classrooms. And do what you can to fight HIV stigma, because a) stigma is a load of oppressive shit; b) it’s a problem that encompasses a load of feminist issues (for more on this tune in next week – several of us work in related sectors and will be blogging some WAD-related musings), and c) if you think simply knowing some basic facts about how HIV is contracted is all you can do to “act aware”, you’re wrong. Especially when the media so often fail enormously at reporting either sensitively or accurately on it.
Ryanair, Stop Selling Your Staff – female cabin crew staff speak out against the latest round of Page 3-style ads.
A thorough and thoughtful post on transphobic humour tropes, cinema and pop culture in general.
NASA’s added a new webpage to its site to encourage women and girls to get into science and tech! Hooray! We’re not quite sure about all the PINK FOR LAYDEEZ font, mind, but it’s great to see.
Two contrasting views on Twilight, both thought-provoking: the Hairpin points out the parallels with romantic literature in the Western canon, while i09 is transfixed by ‘body panic’ and nightmarishness.
“We have to trick the consumers of boobsplat into buying books they wouldn’t normally buy”: how did we miss this?! Comics Alliance takes the women-comics debate to some creators, with Kieron Gillen, Greg Rucka, Kurt Busiek, G. Willow Wilson, Jeff Parker, Jess Fink, Brandon Graham, Sana Amanat, Jamie McKelvie, Erika Moen and Rachel Edidin sharing ideas.
Finally, here’s Mary Wollstonecraft’s face being projected on the side of the Houses of Parliament. NOTHING ABOUT THIS ISN’T BADASS.

Have a great weekend! The next linkpost will be in December, meaning we will waste no time in being horrendously cheesy, flinging mince pies around, and singing The Waitresses (IT IS OFFICIALLY ALLOWED FROM 1 DECEMBER ONWARDS. YES) but nonetheless continuing the feminist pop culture adventure amid the silliness. :)

Linkpost-a-Go-Go

linkpost bot — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 09:00:29 +0000

Artists! Gendered Intelligence needs your help!
Girl With A One Track Mind: an awesome long list of female comedians crowdsourced from Zoe’s twitter.
The Darwin and Gender Project, aiming “to explore what Darwin’s letters can tell us about the origins of modern understandings of masculinity and femininity”. Specifically, Darwin’s son George’s rather detailed theories on Victorian men’s fashions and how they’re, er, all rooted in his dad’s evolutionary theory are as fascinating as they are bizarre. (If only more people would find the “girls: hardwired to like pink!” debate as much of an oddity.)
Bim Adewunmi for the Guardian on Racism and Skin Colour: The Many Shades of Prejudice which has some commentary on this hard-hitting film.
Lauren Laverne, interviewed by the Guardian.
Romance author takes a stand against shackling women giving birth in prison; gets law passed.
Happily ever after, the tumblr way.

Linking For The Weekend

linkpost bot — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 08:00:02 +0000

It’s that time again!

“These women are at OWS for the purpose of voicing dissent, not being evaluated”: The “Hot Chicks of Occupy Wall Street” debate continues, with Jezebel and Feministe very much fed up of the hotchick business, while the NYT attempts what it refers to as “equal opportunities” ogling with a tribute to the “Underappreciated Hunks of Occupy Wall Street”.
We’re on the hunt for particularly awesome pumpkin stencils. Here’s two broadly-relevant-to-our-interests ones at Pink Raygun, though they’re pretty fiddly-complex-lookin’: Wonder Woman and Battlestar Galactica…
Hey girl. Feminist Ryan Gosling in the house.
Cynthia the 1930s Adventure Mannequin, or your daily dose of Uncanny Valley and emotionally-involved Wikipedia editing.
“This is a frustratingly inconsistent approach to writing chemical formulae”: Blackboards in Porn, analysed and rated for accuracy! (no nudity)
“And now I have a boyfriend! His name is Car washer, and he gives me $50 a day” – Rock Paper Shotgun takes on new “game for girls” Lady Popular.