a modern day woman with a weak constitution

So, the opening scene sold me on the latest pro-choice Barbie movie.

Town Bloody Hall (1979) | dir. Chris Hegedus, D. A. Pennebaker.

I really, really need more women and girls to make punk/punk adjacent feminist music like the Bleeders or S.C.U.M.

I need to see "SCUM Punk"/"Gash Rock" spread as the new dominant political/feminist movement in alt scenes (I think S.C.U.M. are using Gash Rock like the Bleeders instead of SCUM Punk now, but I still figured I should inlude it for those unaware, I know it was SCUM Punk in the zine, but obv it's not possible to retroactively edit a zine). I'm tired of liberal-ass Riot Grrrl music that's just like "I somehow "reclaimed" the status-quo and now I love it!!! I'm mainly going to yell about other women and personal occurances!! I will materially change nothing and only defend things I like without questioning why I even like them!!! Yay western hyper-individualism!!!!" etc. All while claiming to be radicals and leftists. Alt scenes are so filled to the brim with misogyny, and Riot Grrrl does genuinely nothing to challenge that.

It is so frustrating to listen back to a lot of my past Riot Grrrl favs sometimes now, but I do think that they were right about fighting for their beliefs with loud and angry music. It is such a solid avenue to build a movement out of. There's no better way to get people interested than artistic expression that they think is cool.

So, just like the Riot Grrrls of yesterday and the Gash Rockers of today, grab instruments and start yelling. Make a band. It doesn't have to be all women/girls to start. You don't need to know how to play when it comes to punk or music like it, you just need to be angry and have the ability to google basic chords or beats. Start yelling. Start screaming. Make it so that they can't ignore the voices of women and girls suffering in this patriarchal hellscape system anymore. There's already a couple bands literally doing it, so now is the TIME for you too!!

Fleabag, a Feminist Icon

I love the show fleabag with all my heart, it is an amazing piece of television which makes me feel so many emotions. I spent a lot of time pondering how this piece of art is involved/impacts/advocates for feminism and want to share my thoughts.

⁍ The use of breaking the fourth wall was a very poignant technique. It served as a commentary on the agency and autonomy of the female voice. Fleabag's direct engagement with the audience, while offering a deeper insight on the characters feelings thought and emotions, challenges the typical passive role female characters are given within story telling as she is an obviously active participant in HER narrative. ⁍ The show tackles often taboo subjects such as sex, a topic women have been shamed for talking about or indulging in for decades. Fleabag's unapologetic approach of her own desires and refusal to succumb to societal norms go against the stereotypical representation of women in television. Her sexual autonomy is a crucial aspect of her character and is never demoralised or shamed for her choices and instead encouraged to navigate her journey through validation and empowerment. ⁍ Fleabag also delves into the intricacies of female relationships. It views them of less of "gossipy" and more of a strong powerful sisterhood which is unlike what is usually presented in television. The shows central focus is on Fleabags relationship with her sister, not a man. It beautifully acknowledges the ups and downs of woman and sisterhood and shows that women are deeper than what is at face value. ⁍ It offers a critical examination of societal expectations placed upon women by showing the brutality of the guilt, grief, and self-worth issues Fleabag has to deal with which many other women can relate to. The show dismantles the typical perfect, put-together woman ,whom we are far to familiar with through all sorts of media, and instead presents a protagonist who is flawed, messy and REAL. It is a refreshing departure of the one dimensional female characters we are typically forced to indulge in. ⁍ The character of Fleabag challenges traditional gender roles and expectations by rejecting the idea that her worth is defined by her relationships with men or how well she adheres to social norms. The show is about HER journey of SELF-discovery and SELF-empowerment. This enforces the fact that a woman's narrative does need to revolve around conforming to societal expectations.

The show is a ground-breaking representation of feminism in contemporary media. Through its innovative narrative, unapologetic exploration of female sexuality, and nuanced portrayal of female relationships, the show defies stereotypes and provides a platform for authentic, multifaceted female characters. I highly recommend anyone to watch the show as it was a breath of fresh air.

I fucking love Helter Skelter, so i decided to make a review (kind of?) of the manga because why not.

Helter Skelter is a 90s manga that was written and illustraded by the feminist mangaka Kyoko Okazaki. It is a psychological horror story and it centers around Lilico, a famous japanese model who undergos multiple plastic surgeries to ''perfect'' her body. She slowly starts losing her mind because her body starts getting worse and worse after every surgery. Lilico looks for every product, every medication and possible surgery to mantain her beauty, because that is what makes her ''valuable''.

What i personally love about this manga is that its characters arent made to be likable, but they still can capture what it is like to be a woman or an AFAB person too. How Lilico is taught that her only value is in her physical attractiviness, in her looking young and sexy, shes not alowed to just be. It also really gets me on how we are taught that we need to buy and buy and buy and consume and consume a wild variety of beauty products, we need to use all these products till we dont even look human, at all.

It is also quite awesome that even tho Helter Skelter is a 90s manga, it is still relevant nowadays and has many topics that are important to be looked at. Even with modern day feminism (or liberal feminism) which tell us that self care is consuming, self care is making us look appealing but you do all this FOR YOURSELF. also user @mclennonyaoi has a interesting post about this. so yeah, i definetely reccomend reading Helter Skelter, of course search about the trigger warnings first, but i think it is a very important read. ( that manga also reminds me of the song artificial by x-ray spex, which is a great band btw)

"Barbie is anti-men."

Funny how most people claiming the above are mostly men.

Actually it is not funny at all.

***SPOILERS AHEAD***

No, Barbie isn't anti-men. The world is anti-women. Every word of Gloria's monologue hit like a truth bomb. If you are of the same mind as these stupid comments, it is very obvious that you are completely missing the point of the movie and are obviously not ready to accept the reality. Barbieland. and the real world are polar opposites. If the lack of power for the Kens bothered you, understand that this is what women around you have been undergoing since forever. One more thing, Barbie also shows very clearly how strict Matriarchy can be equally damaging. The movie beautifully clarifies the meaning of Feminism- a world with EQUAL rights for EVERYONE.

That is not all the movie talks about. I will not go into the nitty-grytty of the story but Barbie's exploration of the real world, her interaction with the old lady (my personal top favourite), her thoughts on death and her breakdown have imprinted on my mind forever. The reflection of real world struggles we face were so well represented through the different phases. If by the end you don't go home with the message that it's time women should get their deserved place in the world, maybe re-watch the movie or better still educate yourself.

I can't stop thinking about the movie. Yes, it was very entertaining but at the same it cleverly laid out the very real problem with the world.

All that being said, the main point of this rant/review was to address the commented I listed at the very beginning.

There have been several feminism-forward movies, books, music, podcasts and various other forms of media. All of them have received the same "backlash" from the same kind of audience and it is high time they just...um...stfu.

Kay ✌️💯

I’m enraged about girlbosses again today (just like every day) and I just. If you truly do like that dynamic, a woman who is adored by a man and she basically mocks him for it and even her bad traits are actually awesome, then cool! I hope you find all the girlboss/malewife dynamics that your heart desires.

But I despise that otherwise good fictional hetero relationships get painted with this same reductive brush. That the woman is admirable no matter what, and that even the man’s love for her makes him ridiculous. That he’s lucky to be with her, and she’s the only thing making him worthwhile. I saw this about Sheila and Joel Hammond the other day and nearly blew a gasket. 

y’all this is the opposite of feminism. This is like taking feminism out back and running it over with the car. There’s no good interpretation of it. Either:

a) she actually IS perfect, because god knows women can’t be flawed in the same ugly messy ways that men are and be good characters so in truth everything she does is in fact Right; b) he really IS garbage but she keeps him around for ... why? What?; or c) he truly is in love with her and wants her, and she finds this utterly laughable (but don’t stop with the compliments!) because we all know that women are insecure sucking voids who need to be desired but are so self-loathing that any man who loves them must be dumb as shit, awww, poor ickle sexy babygirl

I just do not understand what the appeal is in taking pairings like Leia/Han and acting as if Han should kiss the ground Leia walks on while she routinely devalues him. Why are you allergic to partners in a partnership? Why does celebrating the woman mean denigrating the man? What kind of weak-ass mean-spirited women are you people wanting to see in media?? EXPLAIN IT TO ME PLEASE

First post of the year to Lesbian Rewind- Motorcrossed was a Disney Channel original that effortlessly integrated the basic feminist ideas of the early 00’s into a tween movie while adding a little something for the gays.

So I’ve been thinking a lot about the female gaze today. I was wondering if you lovely people could show me some good pics of things that you think represent the Female Gaze well. I’m especially interested in the portrayal of men, but anything will do.

hello tumblr! big ask here but you'll be interested if you feel passionately about gender equality and media representation!!!!

for a journalism-related project I'm working on, I'm taking an interest in how women (cis and trans) are portrayed in media (as in any media and not just news, so shows, books, films, gaming, etc.) and culture. and I wanted to pick your brains on all/any of these points:

what's the first example that comes to your mind when I say "sexism in popular culture"?

what are some aspects you think are important for a better, more accurate representation of women that aren't getting covered enough by news outlets?

what do you think are essential things that some journalists and media outlets aren't understanding or don't really know that are perpetuating/contributing to mis- or lack of representation in media and culture?

do you have an example of some pieces of media (including news) that are doing it right, and presenting an accurate, non-sexist/misogynistic reflection of women?

what's the first example that comes to your mind when I say "sexism in popular culture"?

I don't who this will reach but I'm mainly interested in hearing from people who self-identity as women (esp fellow bipocs from around the world please feel free to share your thoughts, the project I'm prepping looks at things globally) + any related resources you wanna share are welcome

this is just for my personal/informal research as I'm trying to expand the way I look at this whole issue and honestly I'm really super curious to see what people have to say. thank you so much to whoever takes the time!

I need an analysis of La piel que habito (The Skin I Live In) through a critical, feminist lense. Radfem, libfem, etc.

(I'm probably gonna end up posting my own.)

the tension of tv and film writing from years past that allowed itself to be naively closed to the politics of intersectional gender versus reevaluating that writing and seeing the reactionary fear and bringing it to the surface versus modern-day nostalgia tv that sort of knows and pays lip-service to queerness and feminism and race but is still reactionary and doesn’t understand why it isn’t as well-received as in years past when it was simply ignorant versus messy deliberate writing that’s trying to upend these structures (and has done for many years) and isn’t considered “pure” enough to be given the same slack as media that’s not even trying at all

It honestly blows my fucking gourd that we could have so much groundbreaking feminist cinema and it feels like no one is making it. Instead we get the Barbie movie. (Which I saw and enjoyed, but it wasn’t exactly earth-shattering. To me, at least.) I want more movies that give me the same feeling Fresh (2022) did but with less literal cutting up women’s bodies, please.

This is a screenshot of the Bitch Magazine website. Bitch Magazine closed up on June 2022. The day when I found out was a sad day for me and many others as Bitch Magazine marks a critical point in our journey towards becoming feminists.

No pins in sight to showcase demands for a ceasefire -words and actions to call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire. THIS is real solidarity and making a political statement. I have said this before but there are no ethical billionaires and that includes Beyonce and Taylor Swift

Also, the guy giving the ugly look in the middle... I suspect you're part of the problem.