this video has been making the rounds on the internet and for good reason.
it's rare that advertising is so powerful in a way that is meaningful and altering. i can certainly identify, as i am sure most women can.
if you haven't watched this yet, please do.
*addendum*
there is some interesting feminist criticism of Dove's 'real beauty' ad campaign (here: bitch magazine and feministing, for starters). while i agree that this series of commercials doesn't change the beauty standards and continues to assert that beauty = value, can't we all agree that this moves advertising in better direction?
Showing posts with label feminism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label feminism. Show all posts
heavy stuff.
since my engagement, i have been struggling to find a comfort level with weddings, being a "bride", being a "wife" and marriage in general due to my strongly held beliefs about equality, feminism and heterosexism.
to be clear, i am enormously happy and am completely certain that adam and i are meant to be partnered for life. it was obvious to me early on that something was different about my relationship with adam; something comfortable and grounding. our strengths and weaknesses balance each other well, we share similar interests and life goals. we both knew we were in it for the long haul. neither of us are very traditional and since we don't want children, marriage was never a really big issue. but now that forming a legally recognized union is happily part of the plan, i have to negotiate a difficult path.
my feelings about marriage are complicated. i hold marriage in high regard even though i am not particularly religious. but i also discount marriage because it is an elitist club which is rooted in sexist traditions.
i feel more than a little bit guilty that i can marry my partner because i happened to have fallen in love with a man. i believe strongly in marriage equality and originally felt that i would not marry adam until any consenting and loving couple could marry. i now wonder what that choice accomplishes. i'm pretty sure my choosing to not marry my opposite sex life partner in protest to inequality isn't having any affect on changing laws. actually, the state of New York is probably getting a bigger chunk of my paycheck for this act of protest. i am slowly coming to the realization that my marrying a man isn't sabotaging my commitment to marriage equality, although it isn't assuaging my guilty feelings.
from a feminist perspective, the concept of the wedding is a veritable minefield. i am no militant, but i can see why some of the "traditions" associated with weddings could be triggering. a few examples being that there is a lot of implied ownership (what am i, livestock?), there is the word "obey" (i will not), and there is the white dress/virginity thing (no comment). ultimately, i will take out or adjust the parts of the wedding ceremony that are not aligned with my personal beliefs but i still struggle with conflicting feelings. is my wish to have my father walk me down the aisle undermining my principles, or is it a heartfelt gesture of respect for the man who was an integral part of making me the feminist i am today?
there is no easy solution to this conundrum and i know i will continue to wrestle with taking this exciting next step while maintaining my autonomy and using my privilege consciously.
to be clear, i am enormously happy and am completely certain that adam and i are meant to be partnered for life. it was obvious to me early on that something was different about my relationship with adam; something comfortable and grounding. our strengths and weaknesses balance each other well, we share similar interests and life goals. we both knew we were in it for the long haul. neither of us are very traditional and since we don't want children, marriage was never a really big issue. but now that forming a legally recognized union is happily part of the plan, i have to negotiate a difficult path.
my feelings about marriage are complicated. i hold marriage in high regard even though i am not particularly religious. but i also discount marriage because it is an elitist club which is rooted in sexist traditions.
i feel more than a little bit guilty that i can marry my partner because i happened to have fallen in love with a man. i believe strongly in marriage equality and originally felt that i would not marry adam until any consenting and loving couple could marry. i now wonder what that choice accomplishes. i'm pretty sure my choosing to not marry my opposite sex life partner in protest to inequality isn't having any affect on changing laws. actually, the state of New York is probably getting a bigger chunk of my paycheck for this act of protest. i am slowly coming to the realization that my marrying a man isn't sabotaging my commitment to marriage equality, although it isn't assuaging my guilty feelings.
from a feminist perspective, the concept of the wedding is a veritable minefield. i am no militant, but i can see why some of the "traditions" associated with weddings could be triggering. a few examples being that there is a lot of implied ownership (what am i, livestock?), there is the word "obey" (i will not), and there is the white dress/virginity thing (no comment). ultimately, i will take out or adjust the parts of the wedding ceremony that are not aligned with my personal beliefs but i still struggle with conflicting feelings. is my wish to have my father walk me down the aisle undermining my principles, or is it a heartfelt gesture of respect for the man who was an integral part of making me the feminist i am today?
there is no easy solution to this conundrum and i know i will continue to wrestle with taking this exciting next step while maintaining my autonomy and using my privilege consciously.
for serious?!?
please be advised that following this link will bring you to a youtube music video that is pretty nasty. not gory or obscene, but there's some foul language...
WTF? is this a real song? why on earth would someone want to sing about this?
"that's how a bitch get an eye swelled up" (!!!!!)
i am not trying to sound like a prude, but as a feminist and someone trying to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS this makes me want to cry a little.
please tell me this is a joke...albeit a really bad one.
WTF? is this a real song? why on earth would someone want to sing about this?
"that's how a bitch get an eye swelled up" (!!!!!)
i am not trying to sound like a prude, but as a feminist and someone trying to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS this makes me want to cry a little.
please tell me this is a joke...albeit a really bad one.
enough to send any man into the fetal position.
so we finally watched teeth last night. you may recall that i referenced to the trailer in an earlier post.i admit i had sort of forgotten about the movie until we stumbled across it on the movies-on-demand feature (a rip off mind you, but sometimes i'm just too impatient to wait for things to pop up at the library).
94 minutes later, with adam defensively holding his crotch, my mind was flooded with old-school feminist theory. i will spare you all of this, so that you can continue reading (and not be turned off to the movie).
overall, i really liked it. was she a heroine, a villain or a vigilante? severed penises? an attack dog named 'mother'? it could be analyzed into the ground for sure. i do think the movie was a bit harsh on the heterosexual male stereotyping; but straight guys don't get challenged enough anyway.
so if you want to have a fun time, watch this with your favorite male friend (he doesn't even need to be straight...) and watch his facial expressions (and the movie too...).
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