Everyone I know is having a really tough time right now.

So let’s do our best for one another.

Banned Books Week 2014

Welp, time to read some banned books.

http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10#2013

Top Ten Challenged Books Lists by Year: 2001-2013

Find out if your favorite book has been banned or challenged by exploring the top ten lists of the 21st century below. For more information on how many books were challenged in a given year or for reasons why these books were challenged, please explore the top ten list by year.

2013

Out of 307 challenges as reported by the Office for Intellectual Freedom

1. Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey
   Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited for age group, violence
2. The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
   Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, violence
3. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
   Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
4. Fifty Shades of Grey, by E.L. James
   Reasons: Nudity, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
5. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
   Reasons: Religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group
6. A Bad Boy Can Be Good for A Girl, by Tanya Lee Stone
   Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit
7. Looking for Alaska, by John Green
   Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
8. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
   Reasons: drugs/alcohol/smoking, homosexuality, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
9. Bless Me Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya
   Reasons: Occult/Satanism, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit
10. Bone (series), by Jeff Smith
    Reasons: Political viewpoint, racism, violence

2012

Out of 464 challenges as reported by the Office for Intellectual Freedom

1. Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey.
   Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited for age group
2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie.
   Reasons: Offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group
3. Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher.
   Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited for age group
4. Fifty Shades of Grey, by E. L. James.
   Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit
5. And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson.
   Reasons: Homosexuality, unsuited for age group
6. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini.
   Reasons: Homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit
7. Looking for Alaska, by John Green.
   Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group
8. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
   Reasons: Unsuited for age group, violence
9. The Glass Castle, by Jeanette Walls
   Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit
10. Beloved, by Toni Morrison
    Reasons: Sexually explicit, religious viewpoint, violence

2011

Out of 326 challenges as reported by the Office for Intellectual Freedom

1. ttyl; ttfn; l8r, g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle
   Reasons: offensive language; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group
2. The Color of Earth (series), by Kim Dong Hwa
   Reasons: nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group
3. The Hunger Games trilogy, by Suzanne Collins
   Reasons: anti-ethnic; anti-family; insensitivity; offensive language; occult/satanic; violence
4. My Mom’s Having A Baby! A Kid’s Month-by-Month Guide to Pregnancy, by Dori Hillestad Butler
   Reasons: nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group
5. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
   Reasons: offensive language; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group
6. Alice (series), by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
   Reasons: nudity; offensive language; religious viewpoint
7. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
   Reasons: insensitivity; nudity; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit
8. What My Mother Doesn’t Know, by Sonya Sones
   Reasons: nudity; offensive language; sexually explicit
9. Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily Von Ziegesar
   Reasons: drugs; offensive language; sexually explicit
10. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
    Reasons: offensive language; racism

2010

Out of 348 challenges as reported by the Office for Intellectual Freedom

1. And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
   Reasons: homosexuality, religious viewpoint, and unsuited to age group
2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
   Reasons: offensive language, racism, sex education, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, and violence
3. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
   Reasons: insensitivity, offensive language, racism, and sexually explicit
4. Crank, by Ellen Hopkins
   Reasons: drugs, offensive language, and sexually explicit
5. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
   Reasons: sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, and violence
6. Lush, by Natasha Friend
   Reasons: drugs, offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group
7. What My Mother Doesn’t Know, by Sonya Sones
   Reasons: sexism, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group
8. Nickel and Dimed, by Barbara Ehrenreich
   Reasons: drugs, inaccurate, offensive language, political viewpoint, and religious viewpoint
9. Revolutionary Voices, edited by Amy Sonnie
   Reasons:  homosexuality and sexually explicit
10. Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer
    Reasons: religious viewpoint and violence

2009

Out of 460 challenges as reported to the Office for Intellectual Freedom

1. ttyl; ttfn; l8r, g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle
   Reasons: drugs, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
2. And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
   Reasons: homosexuality
3. The Perks of Being A Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
   Reasons: anti-family, drugs, homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited to age group
4. To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
   Reasons: offensive language, racism, unsuited to age group
5. Twilight (series) by Stephenie Meyer
   Reasons: religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
6. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
   Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
7. My Sister’s Keeper, by Jodi Picoult
   Reasons: homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexism, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, violence
8. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things, by Carolyn Mackler
   Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
9. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
   Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
10. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
    Reasons: nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

2008

Out of 513 challenges as reported to the Office for Intellectual Freedom

1. And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
   Reasons: anti-ethnic, anti-family, homosexuality, religious viewpoint, and unsuited to age group
2. His Dark Materials trilogy, by Philip Pullman
   Reasons: political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, and violence
3. ttyl; ttfn; l8r, g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle
   Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group
4. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
   Reasons: occult/satanism, religious viewpoint, and violence
5. Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya
   Reasons: occult/satanism, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, and violence
6. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
   Reasons: drugs, homosexuality, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, suicide, and unsuited to age group
7. Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily von Ziegesar
   Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group
8. Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, by Sarah S. Brannen
   Reasons: homosexuality and unsuited to age group
9. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
   Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group
10. Flashcards of My Life, by Charise Mericle Harper
    Reasons: sexually explicit and unsuited to age group

2007

Out of 420 challenges reported to the Office for Intellectual Freedom

1. And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
   Reasons:  anti-ethnic, anti-family, homosexuality, religious viewpoint, sexism, and unsuited to age group
2. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
   Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, violence
3. Olive’s Ocean, by Kevin Henkes
   Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit
4. The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman
   Reason: religious viewpoint
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
   Reason: racism
6. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
   Reasons: homosexuality, offensive language, sexually explicit
7. ttyl, by Lauren Myracle
   Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
8. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
   Reason: sexually explicit
9. It’s Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris
   Reasons: sex education and sexually explicit
10. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
    Reasons: homosexuality, offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group

2006

Out of 546 challenges reported to the Office for Intellectual Freedom

1. And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
   Reasons: anti-family, homosexuality, and unsuited to age group
2. Gossip Girls (series), by Cecily Von Ziegesar
   Reasons: homosexuality, sexually explicit, offensive language, and unsuited to age group
3. Alice (series), by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
   Reasons: offensive language and sexually explicit
4. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things, by Carolyn Mackler
   Reasons: anti-family, offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group
5. The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
   Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group
6. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
   Reasons:  insensitivity, occult/Satanism, unsuited to age group, and violence
7. Athletic Shorts, by Chris Crutcher
   Reasons: homosexuality and offensive language
8. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
   Reasons: homosexuality, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group
9. Beloved, by Toni Morrison
   Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group
10. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
    Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, and violence

2005

Out of 405 challenges reported to the Office for Intellectual Freedom

1. It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health, by Robie H. Harris
   Reasons: abortion, homosexuality, nudity, religious viewpoint, sex education, unsuited to age group
2. Forever, by Judy Blume
   Reasons: offensive language, sexual content
3. The Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger
   Reasons: sexual content, offensive language, unsuited to age group
4. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
   Reasons: sexual content, offensive language
5. Whale Talk, by Chris Crutcher
   Reasons: racism, offensive language
6. Detour for Emmy, by Marilyn Reynolds
   Reason: sexual content
7. What My Mother Doesn’t Know, by Sonya Sones
   Reasons: sexual content, being unsuited to age group
8. Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey
   Reasons: anti-family content, unsuited to age group, violence
9. Crazy Lady!, by Jane Leslie Conly
   Reason: offensive language
10. It’s So Amazing! A Book about Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Families, by Robie H. Harris
    Reasons: sex education, sexual content

2004

Out of 547 challenges reported to the Office for Intellectual Freedom

1. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
   Reasons: offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, violence
2. Fallen Angels, by Walter Dean Myers
   Reasons: offensive language, racism, violence
3. Arming America: The Origins of a National Gun Culture, by Michael A. Bellesiles
   Reasons: inaccurate, political viewpoint
4. Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey
   Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit
5. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
   Reasons: homosexuality, offensive language, sexually explicit
6. What My Mother Doesn’t Know, by Sonya Sones
   Reasons: offensive language, unsuited to age group, sexually explicit
7. In the Night Kitchen, by Maurice Sendak
   Reasons: nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit
8. King & King, by Linda deHaan
   Reason: homosexuality
9. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
   Reasons: homosexuality, offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
10. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
    Reasons: offensive language, racism, violence

2003

Out of 458 challenges reported to the Office for Intellectual Freedom

1. Alice (series), by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
   Reasons: sexual content, offensive language, unsuited to age group
2. Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling
   Reasons: occult/Satanism
3. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
   Reason: offensive language
4. Arming America: The Origins of a National Gun Culture, by Michael Bellesiles
   Reason: inaccuracy
5. Fallen Angels, by Walter Dean Myers
   Reason: drugs, offensive language, racism, sexual content, violence
6. Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous
   Reason: drugs
7. It’s Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris
   Reason: homosexuality, nudity, sexual content, sex education
8. We All Fall Down, by Robert Cormier
   Reason: offensive language, sexual content
9. King & King, by Linda de Haan
   Reason: homosexuality
10. Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson
    Reason: occult/Satanism, offensive language

2002

Out of 515 challenges reported to the Office for Intellectual Freedom

1. Harry Potter, by J.K. Rowling
   Reasons: occult/Satanism, violence
2. Alice (series), by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
   Reasons: homosexuality, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
3. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
   Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
4. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
   Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, violence
5. Taming the Star Runner, by S.E. Hinton
   Reason: offensive language
6. Captain Underpants, by Dav Pilkey
   Reasons: offensive language, unsuited to age group
7. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
   Reason: offensive language
8. Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson
   Reasons: occult/Satanism, offensive language, violence
9. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred D. Taylor
   Reason: offensive language
10. Julie of the Wolves, by Jean Craighead George
    Reasons: unsuited to age group, violence

2001

Out of 448 challenges reported to the Office for Intellectual Freedom

1. Harry Potter, by J.K. Rowling
   Reasons: anti-family, occult/Satanism, religious viewpoint, violence
2. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
   Reasons: offensive language, racism, unsuited to age group, violence
3. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
   Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, violence
4. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
   Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit
5. Summer of My German Soldier, by Bette Greene
   Reasons: offensive language, racism, sexually explicit
6. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
   Reasons: offensive language, unsuited to age group
7. Alice (series), by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
   Reasons: sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
8. Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous
   Reasons: drugs, offensive language, sexually explicit
9. Fallen Angels, by Walter Dean Myers
   Reason: offensive language
10. Blood and Chocolate, by Annette Curtis Klause
    Reasons: sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

GISHWHES 2014

This year I participated in the Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen. ~200 items worth ~10k points were released on Saturday August 2 and we were given exactly 7 days to complete them all with our team of 15 total people. All of the submissions where in the form of video or picture. I’ve been trying to find the best medium to share our completed challenges, and I landed on wordpress.

Challenges Team Athens (myself and Victoria) Completed

Note: We enlisted some friends to help. Thanks Sarah, George, Kyle, Sondra, Benjamin, Tim, and random people we met along the way.

Item 176: Try to make yourself look exactly like an iconic local statue (in every detail) and stand next to it.

Item 106:  Let’s see a fully dressed, face-painted geisha mowing the lawn

Item #29. If you’re like me, you’re sick of the go-to barista foam-art. If I have to sip at another latte adorned with a fern or clover shape, I’m going to cry. Let’s see the Elopus professionally recreated in the foam of a café’s hot drink. (This one was all Victoria.)

121: Challenge a movie theater employee: If you beat them in an arm-wrestling competition, they have to give you a free ticket. If they beat you, you’ll buy one. (This one was also all Victoria)

#147 It’s summertime and everyone loves a lemonade stand. But then again, every Tom, Dick and Harry is setting up a lemonade stand in the summertime and the market is flooded. Respond to consumer demand and carve out your own niche. Let’s see two children manning a “Hot Pasta With Jam Sauce” stand.

#35 Suck the blood from a doughnut.

37. [IMAGE] “When I grow up, I want to be…” Have a child dress up as what they want to be when they grow up (lawyer, doctor, ballerina, dragon-slayer, etc.).

Item #154: IMAGE. Sculpt John Barrowman’s head from duct tape.

Item #49: IMAGE. Make a 5-foot in diameter bird’s nest on a sidewalk in an upscale neighborhood. Nest in it.

Item 148: GISHWHES rock band album cover including one, some or all of your teammates.

Item #28. Stage a mini-newspaper boat regatta in a public fountain with at least four competing vessels. We must see intense competitiveness and gambling.

 

#36: You at the beach, pool or on a boat, wearing a homemade, 99% edible, candy bathing suit. (The remaining 1% can be inedible thread or wire, but we don’t want to see it.)

Item #12: GISHWHES has taken its toll this year. You deserve a break. Hit the hot tub with a couple of friends… wearing hats made of ice cream.

Item #134-You or your pet, in period costume, seated on a Game of Thrones-style kale throne.Make it so good that GOT producers would want it as a marketing poster

Item 130: An angel made from feminine hygiene products.

#178 Birds have style too. Create an architecturally-significant GISHWHESESQUE birdhouse. Hang it on a tree in a public park. On the photo, write the name of the park and the city and country in which it is installed.

 

#173 You see people holding up signs from time to time that say “free hugs.” I have always been wary of those people. I don’t know what it is they’re after. Are they trying to cop a feel? Get me to buy a timeshare? I avoid them. But your “free hugs” sign won’t leave any doubt in the readers’ minds… Wearing a bathing suit, cover every inch of your exposed skin with honey, peanut butter, syrup or jam. Hold a sign on a busy public sidewalk that reads, “Free Hugs.” Enthusiastically attempt to recruit hug-victims.

#8 A lot of politicians oppose minimum wage laws. Let’s expand their horizons: pay an elected official less than minimum wage to do at least 1 hour of yard work for you.

 

 

 

 

The Bechdel Test: The French Lieutenant’s Woman

The Original: Females

Does the book contain one or more female characters? Yes

Do these characters have names? Yes: Sarah, Ernestina, Aunt Tranter, Mrs. Poultney, Mrs. Talbot, Mrs. Fairley, Milly, Mary

Do these characters talk to one another? Yes

Do they discuss something other than men? Yes. Mrs. Fairley and Mrs. Poulteney talk about Sarah. The one time that conversation is witnessed by the reader, however, they discuss Sarah walking through what serves in the story as the red light district. Therefore, while the conversation is not about men, it does indirectly pertain to men.

Other-The fascinating thing about a Victorian novel being written in the late sixties is the perspective and self-awareness The French Lieutenant’s Woman has. While the 60’s were not as advanced when it comes to feminism as we are, today, the author is surprisingly advanced for his time: “What are we faced with in the nineteenth century? An age where woman was sacred; and where you could buy a thirteen-year-old girl for a few pounds–a few shillings, if you wanted her for only an hour or two. Where more churches were built than in the whole previous history of the county; and where one in sixty houses in London was a brothel…Where the sanctity or marriage (and chastity before marriage) was proclaimed from every pulpit, in every newspaper editorial and public utterance; and where never–or hardly ever–have so many great public figures, from the future king down, led scandalous private lives…Where the female body had never been so hidden from view; and where every sculptor was judged by his ability to carve naked women…Where it was universally maintained that women do not have orgasms; and yet every prostitute was taught to simulate them. Where there was enormous progress and liberation in every other field of human activity; and nothing but tyranny in the most personal and fundamental” (p266-267).

Racism:

Does the book contain one or more characters of a minority race? No

Other: “My dear Charles, if you play the Muslim in a world of Puritans, you can expect no other treatment,” the doctor tells the main character. While there are no minority characters in Victorian England, this statement does imply that there is awareness of other races, at least in the more educated population of the country.

Heterosexism:

Does the book contain one or more gay characters? It is unclear, though the book does make mention of the question, during a scene in which the main heroine is seen in bed with another woman: “But some vices were then so unnatural that they did not exist. I doubt if Mrs. Poulteney had ever heard of the word “lesbian”; and if she had, it would have commenced with a capital , and referred to an island in Greece . . . But what of Sarah’s motives? As regards lesbianism, she was as ignorant as her mistress” (p. 157-158). Is Sarah a lesbian? Maybe.

Classism:

Does the book contain one or more lower-class characters? Yes. There is a significant amount of time spent on the romantic subplot between two lower class characters.

Do these characters have names? Millie, Mary, Sam…

Do these characters talk to one another? Yes, frequently.

Do they discuss something other than the upper class? Sam and Mary discuss their love, marriage, as well as make some small talk. The conversation that the reader is privy to does tend to revolve around the larger plot, Charles and Sarah, so the instances of Mary and Sam talking, unrelated to their employers are few, but existent, none the less.

Other– The narrator, in his more “enlightened” viewpoint, seems to have interesting opinions about the Victorian class structure. Mr. Freeman, one of the only financially successful characters in the novel offers Charles, his future son-in-law at the time, his business. This immediately pits Charles in a quandary. Though he has no money, it’s so plebeian to work for money. Gentlemen simply don’t do that. The most respectable character in the novel, Dr. Grogan, is both learned, middle class, and self-employed in the business of helping others.

Also important to mention is the distinction and time the author spends on Sam’s position: “Of course, to us any Cockney servant called Sam evokes immediately the immortal Weller; and it was certainly from that background that this Sam had emerged…But the difference between Sam Weller and Sam Farrow (that is, between 1836 and 1867) was this: the first was happy with his role, the second suffered it. Weller would have answered the bag of soot, and with a verbal vengeance. Sam had stiffened, ‘rose his hibrows’ and turned his back.” This paves the way for much more characterization and time spent on/with Sam, but it only ends up being foreshadowing.

Sexualization in Girl With The Dragon Tattoo poster

obiwannabe:

thescreendoorslams:

Okay, since I’m STILL hearing people on the internet griping about the first Girl With The Dragon Tattoo poster, I felt the need to go on a little rant here. Bear with me.

Look at the image on the left. Now look at the image on the right. One of these images is of a “sexualized woman,” and the other is not. If you cannot tell the difference between a nude woman, and a sexualized woman, you are an idiot.

The fact that Rooney Mara is naked in the TGWTDT poster does not make her sexualized or objectified. David Fincher has not “missed the point,” he’s actually making a very insightful observation into the way nude women are portrayed in advertising and in films. Lisbeth Salander may be nude in this poster, but she’s miles away from the expected depiction of a naked woman. Rooney Mara said it perfectly herself:

There’s a certain way people are used to seeing nude women, and that’s in a submissive, coy pose, not looking at the camera. And in this poster, I’m looking dead into the camera with no expression on my face. I think it freaks a lot of people out.

The image of Katy Perry is clearly what Rooney is talking about here (I don’t have anything visceral against Katy Perry, I’m just using a picture of her to make a point). She looks sweet, coyly hiding herself from the camera, but still looking inviting and sexually available. Rooney Mara is the exact opposite. She is bold and uninhibited in her nudity, and she looks right at the viewer with a piercing glare that conveys an unmistakable message: come near me, and you’re dead. This is hardly in keeping with the conventional images of naked women that we are used to seeing.

Nudity and sexualization are not the same thing. Try to actually understand an image and look closely at it in relation to societal conventions and expectations before you make a judgement.

Reblogging, because I want to discuss this with Vicious.

There are a number of issues in this argument all being snowballed into sexualization: objectification, female nudity, society’s perception of female nudity, female nudity in pop culture, and David Fincher’s intentions behind the GWTDT poster.

There is a difference between female nudity and female sexualization and certainly a difference between female nudity and objectification, but when seen through the lens of pop culture and American society, those lines begin to blur.

(Note: I realize that because I can see Mara’s nipples that this is the European version of the poster, not the American. However as both myself and the author of the rant are living in America, I think we can safely take an American point of view on these posts.)

In the initial rant, Mara is not sexualized because she is not looking submissive, coy, sweet, or sexually available. Moreover, she is looking straight at the camera with an expressionless face.

The fact that in the image Mara is being held from behind by a clothed man in the darkness (as the heavy shadows show) with nipple piercings does not play a roll in the argument.

(Note: It is a topic of debate online whether or not novel Lisbeth has her nipples pierced. If anyone finds me a passage stating that she does, please let me know.)

Of the following images of blank faced nude models looking directly at the camera, please tell me which are sexualized and which are not.

All images via Ms Pussy Le Queer

Victoria’s Secret is huge into non-coy looking models. To argue that they are not sexualized is defeating a major point of the product they’re selling.

One can attempt to make that argument that Fincher is attempting to critique the way society views women and the way women have been portrayed over the past 120 years in the media, (with a focus on coy sexualization) but why would he choose to make this grand statement using the medium that he’s apparently contradicting?

More than likely, the graphic design team chose the photo and made the design of the poster. Yes, Fincher approved the design, but his producer or production team was there to remind him about the bottom line and MGM’s expectations. Mara’s role in this movie poster probably became about what most female sexualization in movies comes down to–selling tickets.

Why is pop musi…

Why is pop music the only art form that still inspires such arrantly stupid discussion?

-Sashe Frere-Jones, The New Yorker

There is a very simple answer to this–pop music is popular. So is stupidity.

Since pop music is popular, pop stars are glamorized and scrutinized in ways that other artists don’t have to deal with, or at least don’t have to deal with to quite the same extent. In the public eye, these people become more than just music makers. When conversation becomes vapid (as it always does when such a large group of people focus strongly on a single person) it extends past weight loss/gain, dating, social events, and other such things that have nothing to do with music to the music itself.

Musings on the Art of Failure

I’ve been thinking a lot about my profile picture lately.

It’s zombie Marie Curie saying,

You don't become great by trying to be great. You become great by wanting to do something, and then doing it so hard that you become great in the process.

It probably seems stupid that I’m still reeling from the whole Effie’s Club Follies fiasco. Why would someone as talented and motivated as myself waste time even thinking about such people or organizations?

Because I refuse to use all of my time wisely?  Because I can’t help myself. Because that event uncovered some deep seeded, repressed fears–fears of becoming motivated by negative emotions, becoming bitter and resentful of those trying to help me; fears of failure.

In actuality, nobody would care if I failed at this. If the boylesque troupe Tim and I are attempting to start never got off of the ground and Burlesque Beta fizzled out over time, nobody’s life would be ruined. I have very understanding friends.

The pressure to succeed is self-inflicted. I think that’s the best kind of pressure. Society, I can hide from, but I can’t hide from myself.

If you know you can’t look at yourself in the mirror if you fail, it takes the option of failure away.

A Dash of Hope

“To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.

What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.

And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”

— Howard Zinn

 

Via: Things I Love Thursday: Playing Tourist In My Own City!

from galadarling.com by Gala

Why is pop musi…

Why is pop music the only art form that still inspires such arrantly stupid discussion?

-Sashe Frere-Jones, The New Yorker Feb. 6, 2012

The Burqa

As we have just passed the ten year anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, we might consider how civilizational-sartorial thinking has shaped recent cultural politics and military policies. In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, veils and veiled Muslim women were pathologized as passive victims in need of rescue from their oppressive religion, culture, and men. As I discuss in greater detail elsewhere, it was not just the fashion media but also the news media, politicians, and, yes, mainstream feminists who perceived the veil as the exemplary Other to fashion. Consider this statement by a Salon.com writer: “frivolous fashion is itself a patriotic symbol of America: You may never be able to afford that shredded Georgette Givenchy gown, but at least you aren’t forced to live underneath a burqa.” The veil, within this civilizational logic, is rendered the material symbol of not only Eastern tradition (as opposed to Western modernity) but a tradition imagined as brutally backwards and oppressive. This image of the victimized veiled woman played a large role in substantiating the humanitarian justification for the war in Afghanistan. Recall all the ways in which the U.S. State Department’s Report on the Taliban’s War against Women centered on the burqa and its perceived infringement on Muslim women’s freedoms. Civilizational thinking occludes the possibility that the burqa might be a fashionable garment that women wear to express their own identities, worldviews, and choices. In other words, civilizational-sartorial thinking denies Muslim women’s agency and in so doing, it negates important feminist histories of veiling such as the choice of some Egyptian women in the 1970s and 1980s to veil as a resistant act challenging Western and secular cultural domination.

–Fraught Intimacies: Fashion & Feminism (The Director’s Cut)