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Released in 1999, I had never seen The Cider House Rules until a few weeks ago.  I’m not usually into period pieces or Tobey Maguire, so I didn’t expect much.  However, there were some powerful lines about the importance of a woman’s right to choose and to have safe medical treatments available to her once she’s made her choice.  Furthermore, there were some powerful examples of times that removing that choice is truly cruel, regardless of your political beliefs on the matter.

The Cider House Rules is the story of Homer, an orphan boy who never made it out of the orphanage, and has been trained as a doctor by his mentor and father figure, Dr. Larch, who runs the orphanage.  In addition to delivering the babies of women giving their children up for adoption, Dr. Larch offers safe medical abortions to any woman who asks for it.  He doesn’t advertise this service (as it is illegal), and he doesn’t suggest it to women no matter how many times he’s delivered their unwanted babies, but he won’t turn away a woman in need.  When Homer accuses him of playing God in this way, Dr. Larch responds:

Dr. Larch: I have been given the opportunity of playing God or leaving practically everything up to chance. Men and women of conscience should seize those moments when it’s possible to play God. There won’t be many. Do I interfere when absolutely helpless women tell me they simply can’t have an abortion – that they simply must go through with having another and yet another orphan? I do not. I do not even recommend. I just give them what they want.

Read the rest of this entry »

Last night marked the end of the Dollverse as we know it.  Because I canceled my cable service a week too early not thinking about this, I just watched the finale online this morning.

The end of a favorite show is always bittersweet.  We get a little bit of closure, and a significant sense of loss in saying good-bye to characters we have come to love.  I find that this is especially true when it comes to Joss Whedon’s shows, as his characters are complex, charasmatic, despicable, and loveable – often simultaneously.  Although Eliza Dushku’s performances are often criticized (and her portrayal of Echo was no exception), I believed in Echo.  I watched her transform from a passive, agreeable creature into a fierce and confident leader.  And this is the type of leading character women and girls could stand to see more of.

Each of the characters evolved over the two seasons of the show – Topher grew a conscience and suffered from the mental fallout of what he had created; Adelle went from cold, hard bitch to warm and maternal (and back again a few times); Boyd and Paul showed us the gray areas between the light and dark sides; Sierra/Priya and Victor/Anthony taught everyone that there are levels of emotion and connection that are stronger than any wipe.  And the LA Dollhouse taught us that no matter how we kid ourselves, there is always a greater potential for harm and evil within human nature than we are willing to admit – but there are also people willing to stand up and fight against that.

Dollhouse didn’t live up to everyone’s expectations, but a lot of those expectations were really high.  There were a lot of themes (identity, individuality, agency, sex work, human trafficking, economic privilege, power) and little time to address them.  It was a bumpy road, and themes and storylines didn’t always get the attention they deserved, but Dollhouse gave us a show that was willing to take a look at the dark side of human nature and the future of technology.  Dollhouse made us think, made us feel, made us question.  I’ll miss it.  Until next time, Joss.

Check out these other send-offs from io9 and Adventures of a Young Feminist.

Diablo Cody has done it again, folks.  The United States of Tara is complex, smart, progressive, and entertaining, and well worth your time.  The show is about a suburban family coping with the typical stresses of work, school, and relationships with a twist: Mom’s got four personalities.

Tara’s persona’s aren’t the most accurate representation of mental illness, although they do manage to use accurate terms: Dissociative Identity Disorder rather than Multiple Personality Disorder – something that Tara regularly has to correct others on.  Instead, her persona’s illustrate the various stereotyped roles women navigate – T, the wild, rebellious, and promiscuous teenager; Alice, the overly-sweet but passive-aggressive 50’s housewife; Buck, the grungy, rough and tough masculine side; and Tara herself who is trying to live a “normal” modern life with her husband and two children while coping with a buried childhood trauma that led to the development of these personas.  As Tara gets closer to that lost memory a fourth alter arises: Gimme, the animalistic child.

But the show isn’t just about Tara.  It’s about family.  Read the rest of this entry »

Law & Order: SVU has quickly become my newest obsession (I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Thank you Netflix Instant queue! – I should get paid for this), and I have been thrilled to learn that actress Mariska Hargitay is every bit as awesome as her character, Detective Olivia Benson, who could probably fill a 10 Reasons of her own.

1. She’s got her head on straight when it comes to body image:

“I’m a size 8, and I feel proud of that because it’s healthy.  I’ve never felt compelled to be a skinny actress.  I think I’m a very attractive person, but that’s not where I get my esteem.  A guy at ABC told me to change my name and get a nose job.  I said, ‘You get a nose job.’”

2. Although SVU is often challenging, it has inspired her.

“It’s opened my eyes to the plight of victims. And helped me find new ways to make a difference in the world. Without SVU, I would’ve never started the Joyful Heart Foundation.”

3. Yeah, about that Joyful Heart thing…

“I used to call myself the “accidental activist.”  No more.  I have fully engaged in this mission.  It is part of my path, one of the reasons I am here.”

4. She is proud of her character.

“I thought the character was extremely complex and would be a challenge for me as an actor. The second I read the script, I was drawn to Olivia’s strength, passion, humanity, and her desire for change. But what most intrigued me was her past and how she could use it to help others face theirs.”

Click here for 6 more reasons to love Mariska

Although I never expected to fall for Gaga, I must say that she has won me over somehow.  I’m not the only one who is somewhat mystified by just how she charms us, but the following quotes are a window into what pushed me over the edge.

1. She’s a strong individual, and she wants you to be, too.

“When I say to you, there is nobody like me, and there never was, that is a statement I want every woman to feel and make about themselves… I know my greatness is individual. And I want every woman to be able to say that.”

2. She knows who she is and is proud of it.

“There is never a moment that you see me that I’m not working towards something creatively. For me, it’s very simple: I’m not going to allow you to portray me in a way that is your idea of what you think I am. I know who I am and — praise the Lord! — I’m a real artist. Why is this a bad thing?”

3. She’s an outspoken ally of the LGBT community (who spoke at a Washington rally) and is open about her own sexuality as well.

“I don’t think being gay or being bisexual or being sexually free is anything that should be hidden. Everybody has a right to their secrecy, of course, but I don’t feel particularly shy about it. It is who I am.”

4. She’s known for her fashion choices, but she really knows how to accessorize.

“I think we must all remember that the ultimate accessory is the condom.”

6 more reasons to go gaga for Gaga after the jump

If you haven’t checked out Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls at the Party yet, you need to.  Amy interviews young women about their hobbies, talents, and dreams.  What is most refreshing about the interviews, in my opinion, is that Amy always introduces the girls as what they are, not what they “want to be” – a dancer, a writer, a musician, a gardener, and…  an 8 year-old feminist!

Rock on, Ruby.

It’s been awhile since 3rd Rock From the Sun went off the air, but now that reruns are airing on TVland, we can once again enjoy the antics of some of my favorite aliens; Dick, Sally, Harry and Tommy. 3rd Rock was always good for a laugh as the aliens observed human interactions from an outsiders perspective. In particular the romances between Dick and Dr. Mary Albright and Sally and Officer Don often played with gender stereotypes, as neither Mary nor Sally were willing to put up with any crap from their partners. Mary’s feisty attitude likely came from her extensive education and young adulthood during the second wave feminist movement. Sally, on the other hand, was never accustomed to gender differences as the aliens were asexual on their home planet.

When they first arrived on Earth, Sally was unhappy with her assignment into a female body while the rest of the aliens were male. She put in a request for a body-swap, but there was no word for years, and she not only adapted to her female form but grew to love it (a running gag on the show was that Sally was ashamed of her body, despite appearing like a supermodel to typical humans). However, three years later The Big Giant Head granted the request, resulting in shenanigans as she and Dick try to live in each others’ bodies until their request to switch back is answered.

Somewhat disappointingly Sally as Dick teaches his class about the formulas of shopping. Dick as Sally has a more difficult time adjusting: at 5:50 you can see how Dick’s brain copes with the harassment Sally’s body garnishes daily. If you want to watch the rest of the episode, you can catch part two here, and the great conclusion after the jump.

Click here for Sally and Dick’s reflections on their body swap

There are bound to be people in your life that don’t “get it.”  Maybe its your parents, your roommates, your coworkers, your instructors, your students, your friends.  They think you and you’re little “f-word” are oversensitive, irrelevant, irritating, or – worst of all – cute.

A lot of the time we learn to let these things roll off our backs, choosing our battles carefully and justifying the differences in generation, in upbringing, in lifestyle.  But once your feminist identity becomes more salient to you, it becomes harder to ignore insensitivity and insults, especially when they come from people close to you.

Just this week in seeking financial advice regarding a car, my thoughts and questions received the following responses from someone important in my life: my reluctance to switch to a different type of vehicle made me a “stubborn” “prima donna” “acting like the princess and the pea.”   When this person was looking for “simplicity,” I muddled things up with “feminine logic” – a “classic left brain/right brain thing.”

Feminist ideals are so much easier to discuss on the intellectual, theoretical level than in the day-to-day arenas.  So what do you do when a simple conversation with a loved one goes down the path of sexist insults?  Let bygones be bygones and so on and so on?  Stand up for yourself even when you know they’ll just think you’re even stupider for your arguments?

This is a cross-post from Laura at adventuresofayoungfeminist.com. Laura is a recent college graduate with a degree in Women’s and Gender Studies.  Right now she is working part-time and just trying to figure her life out.  In her spare time she gets too immersed in movies and television for her own good and blogs at Adventures of a Young Feminist.

If you are interested in cross-posting or guest-posting at feministhemes.com, please contact me with your ideas at misswizzle@feministhemes.com.

I know, Dollhouse isn’t a movie.  But I just got the first season on DVD and I wanted to write about the show, so I figured I could blur the lines this time, right?  And I wanted to get you, my readers, caught up on Dollhouse before I start my weekly analysis of the second season.

I try to explain the concept of the show Dollhouse and why I think it’s feminist (or can be feminist) to other people, and if they haven’t seen the show, they don’t usually get it.  Maybe it’s just my skills at explaining the show, or maybe it’s just a show that’s hard to grasp.  I think it’s a little bit of both, but I am going to try my best here.  I should note my bias first.  I love Joss Whedon and will probably always defend his creations.  Joss Whedon has defined himself as a feminist, and even though he says Dollhouse is not a feminist show, his values seep into all of his creations.

Dollhouse is about an organization called the Dollhouse that provides a very specific service to elite clientele.  The Dollhouse can provide anything that you need through Actives.  The Actives are people whose memories and personalities are erased and then the Actives can be imprinted with any personality and skills that are needed by the client.  The Active can become an assassin, a hostage negotiator, a spy, a midwife, or the perfect girlfriend or boyfriend.  After each engagement, the Active is wiped “clean” again.  The Actives wander around the Dollhouse (which is pretty much a glorified spy) when not on an engagement with the “innocence” of children without any memories.

The Actives have supposedly volunteered for a term of service with the Dollhouse.  But this becomes questionable.  The Dollhouse recruits people who don’t have much to lose by signing away five years of their life.  Echo, who the show centers around, played by Eliza Dushku, has a shady past that we learn pieces of throughout the season.  In the first episode, Caroline (who is Echo pre-Dollhouse) contemplates signing the contract with the Dollhouse and talks about how she doesn’t really have a choice.  We also learn during the first season that the Active Alpha signed up for a term of service in order to shorten his prison sentence.  So the people who “volunteer” aren’t really given that much of a choice as to whether or not they want to sign up.

Read the rest of this entry »

“I think the answers to a lot of issues come from self-esteem.  Young girls and women have to believe they are worth something more; they have to see opportunities for themselves beyond relationship or beyond what’s right there in front of them.”

- Michelle Obama

Michelle Obama is a Harvard educated lawyer who has emphasized work on social issues in nonprofit groups and government agencies throughout her career.  She is the wife of President Barack Obama, and is the first African-American First Lady of the United States.

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