More great female characters

I posted about female role models in children's/YA literature a few days ago, bemoaning the rather short list of good characters I could think of. Visiting with one of my best friends yesterday, we discussed it some and she suggested Meg from the Wrinkle in Time series. Definitely someone who should be on the list! (By the way, I was quite saddened to read about Madeline L'Engle's death this past fall. Slate and Salon had a number of fitting and moving tributes to her.)

Since I'm re-reading the Arrows of the Queen series by Mercedes Lackey, I should also mention that Talia of that series fits the bill. Lackey's tales are almost like a Benetton commercial: people from all walks of life, sexual preferences, income levels, etc. I don't think I noticed it as much when I first read the books in early high school, but now it seems almost too obvious. I mean, I love the books, I love the characters, but she takes such great pains with equality that it's near comical. Ah well. Lackey's work isn't exactly Pulitzer stuff, but it does keep you warm and entranced on a cold winter's night.

C'mon-- there've got to be more strong female characters! Let's hear them!

Break time.

I'm on vacation for the next few days, but I guess I won't get any rest from NaBloPoMo. However, seeing how I've already done some community service and helped a neighborhood family out with some much needed firewood, I'm going to go take some Advil and lie down. (Three large pick-up trucks of unsplit oak. Fat unwieldy chunks the size of stools or night tables. With an unhelpful dog running around under foot. I've earned my Advil, thank you very much.)

It's kind of interesting coming home for the holidays or a long weekend. Co-workers and friends from Manhattan always look at pictures of my parent's log cabin in disbelief, while neighbors here upstate can't believe I spent my weekend writing on-air promos for the Lifetime Movie Network. The discrepancy between the girl who balances spreadsheets and makes deadlines to the girl who tools around in a red pick-up seems confusing to many. To them, I say pfffft. After my Advil, I'll maybe chop some firewood for my own woodstove and then bake a pie for tomorrow. Gender stereotypes, eat your heart out.

Readergirlz: A Follow-up to "Where's our Harriet Potter?"

So, my mom, being into books and things, passed along this site after hearing about my blog post bemoaning the lack of strong female characters in books. Readergirlz comes as a bit of a disappointment however.

Sure, it's a nifty concept: girls and women sharing books with their friends, and celebrating "strong girls in books who've got the guts to dream" and hopefully "inspiring girls to make history of their own." I guess I was picturing a great blog/forum where readers could weigh in about their favorite characters, discuss notable plots, etc. Instead, the main site seems to speak entirely in teen-girl chatter, what with their *way cool* bookmarks you can download, and their founding "divas" regularly write posts about how awesome things are going on the site. (If you take a look at their author bios and photos, I don't know if they strike me as the diva type.) Overall, it seems like a bunch of smart women had a good idea to start a teen-accessible book blog, but ended up pandering to them with things like MySpace author chats and "Best Books for BFF's."

The end result feels more like a bad attempt at under the radar marketing rather than a genuine effort to reach out to young women readers. I figure if they're as voracious a reader that would visit a site like "readergirlz," then they probably won't be into the whole BFF thing.

That said, how do you create an online community that doesn't feel schlocky? I think that online author chats sound neat, as does some of the sites other features. It's just a question of maturity: teens certainly don't want anything that seems like it's younger skewing (do you have to use so much pink in your design?)

Something tells me that the girls from 3iying could give readergirlz some good advice.

NaBloPoMo

So, it's November. In an effort to get back to writing regularly, I'm participating in NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month), the aim of which is to write at least one blog post a day. A lofty goal, I know, but a worth while one! So- keep checking for better links, more updates, and new content.

For instance: Slate has started a new blog, the "XX Factor," where "Slate women blog about politics, etc." I've been reading semi-regularly, and so far it's pretty good. I've particularly liked some of their posts and news items regarding Hillary's run and some of the gender-based questions it's raised (How are women voters judging her? Is she a polarizing candidate because of who she is, her gender, or both? Can we please stop analyzing her suits, her laugh, and her cleavage? The male candidates, Edwards' haircut aside, aren't subjected to nearly the same amount of superficial criticism.)

One question that came up in XX's reader reactions and comments: Does the net need another feminist or woman oriented blog? By creating a woman-only discussion space, does it foster a more intimate discussion among women writers or is continuing the stereotype that women are different: a sort of self-imposed segregation? Hmm.

A six is a six, a ten is a ten- in Spain, at least.

I like clothes. They're useful. They keep me warm. They protect my skin and body from the sun and weather. They're soft and pastel, sturdy and denim, comforting and flannel. As much as I like clothing though, sometimes shopping for it is a royal pain in the ass.

Picking up a pair of jeans can be a nightmare- besides having to decide on a cut and a wash, supposedly simple details like what size I wear can become ordeals. Express is an eight. Fashion Bug, 6. Old Navy, 10. What gives? Why does this have to be such a head ache? My waist doesn't change size in between stores-- mall pretzels aren't that fattening.

So, you can imagine that this is great news from MSNBC-- Spain is regulating the size of the mannequins shown in store displays (none will be smaller than a size 6) and, even better, is going to standardize all women's sizes so that a size 6 is a size 6 (or whatever size it is) no matter what store you shop in. I think that's a great idea- guys have long had it pretty easy since their measurement are in inches. Girls on the other hand deal with the inconvienance of varying sizes as you shop at different stores. Besides convienance, it'll also help eliminate some embarrassment-- no longer will you feel fat at one particular store. Everything'll be the same.

Dieting Articles linked to Teen Health Risks

A study done by the University of Minnesota has managed to link dieting articles and advice in glossy magazines to eating disorders in teens and young women, the AP reports (via MSN). According to the article, "Girls in middle school who read dieting articles were twice as likely five years later to try to lose weight by fasting or smoking cigarettes, compared to girls who never read such articles." Additionally, vomiting and the use of laxatives increased as much as three times within this group as well.

It's no secret that airbrushed photos and ridiculously tiny models often appear within the pages of these 'zines. The images are definitely hazardous to a girl's self-esteem, and create an unrealistic standard for body image when growing up. However, this is the first time that the "health" articles have also been linked to eating disorders and teen health problems.

Magazines like Seventeen, Vogue, and Cosmo are regularly read by females well under the target range-- a lot of pre-teens and middle-schoolers have copies stashed in their school lockers, delighting in the ridiculous quizzes ("Is he into you?") and oggling the newest fashions. I'm not going to argue their popularity or say they should be censored, buuuut.... perhaps teens are more impressionable than first thought? I mean, if reading an article about cutting carbs eventually leads to bulimia, something's up. Especially with recent events: Brazilian model Ana Carolina Reston died Nov. 14th at the weight of 88lbs. She was 5'8''. To put a little perspective on this, 88lbs would have been considered a healthy weight for a 12yr old. Reston, however, was 21.

Publishers may want to examine the lifestyle they glamorize. Showing more realistic body images and offering a varied palette of articles have been shown to work-- JANE's been using this template for years (though I'll admit I don't find it 100% perfect). At the same time, it should also fall to parents to monitor their tween's and teen's reading materials. JANE might represent a healthier and more empowering alternative, but if you visit their site, one of the top links is for a reader sex survey.

What's Wrong With Cinderella?

As pink and all its power becomes highly lucrative, the make-believe fantasies of children are becoming commercial successes. It’s not just Barbie and G.I. Joe anymore. Peggy Orenstein wrote a fantastic article (aptly entitled "What's Wrong with Cinderella?"), exploring these issues and fall-out of the Princess marketing phenomena and young girls. It’s available from the New York Times, but requires subscriber access. I’ve pasted two excerpts below. Definitely an interesting read and I highly recommend it.

“[Discussing the Disney Princess line of merch]…It is also worth noting that not all of the ladies are of royal extraction. Part of the genius of "Princess" is that its meaning is so broadly constructed that it actually has no meaning. Even Tinker Bell was originally a Princess, though her reign didn't last. "We'd always debate over whether she was really a part of the Princess mythology," Mooney recalled. "She really wasn't." Likewise, Mulan and Pocahontas, arguably the most resourceful of the bunch, are rarely depicted on Princess merchandise, though for a different reason. Their rustic garb has less bling potential than that of old-school heroines like Sleeping Beauty. (When Mulan does appear, she is typically in the kimonolike hanfu, which makes her miserable in the movie, rather than her liberated warrior's gear.)”

“….If nothing else, pink and Princess have resuscitated the fantasy of romance that that era of feminism threatened, the privileges that traditional femininity conferred on women despite its costs — doors magically opened, dinner checks picked up, Manolo Blahniks. Frippery. Fun. Why should we give up the perks of our sex until we're sure of what we'll get in exchange? Why should we give them up at all? Or maybe it's deeper than that: the
freedoms feminism bestowed came with an undercurrent of fear among women themselves — flowing through "Ally McBeal," "Bridget Jones's Diary," "Sex and the City" — of losing male love, of never marrying, of not having children, of being deprived of something that felt essentially and exclusively female.

I mulled that over while flipping through "The Paper Bag Princess," a 1980 picture book hailed as an antidote to Disney. The heroine outwits a dragon who has kidnapped her prince, but not before the beast's fiery breath frizzles her hair and destroys her dress,
forcing her to don a paper bag. The ungrateful prince rejects her, telling her to come back when she is "dressed like a real princess." She dumps him and skips off into the sunset, happily ever after, alone.

There you have it, "Thelma and Louise" all over again. Step out of line, and you end up solo or, worse, sailing crazily over a cliff to your doom. Alternatives like those might send you skittering right back to the castle. And I get that: the fact is, though I want my
daughter to do and be whatever she wants as an adult, I still hope she'll find her Prince Charming and have babies, just as I have. I don't want her to be a fish without a bicycle; I want her to be a fish with another fish. Preferably, one who loves and respects her and also does the dishes and half the child care.”

I’ve long heard the mantra that feminism is about choice. Rather than confining it to a set of decisions about A or B or black or white (pink vs blue for that matter), perhaps it’s more apt to say it’s about personal balance. After all, I know I’ve got a little Cinderella as well as some ass-kicking She-Ra in my veins.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

I've got a good feeling about 2007, but let's wrap up '06 first. I happen to be a fan of stats and odd tidbits of information. If you're curious, here's a snapshot of various stats from '06:

Most Searched For Term: Motley Bird/ That Girl Emily (tie)
Most Discussed Post: Sure/American Apparel
Most Blogged Company/Product: Dove

Lastly, my personal favorites:
- Dove's "Real Women" campaign continues to impress and surprise me, but I'll stand by my comments and continue to wonder how long they can keep this up. Can you actually build a brand on honesty and integrity? Will it slip into something condescending?
- The EDA's anorexia PSA. Still absolutely brutal.

Women in Refrigerators

A friend of mine pointed me in the direction of the cultural commentary blog, Crocodile Caucus. It’s good reading focusing on pop culture, television, comics, commentary, and more. Anyhow, I was reading through it yesterday, and found a terrific post about the television show Heroes, and the “Women in Refrigerators” phenomena.

For those that don’t know (and I didn’t, until yesterday), Wikipedia explains the WiF theory (and website) thusly: exploring “female comic book characters that had been injured, killed, or depowered as a plot device within various superhero comic books. Also, the site seeks to analyze why these plot devices are used disproportionately on female characters.”

These are superheroines who have been either depowered, raped, or cut up and stuck in the refrigerator. I know I missed a bunch. Some have been revived, even improved -- although the question remains as to why they were thrown in the wood chipper in the first place.

I know I missed a bunch -- I just don't know my comics deaths the way I should. I'm not editorializing -- I'm just curious to find out what you guys think it means, if anything. – From the site

Good question—what does this all mean and why is it happening? I don’t think this use of female characters is limited to comic books. As Crocodile Caucus points out, it’s branching out into television, and I’m sure with some thought and research, you can see this attitude in movies and literature as well.

Positive female role models and characters are really needed in our media. Sure, some of these women mentioned are intelligent, but they still meet a dreadful end because a man was powerless to save them. Why can’t they have power in their own right? What is this teaching the audiences (both children and adult) who watch or read these stories?

With Spiderman 3 coming out this summer, I’ll be curious to see how they handle the infamous Gwen Stacy plot line, and see if she meets a WiR ending. Another obvious example would be the fate of Jean Grey in the recent X-Men movies.

Get a better role model.

Another great article on Salon, analyzing the effects of associating with Paris Hilton, and the harm she's doing to society. Traister, the author, puts it best as she begins to make her case against the strumpet:

"You know that point in a Stephen King novel when you've sort of figured out that the creepy dollie -- the one with the plastic hair and serenely stupid eyes that roll in two different directions -- is actually an animate object wreaking havoc and destroying people and you wonder why the townspeople haven't cottoned on and crushed the damn thing under a truck or something?

I think it's safe to say we've reached that point with Paris Hilton. We need to acknowledge that Hilton is not simply a tabloid diversion but a malevolent blight on the pop culture landscape."

Read, and spread the word.

Model Fall-out

So, it's been a busy week-- Madrid's decision to ban waifish models from some high-level fashion shows has had an interesting effect. It was widely covered, and a few other countries have spoken out against the too-thin trend too. (It goes to show that you only need one voice to start something larger!)

ABC News had an article about India's growing health concerns as their nation picks up more and more Western trends, including ideas of beauty. CNN had two articles-- one about fashion shows and concerns in London, where there was no ban, and another about the health of models in general.

I wonder if this is the start of a body-positive "eat right, exercise and accept your body" trend, or if it's just a very small ripple in a very large pond?

Ban on Skinny Models in Madrid Show

I'll take this as a small truimph, though I wish it was NYC's Fashion Week that made this decision.

Fratire vs. ChickLit

Fratire? What does this mean for women? Does it mean anything? Or are guys becoming just as packaged and manipulated as women? (Probably. Who these days isn't?)

Tucker Max, in his post on the HuffingtonPost, goes on to say/write some things about feminism I'm not entirely sure I agree with, but I do agree that this surge in "masculinity" and the creation of fratire is related to feminism. As he says, the ideas of feminism, and esp. extreme feminism, can't exist in a vaccuum. It affects other people, other ideas, etc.

Something that he said that I also agree with (for the most part) is that Fratire isn't neccessarily against women as a gender. Some of the authors/bloggers might be (as he is himself quite often), but as a movement, it's mostly a celebration of brash masculinity and beer. As he points out, women are a fan of both his site, and Maddox's. (Yeah, I do read the Best Page in the Universe.)

Now, I'm just trying to figure out... why, if both ChickLit and Fratire have fans, and I suppose a respective place on someone's bookshelf, does it make me feel uneasy? I think it's because both genres seem to be rather limiting, and pigeonhole both the readers and the authors quite quickly. The Shopaholic books, or Nanny Diaries, etc, are for a select group of people... they seem like the "pulp classics" of today's world, along with romance novels (ewww).

[EDIT: And, as I grow more familar with Tucker's book & site, it seems he details the exploits his drunken exploits with equally drunk women. Shall we say, a "Girls Gone Wild" for the literaries? Give me humor, give me wit, but please, give me taste and perhaps a shred of respect. Interestingly enough, it seems Tucker (and a few other Fratire writers) seem to realize that they're complete assholes, though they seem to think its part of their appeal. Really though, it just validates and confirms drunken, assinine behavior across college campuses nationwide.]

Just as certain people like Westerns or mysteries, I guess there's a spot for these "new" genres as well. Not on my shelf though.

Does sex sell? Why?

A much more in-depth post from AdRants, definitely raises some good questions and examples about sex in marketing. Steve writes:

"Noting there are far more ads that feature scantily clad women then scantily clad men, one might argue there's a tremendous unfairness going on. True, perhaps, but all one has to do is take a quick look at that industry that knows more about human nature than any marketer ever will, the porn industry. It's focused almost entirely towards men. Why? Because men want it. Men like it. Men need it. Men are attracted to it. The exact same way men are attracted to sexually laced advertising. The approach doesn't always make a great ad but, all other strategies aside, it is most certainly a powerful motivator."

My response: Sex isn't something we should censor, or ignore or hide. We shouldn't live in a puritan society. But, at the same time, so many people take their cues from advertising, and so much negative imagery is out there, showing thin, writhing women showcasing all sorts of products. It might sell, but surely there is a place for sexy and responsible advertising. What might that look like you ask? I'm not entirely sure, but I think it could exist. Any ideas?

Not to mention, when you cater to all of those slathering guys, you're ignoring half of the consumer market: the women. It's interesting how women are stereotyped as shoppers, but not nearly marketed to like a powerful segment of the consumer world. Women have more money and more independant purchasing power than ever. Show us some sexy guys, we'll buy your product.

What do these titles have in common?

What do the following movies all have in common?

K-19: The Widowmaker, Bewitched, Sleepless in Seattle, How to Make an American Quilt, Real Women Have Curves, American Psycho, Whalerider, North Country, Lost in Translation, The Peacemaker, Aeon Flux, Girlfight, Me and You and Everyone We know, Monsoon Wedding...

They're all feature films directed by women. Specifically, these women:

• Kathryn Bigelow
• Patricia Cardoso
• Niki Caro
• Sofia Coppola
  
• Nora Ephron
• Mary Harron
• Miranda July
• Karyn Kusama
• Mimi Leder
• Jocelyn Moorhouse
• Mira Nair

Want more stats, info, and studies? Go here.

Where are the Women Directors?

This older article from Salon raises a terrific question that still hasn't been answered: Where are the Women Directors? Why are as fewas 4% of a year's top grossing feature films (data from 2000) directed by women?

The article raises a few possible reasons, but over all, no solution.