Is This Real Life?

by ELENA

It says something (not particularly good) about our culture when a cosmetic company uses its lack of Photoshop as a way to market its foundation:

This campaign is successful: I now want to try their foundation — especially as an actor who spends quite a bit of her time in front of high-definition cameras.

Wearing makeup on a daily basis is pretty much a fact of life for me. And I’m the most appreciative of companies who can sell me a quality product without massive amounts of retouching. I also like how this model isn’t doing SexyFace, she’s taking a photo of herself. She’s doing something that I do whenever I’m dressed up for a special event or party.

So, as a message to other cosmetic companies: More of this, and less crazy retouching. Please.

(Via Beauty High.)

Young Americans…have sex?!?!!

by MIRANDA

Students at Wesleyan created this flippin’ fantastic video in response to the attacks on Planned Parenthood. Watch!

In Which Daniel Craig and Judi Dench are Awesome

by ELENA

What happens when Daniel Craig and Judi Dench collaborate to make a public service announcement about gender inequality, which includes Craig dressing in hosiery, heels, a dress, wig, and earrings?

Chilling awesomeness happens.

Then again, Craig was the butt of a shitstorm of jokes when he was announced as the New Bond, because he wasn’t “manly” enough for the role. Evidently, being short/having sensitive skin*/not driving a stick/not caring for guns meant that he was a “wuss”. It’s great to see an actor known for playing a traditionally hyper-masculine role spend his time and energy making a great point about sexism.

And Judi Dench needs to narrate everything. All the time.

Really Colorado, Really?

by ELENA

Two years ago, the state of Colorado voted down a proposed “personhood amendment”, which would declare that “the term ‘person’ shall apply to every human being from the beginning of the biological development of that human being.” Evidently, anti-choicers can’t seem to take “no” for an answer, and Amendment 62 is yet again on the ballot this November.

Choice USA’s video points does a better job of poking holes in Amendment 62’s logic than I ever could.

Colorado readers–please fight tooth and nail against this anti-choice, anti-woman, and just plain idiotic proposal.

(Via Feministing)

Here are some things you should know

Here are some values that I think are wonderful: Accountability. Respect. Honesty. Sex-positivity.

Here is a poster that I think is beautiful — literally gorgeous, literally having the power to bring tears to my eyes:

Here is an organization that is doing incredible work: Men Can Stop Rape.

Just, you know, FYI.

HollaBack PSA!

The HollaBack PSA that I’ve previously posted on is ready for the watchin’. Check it out below:

So. Awesome. Visit their new site to donate in support of HollaBack’s incredible work.

Art and Safe Sex: A Great Combo

Check out these cool French AIDS-prevention ads, which I found via the always- witty blog Copyranter. It’s great to see something that encourages both men and women to explore their sexuality. The safe-sex message and beautiful artwork only ad to the coolness! Enjoy!

Boston Teens Report on Songs That Glorify Unhealthy Relationships

I love this.

Supported by the Boston Public Health Commission, a panel of teenagers released a nutritional label-style list of popular songs with “unhealthy relationship ingredients.”

The “Sound Relationships Nutrition Label” was developed by 14 teens after they attended a seven-week commission-sponsored institute on healthy relationship promotion and teen dating violence prevention. During the seven-week program, teens were also taught to evaluate music based on themes of power, control, equality and gender roles.

The teens then developed their list after analyzing songs from Billboard’s “Hot 100” chart.

…Shaquilla Terry, 15, of Boston, a teen panel member, said it was important for listeners to go beyond the songs’ beats and listen to the lyrics.

The commission says its program aims to teach teens how to evaluate popular media, and help parents talk to teens about healthy relationships. Commission officials also said the label invites consumers to become song lyric nutritionists by helping them identify positive and negative messages about relationships in songs.

“We aren’t telling people what they should or should not be listening to,” Barbara Ferrer, the commission’s executive director, said in a statement. “We are giving them a tool that will help them make an informed choice about what they put in their bodies.”

In addition to the label, the commission also plans to released a lesson plan for teachers.

Jack Perricone, chair of the songwriting department at the Berklee College of Music, said pop songs generally allow listeners to get away from the bad news of the day. But he said pop music, by its very nature, is very repetitive, and sometimes if songs have negative messages, those repetitive messages can get inside teens’ heads.

Badass!

So which songs made the cut? The top ten unhealthy songs were:

1. Break Up – Mario
2. Blame It – Jamie Foxx
3. Paparazzi – Lady GaGa
4. You’re a Jerk – New Boyz
5. Baby By Me – 50 Cent
6. Best I Ever – Drake
7. One More Pain – Ludacris
8. Be On Your – Flow Rida
9. Hotel Room Service – Pitbull
10. Bad Romance – Lady GaGa

And the top ten healthiest?

1. One Time – Justin Bieber
2. Miss Independent – Ne-Yo
3. Replay – Iyaz
4. Say Hay – Michael Franti
5. Knock You Down – Keri Hilson
6. Only You Can Love Me This Way – Keith Urban
7. Her Diamonds – Rob Thomas
8. I’m Yours – Jason Mraz
9. Fallin For You – Colbie Caillat
10. Meet Me Halfway – Black Eye Peas

Via Feministing Community.

Seen in San Francisco

I’m just getting around to sorting through my family’s pictures from San Francisco, and I found this one of an advertisement on a newsstand:

RAPE AFFECTS US ALL. Be part of the solution. Stop sexual violence.

Can I plaster these all over the world?

The tabloid dichotomy

I was flipping through People (which, full disclosure, I glance at if it’s in the apartment) this morning and had to lift my gaping jaw off the floor when I saw this ad.

???!!?!!?!!!!!?! An advertisement featuring a fat woman who isn’t being mocked, chastised, or scrutinized? My favorite thing about this ad – which is for Curvation, a lingerie company – is that the woman has a body that’s not just a bigger version of your standard super-skinny model. This model has somewhat different proportions than the beauty ideal, and (gasp!) her stomach even has a little roll of flesh! And she’s in a mainstream magazine!!

I also like the text, which reads…DRESS: will hug every curve. MAKEUP: just mascara. ACCESSORIES: confidence, style, wit. Most of us feminists have known for a while that fat women have just as much confidence, style, and wit as other gals, but it’s taken tabloids like People (and don’t try to tell me it’s not a tabloid) a fucking long time to get in on the secret. Kudos.

Unfortunately, I ignored my instinct to put the magazine down while the going was good, and glanced at the Oscar coverage. There was the usual “ZOMG what did you eat for breakfast today?!” section, and an estimated 99.97% of the celebrity women had egg whites in one form or another.

No offense to anyone who eats egg whites – whether you have a health issue that prevents you from eating yolks, like my grandmother, or you just like the taste – but I have a really hard time believing that so many women truly like their flavor and texture. Personally, I’d rather just skip breakfast than eat some scrambled whites – and I am not the sort of person to ever, ever skip meals. I’m reminded of what Julia Louis-Dreyfus said when asked about how she stays slim at the Emmys a couple years ago: “Basically, I never have any fun. For breakfast this morning I had scrambled egg whites. BLEH!” (Forgive me, I can’t find a full quote or video of this hilarious exchange; this is the best I can come up with.)

In summary: thank you, People, for the long-awaited gift of putting a seriously hot fat model into your magazine. When your next issue comes out, I’ll ask around to find out if there are any other great ads, so I can go straight to those pages and skip all the diet commentary that tries to make me feel guilty about my 3-real-egg-omelets.