There is hardly a more garish example of hyper-gendered and sexualized display in sports than American Football. A game the whole family can enjoy. Not just the uber-masculinity of the game itself, but the uniform alone: it is the quintessence of machismo, a celebration of extreme he-ness, a veritable sartorial orgy of male sexual characteristics [...]

In November 2011 I joined the fight to get the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to enact a code of conduct, following a rape joke tweet by fighter Forrest Griffin. But since then, there’s been a spate of offensive tweets and public comments joking about rape and the sexual abuse scandal at Penn State. Meanwhile, they [...]

Whenever I’m sick I give myself license to watch whatever trashy TV I want. And since my toddler started daycare, well… I’ve had a lot of colds lately! And with all this bed rest has come a lot more time in the world of reality TV. It’s my guilty pleasure! While watching Kourtney & Kim [...]

At the beginning of each year, most of us consider changes we would like to make in our personal lives. I decided to bypass the usual weight and fitness resolutions and focus on institutions I’d like to change. The list is long, but I have prioritized mass-market advertisements because they are pervasive and have the [...]

As a feminist blogger and self-proclaimed pop culture aficionado, I watch awards shows looking out for sexism and rooting for women to win awards. The Golden Globes, which aired Sunday night, is rowdy and unpredictable…due to copious amounts of alcohol the actors imbibe. With awards shows, movies, TV series – pretty much everything I watch [...]

The Girl Scouts recently announced a new cookie.  Savannah Smiles, will be sold in honor of the Girl Scouts 100th anniversary.  As a former Girl Scout, I found this very exciting.  However, not everyone may get to try the new cookie this year!  On the heels of this announcement came some other Girl Scout news. [...]

I’ve always been fat. I’m not one of those fat girls who has stories about when I was thin—because I was never thin. And I grew up with the knowledge that I was fat. When I was three years old I was playing outside with my friends and I got hungry. I came inside and [...]

Dakota Fanning reclines in a tiny pink dress, innocent look on her face, large phallic bottle of Lola Marc Jacobs perfume between her outstretched legs. I’ll give you a moment to calm the titillation you might be experiencing. Would it help if I said that she looks no older than 14? No? Interestingly enough, you [...]

I read a piece in the Washington Post on Sunday that is still rolling around in my head.  Emily Matchar wrote about The New Domesticity.  Basically she’s asking a simple question: is the new wave of hobbies for women around knitting, sewing, canning, cooking, etc. a step back or a step forward for women.  When [...]

In the reactions to the revelations that coach Jerry Sandusky raped and abused at least eight boys and young teens, one thing has been absent: victim-blaming. No one has asked:  What did the boy do to ask for it?  What was he wearing?  Why did he go into the showers with Sandusky if he wasn’t [...]