January 2009 Archives

That's right, folks, it's that time of year! No, Not the Academy Awards, but the GLAAD Awards!!! This year marks the 20th anniversary of the GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) Media Awards and the nominees are out! My favorite category, comics, will probably be a tight race between favorites Buffy the Vampire Slayer, by Drew Goddard, Jeph Loeb, and Joss Whedon, and Secret Six, by Gail Simone and Nicola Scott. Other nominees include The Alcoholic by Johnathan Ames, Final Crisis: Revellations by Greg Rucka, and Young Avengers Presents by Ed Brubaker, Brian Reed, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Paul Cornell, Kevin Grevioux and Matt Fraction.

I must say, I'm not an Avengers or a Final Crisis fan. At all. I can't imagine how they got in the running for this award, but GLAAD generally has pretty good taste. I am particularly excited about the Buffy nod. There are times when it feels like Joss just really has a jones to see some lesbian action, but the follow through with the most recent story arc was great. More importantly, while Buffy's lesbian relationship certainly plays a role in the plot, it does not take center stage. The story still focuses on the Slayer's battle against "the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness" with relationships providing a backdrop and a third dimension for the character. So, while Buffy's rather sudden new relationship at first seemed like a frolick in Joss' fantasy world, it has ended up being drawn with affection, sensitivity, and even a shade of real world depiction...minus the superhero bit.

As for Secret Six, I keep meaning to pick it up but simply never have. I do not enjoy jumping into the middle of a story arc, so I have waited. Gail Simone is a fantastic story teller, evidenced by her current run on Wonder Woman, and I look forward to checking this story out.

Men in skirts. According to New York Times fashion bloggers, it's the new trend. Several big name fashion designers have been spotted wearing skirts for themselves, but they have also been a big hit on the runways of New York and Paris.

Addmittedly, I'm no fashion buff; but this story intrigues me nonetheless. As one commentator on the New York Times blog post points out, men in the Northwest have done the Utilikilt thing for years. I've seen it. But there is something much more striking about a man wearing a pencil skirt with graffiti tights. And a silk skirt with Mary Jane style patent leather shoes. Not only are these images striking, they may speak to a more progressive view of gender in the fashion world.

I cannot speak much to trickle down theory of fashion runways to streets. From personal experience, however, I feel fairly confident when I say the runway has never been a reflection of the real world. In terms of body type, it has certainly been a place to view our culture's "ideal form", but whether or not the prevalence of men in skirts on the runway will soon be seen on the streets of Seattle, I cannot say. I doubt it.

Regardless, the trend is incredibly interesting and I'll be curious to see how it develops. These designers, such as Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton, have certainly put forth an alternative to traditional gender expressions. Their models look elegant without looking like they are cross-dressing. And yet there are certainly expectations of the angry media mob to follow. Perhaps more importantly, while this could mark the beginning of new expressions of gender, the fashion industry is often far too easily dismissed as either "gay", "frivolous", "racist", "elititist", and "ridiculous". While many or all of these categorizations may be true, these images are still bound to cause a stir. And it could be productive.

Last week over at the New York Times, writer Daniel Bergner talked about sexology in his article, What Women Want.

From Bonobo porn to the fluidity of sexual desire, Bergner discusses a variety of very interesting theories. And there's highly respected women to back them up, too, like Meredith Chivers and Lisa Diamond.

There is, however, one strike against Bergner for describing the outfits and body types of each PhD woman he interviews; but the article was still an interesting read that I highly recommend.

While looking around online after that last post, I found this:

I really don't think I need to say anything. Other, of course, than what the fuck? It's moments like these I'm grateful I don't read fashion magazines.

The Colorado State University Police Chief, Dexter Yarbrough, has an awful lot of charges against him. Unfortunately, most of those charges were pressed years ago, but CSU seems to have kept them quiet. Now the situation has come to a head and an awful lot of nasty evidence is surfacing. My favorite are the tape recordings of his lectures, taken by a saavy student who knew Yarbrough was crossing lines, particularly legal ones.

There are a lot of awful quotes, but the one that really manages to stand apart from the rest is this gem: "Women want the dick, even when they say 'no'. They want the dick."

Thank you, Jessica, at feministing.com, for alerting me to another heartwarming day in the news!

I guess there's an uproar about the new cover of Ms. Magazine. Obama strikes the classic Superman pose, ripping open his shirt to reveal a "THIS IS WHAT A FEMINIST LOOKS LIKE" shirt. It seems that the central argument is that women can speak for ourselves and having Obama as a prominent face of feminism is simply glorifying men and putting women in a damsel role, waiting to be saved by the shining knight of feminism.

While I see the point of this argument, it seems to me that it's high time we really allowed men a place in feminism. While making a man a poster-boy for feminism is probably a bit extreme, the Ms. cover doesn't really do that. Rather than make Obama the face of feminism, the cover merely conveyed the sense of hope that I share with many as his inauguration nears. Obama is a self-identified feminist, the first in the White House (as far as I know). He enters his presidency with a Vice-President who co-authored the Violence Against Women Act. This truly promises to be a great time for feminism.

Rather than remain entrenched in first and second (and some third) wave feminist exclusionary practices, we should embrace a more cooperative movement. Obama is about to become one of, possibly THE, most influential people in the country. I don't think a celebration of what his position could mean for women's rights is cause for outrage.

I'd like to hear what other people have to say about this, especially opposing viewpoints, so please leave your comments!