If you are friends with me on Facebook, you will know that my header is a photo of Winona Ryder’s character, Veronica, from Heathers. Veronica was my anti-hero in high school. She stood up to the mean girl, the meanest of them all, Heather “Fuck me gently with a chainsaw” Chandler, by accidentally icing [...]
April 1, 2013
If you haven’t seen the mini-documentary “Dirty Girls” about a group of teenagers from the 90s who are bullied for being different, for “not taking showers,” shopping at thrift stores and writing riot grrrl ‘zines about sexual abuse and how women should be treated–you’re going to be truly surprised by their peers’ critical reaction. (“They’re [...]
March 1, 2013
I’ve been asking myself this question since I read this article last night in The Clutch. Kirsten West Savali writes that white feminists not only rushed to slam Seth McFarlane’s We Saw Your Boobs song, but forgot to–or worse, chose not to–come to the rescue of The Onion calling Quvenzhané Wallis a “cunt” in a live [...]
February 21, 2013
You know how you’re watching Cartoon Network with your son, it can be any show at all, and you’re thinking, Gawd, Cartoon Network, can you just try and make a show where girls kick some ass so not everything has to be testosterone and pizza-fueled, Star Wars-crazed and so utterly marketed to boys and only [...]
January 14, 2013
Oh the linguistics of rape. On Twitter Saturday night, Eve Vawter of Mommyish argued over whether or not it’s correct to call the Steubenville Jane Doe‘s rape “brutal”. But she had a dissenting view. Lee Stranahan who is described as a “former leftist activist” would like to make the point that not all rape is brutal [...]
December 19, 2012
Here’s what happened in Steubenville, Ohio on August 11 after a neighborhood party. An unconscious girl, a teenager, drunk out of her mind and completely blacked out, was raped repeatedly. Pictures were taken, then passed around, just as she was recklessly passed around that night. According to the New York Times, some folks in Steubenville [...]
December 10, 2012
1. My friend Marci sent me this post “I’ve Started Telling My Daughters That I’m Beautiful,” from the website Offbeat Families. She wanted to hear my thoughts. It’s a bold statement, especially once you’ve hit 40. Or 41. I tell my daughter she is beautiful. Do I tell her I’m beautiful? No, I don’t think [...]
November 5, 2012
As a child, there was no character I revered more than little orphan Annie. (Though Tatum O’Neal in The Bad News Bears tied Annie for my first place hero.) My grandmother took me to see Annie when I was eight and I quickly fell in love. What’s not to love? She sang like a champ. [...]
October 11, 2012
Today, Nick Kristof Tweeted this: “My column on the best weapon against extremism, educated girls.” Here is that column. It’s about Malala Yousafzai, the a 14-year-old Pakistani girl who was shot down by Pakistani Taliban because she stood up for educating girls. Writes Kristof: They shot Malala because girls’ education threatens everything that they stand [...]
September 17, 2012
Our house is open to our friends. That of course, includes my children’s friends. Up until about today, my daughter’s life has been devoid of much of the girl drama we’ve discussed here at Femamom. I’ve liked to imagine that is because we have been welcoming to our children’s friends. Of course, that’s a ridiculous corollary and [...]
"A thoughtful, provocative look at the not-so-pretty and the sometimes-out-there sides of parenthood."--Kristen Kemp, Baristakids.com
April 23, 2013
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