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Lady Gaga fascinates me.  She makes me think.  I often find myself wanting to defend her, to whom I’m not sure.  I think she puts me on edge, makes me wonder why she does what she does, and I always come up with a self-satisfying answer.  Take her fashion statements for example.  They’re often… weird, to say the least.  They are revealing, bizarre, and often unattractive or even kind of hideous.  She does not dress like we typically expect our pop star/sex icons to dress.  And in an avant-garde, art club/theater kid misfit kind of way, that’s cool.  But I think it’s more than an angsty rebellion.  Lady Gaga’s fashion choices often make statements about how our society dictates female beauty.

Lady Gaga is thin, white, blonde, hairless…  She’s got the body of the pop star/sex icons of the last decade (Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, P!NK, Fergie, Mandy Moore, Jessica Simpson, Gwen Stefani… you know the mold), so she’s not scoring major points by presenting us with a new body type.  But what she does with that body is unusual.

Exhibit A: Body Shape

Despite having that “perfect” bod, Lady Gaga frequently distorts the way we see her body, using sharp angles, increasingly large shoulderpads, and poufs or wings to accentuate her hips.  Each of these things in moderation have been considered attractive/fashionable at one point or another, but the extremes to which she takes them have a distracting effect, creating a mismatched, unnatural body shape.

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I have fallen in love with Lady Gaga over the past month, and this post from Jukebox Heroines on the feminist themes in her music was too awesome not to share.  If you are interested in cross-posting or guest-posting at feministhemes.com, please contact me with your ideas at misswizzle@feministhemes.com.

Lady Gaga – The Fame (2008) on (Streamline/Konlive/Cherrytree/Interscope)

Part 1:

Oh snap. Yes, I just said it. Lady Gaga’s music is feminist. Why do I say such things? Because I can back it up. And because I love her music, videos, and persona. She is the reason I have actually started to listen to pop music again. So, let me tell you about feminist music….

Why do I say that her music is feminist? Whether or not she herself claims to be a feminist, her work criticizes gender, sexuality, the body, pop culture’s representations of women, and the nature of power. This in itself is a feminist act. Now, feminism, I guess we must define in some form, considering most representations of it are: man hater, bra burner, lesbian, ugly, want power over men, bitchy, hate children…..not true. Feminism is the political and social movement for women’s social, political, and economic equality. In that social part lies music, and Lady Gaga knows exactly what she is up against in the music industry. Feminist Music therefore, can be made by anyone, male/female/trans, as long as it fulfills the goals of fighting for equality and justice based on gender.

How does she present feminist ideas? I will give you a few examples. Read the rest of this entry »

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

“Domestic violence is a big secret. No kid goes around and lets people know their parents fight.
Teenage girls can’t tell their parents that their boyfriend beat them up.You don’t dare let your neighbor know that you fight. It’s one of the things we [women] will hide, because it’s embarrassing.”

- Rihanna

Rihanna’s experience with domestic violence played out on the public stage in the past year as her relationship with Chris Brown shook the pop and r&b worlds.  She speaks publicly for the first time about the relationship and fallout here.

Diablo Cody is like a Rorschach test for feminists.  Some women love her for being brilliant, courageous, subversive, and vocal; some women hate her for being trendy, scandalous, irritating, and loud.  Make of her what you will, I have a special place in my heart for any woman willing to rock animal prints as frequently as Ms. Cody does.

1. She uses the F-word fearlessly.

“My feminist hat is permanently welded to my head—I definitely can’t take it off! It’s so important for me to write things from the female perspective and in service of women and in the right roles for women. That’s usually what I’m thinking going into it. Obviously, the story goes first. But then my next priority is how am I going to sneak my subversive feminist message into this?”

2. She has priorities.

“I want to write roles that service women. I want to tell stories from a female perspective. I want to create good parts for actresses where they’re not just accessories to men…”

3. She calls ‘em like she sees ‘em.

“The attitude toward women in this industry is nauseating. There are all sorts of porcine executives who are uncomfortable with a woman doing anything subversive. They want the movie about the beautiful girl who trips and falls, the adorable klutz.”

Click here for 6 more reasons to love Diablo

She may be a fictitious character, but Donna Pinciotti is one bad dudette.  Whenever the guys are running their mouths, Donna is there to set them straight, and I like to think that her intelligence, outspoken attitude, and empowerment make up for their regular idiocy.  Just this week I saw the episode “Baby Fever,” which features some fantastic Donna moments.

In the episode, Kitty asks Laurie to watch an infant she is babysitting for a friend while she and Red visit the Pinciottis next door for fondue.  Laurie is inept at changing the baby’s diaper, and Donna steps in.  Eric is impressed with her maternal instincts and makes a bigger deal of her diaper-changing abilities than he did when she was published in the school paper.  Donna calls him out on this, but he doesn’t get it, telling her that it gave him warm fuzzies to think of what a great stay-at-home mom she was going to make someday.  Donna has other ideas.

In the end, Donna decides it’s too early to be having this fight with Eric, and they kiss and make up.  However, the fact that Donna thought about the issue, thought about her future, and shared her concerns with her friends (albeit in “the circle,” if you know what I mean) sends a pretty positive message to the teen and young adult audience the show is targeted to.  As reruns continue to air on The CW and TeenNick (formerly The “N”), I take pleasure in the idea that younger generations of women continue to be exposed to feminist role-models like Donna on TV.

Who are some of your other favorite TV feminists?

I realize I’ve posted about both shows before and I realize they’re both 20 years old, but I’ve noticed throughout my Doogie Howser, M.D. marathon-ing that the show bears many resemblances to Quantum Leap. Both premiered in the same year and concluded just short of 100 episodes (97 for Doogie, 96 for Quantum). Both feature geniuses with medical degrees who can speak multiple languages and are popular with the ladies. And both geniuses have a womanizing, wise-cracking Italian best friend. More importantly, however, both shows often featured “message episodes” with stories that seemed straight out of the After-School Special arsenal.

I find it fascinating to watch these older pro-social shows because it’s interesting to consider how those issues would be dealt with today. Sometimes there’s no doubt things would have been handled differently (the body image episode I wrote about before likely would have included health messages, for example), but I’m surprised by how not dated some of the stories seem. “Running for Honor,” an episode of Quantum Leap that dealt with homophobia featured discussions about “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” that sound incredibly similar to the Colbert Report’s recent segment about the issue, and that’s with at least 15 years in between.

One issue that’s confronted in both shows is date rape. And only 1 week apart on October 23 and October 30, 1991. Those two episodes:

Doogie Howser, M.D.: “The Cheese Stands Alone” (October 23, 1991)

Vinnie finds out his girlfriend Janine isn’t a virgin, and convinced she’s not sexually attracted to him, he’s tempted by a classmate’s advances.

Quantum Leap: “Raped”

Sam leaps into a rape victim and has to make sure the perpetrator gets what he deserves.

Both episodes stuck out to me because you don’t see date dape talked about on television much. Well, occasionally on Law & Order: SVU, maybe, but the mere presence of date rape is, at this point rather benign to the world of TV. It’s no longer controversial. But back in 1991?

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The Beatles are very dear to my heart.  I know, everyone says that, but I really, really mean it.

My infatuation began in middle school, with sleepover parties spent watching Help! and Yellow Submarine, then was followed by a George Harrison inspired experimental phase with Hinduism in high school.  In college, I took a three credit humanities course on the music and impact of The Beatles, and for my 21st birthday I attended a Beatles tribute concert.  The recent release of the remastered catalog, as well Beatles edition Trivial Pursuit and Rock Band have caused me pain on a very personal level, as my graduate student budget can’t feed my addiction at this point.

However, between gifts and the bargain section at Borders, I have accumulated a respectable Beatles library of (hardcover) books about the Beatles, by those who actually knew them or are respected Beatles scholars (yeah, those exist).  Two of the most interesting books that I’ve read on the subject each came from very personal perspectives, and when taken together form an interesting picture of the men behind the band.  These books are the memoirs of Beatles wives Cynthia Lennon and Pattie Boyd.

Both stories start out full of romance and excitement. In Cynthia’s case, she had already met and started dating John before the Beatles had left Liverpool. Although John’s temper revealed itself early in their relationship, Cynthia’s love for him (as well as their unplanned pregnancy with son Jullian) led to an early marriage. She writes about their “secret marriage,” which was kept under wraps to increase the popularity of the band (four bachelors was more “marketable”), as well as being surrounded by John’s adoring fans, who unsurprisingly were less adoring of Cynthia.  Despite the crazed fans, Cynthia and Julian lived happily together enjoying the good life while John toured and wrote them beautiful letters from the road.

Pattie didn’t meet George until the Beatles had gained more notoriety, but with a history of modeling, she was more familiar with the limelight already.  Pattie was an extra in the Beatles’ first film, A Hard Days Night, and she and George fell in love at first sight.  In fact, one of the first things George said to her was “Will you marry me?”  Pattie laughed, and George asked “Well if you won’t marry me, will you have dinner with me?”  They soon were married, and, as a token of George’s love, Ms. Boyd is blessed enough to be the muse of the most covered song of all time, “Something.”  Pattie writes fondly of touring with the band, of fancy parties, and of the Beatles’ infamous journey to India to study under the Maharishi.

For many women (and some men) across generations, the idea of being married to a Beatle sounds like an absolute dream.  However, the honeymoon can’t last forever, and it didn’t for either woman.

The honeymoon’s over after the jump…

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 »

Your typical ladies mag probably has some gorgeous model on the cover whose spent about seven hours in makeup prior to her photoshoot.  It probably has headlines about how to lose weight, have better sex, and make your man happy.  It’s lined with ads for make up, weight loss products, and designer clothes and jewelry that’d cost you a full paycheck (not to mention that you’d never have anyplace to wear them).  There’s an interview with some Hollywood starlet who’s promoting her latest show or film, and trying to iron out some trashy rumors.  If you’re lucky, there’s a gossip column outlining everyone else’s dirt, too.

Not the kind of magazine you want on your coffee table, but not sure there are other options?  Rest assured, and pick up a copy of BUST: a magazine “for women with something to get off their chests.”  According to editor-in-chief Debbie Stoller:

I’ve always believed that pop culture is far more than just a matter of keeping us entertained on the couch.  Not merely reflective, pop culture acts to shape our ideas of our society and, in particular, women’s place in it.

I picked up my first issue of BUST in June, and read it cover to cover – not something I can often say about magazines.  The issue contained interviews with Kathy Griffin, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, screenwriter Vendela Vida (of Away We Go) and the women of the Gulabi Gang (an Indian domestic violence vigilante women’s group).  There were recipes, DIY instructions for pinatas, tongue-in-cheek articles about the obsession with women’s bodies, and a thoughtful discussion of labiaplasty.

Issue #2 included interviews with Diablo Cody and Regina Spektor, craft and recipe instructions, a fall preview of music, movies, television and books, and a killer crossword (which went much better for me than the June/July puzzle).  In short, the magazine delivered.  Again.

BUST has everything you could hope for, from book, music and movie reviews to feminist friendly fashion designers to DIY instructions for everything from lunchboxes to shower curtains to kombucha.  The magazine regularly features interviews with empowered women from a variety of fields, ranging from pop to politics.  The “Boy Du Jour” column highlights interesting men in the media, and male artists are often included in the reviews (another reminder that feminists aren’t “man-haters”).

You can bet I filled out that little cardboard subscription card ASAP and dropped in my mailbox.  In fact, I did that after binging on Issue #1.  Issue #2 looked so good, I couldn’t risk my subscription not starting in time so I picked it up at the store, too!  If you’re looking for something a little less insulting and a little more empowering than Glamour, Cosmo, or Elle, I highly recommend BUST magazine.  You won’t be able to put it down.

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