Life Of A Salesman

Victor Grant, former truck driver and proud "Avon Lady," on his job schilling cosmetics: "They say that women are taking over men's jobs now, and it's equal opportunity here too." [News.au.com]

Teen Vogue: Be A "Gender Bender" With A Blazer & Cornrows

The November issue of Teen Vogue has the words "Pretty in Punk" on the cover, but the closest thing you'll find inside is a peculiar, joyless "Gender Benders" fashion spread. The concept? Mixing pretty dresses with structured jackets, "tomboy" shoes and playful purses. Sounds fun! Unfortunately, the results are, well, bizarre. Confusing, even. And it's hard to focus on the clothes, because they've given the pretty, blonde, Caucasian model cornrows. Gender bending? If you're channeling Latrell Sprewell, perhaps. Check out a few of the pictures from the shoot, after the jump. More »

Gender Bender: Agyness Deyn Mans Up For French Vogue

In the September issue of Paris Vogue, a "Rock Couture" photo shoot featuring Agyness Deyn — shot by David Sims — is all about "masculine" fashion. Agyness takes this opportunity to channel some famous men, and she does it rather well! I took a stab at guessing which dudes she was trying to impersonate; check out the images, as compared to the source material photographs I've linked to, after the jump. More »

Is Hollywood Lacking In "Manly" Men?

Are there any tough guys left in America? Over on Entertainment Weekly's PopWatch Blog, Mandi Bierly links to a piece in Variety written by Anne Thompson, in which Thompson asks, "Where have the manly movie stars gone?" She claims the Hollywood machine has churned out nothing but boy-men. Johnny Depp? "Fey." Brendan Fraser? "Goofy." Keanu Reeves and Tom Cruise? Just not macho enough! When a studio wants a real manly type, they turn to the UK, Australia or Europe: Christian Bale, Gerard Butler, Hugh Jackman, Ewan Mcregor, Javier Bardem, Jason Statham. [Eric Bana! -Ed.] More »

Gentlemen Are A Dying Breed. And Whither The Ladylike Ladies?

A story in today's Times Of London asks, "Are gentlemen a dying breed?" The author, William Drew, writes that when his grandfather died, people remembered him as a "true gent." "The act of being a gentleman transcends conventionality and surely goes some way beyond basic good manners," Drew claims. "My grandfather was not only impeccably polite, he was genuinely interested in others, whatever their place in society, and frequently made people feel quite special through his attention." What's interesting about the concept of a "gentleman" is that (in my opinion) when a girl is told to be ladylike, it means "shut up and look pretty." Whereas "acting like a gentleman" is a wonderful thing. But there is something to be said about being polite, about treating your fellow humans with respect. Is being a "gentleman" the only way? More »

Harriet The Spy: Iconoclastic, American Lezebel Icon

NPR's "Morning Edition" ran a segment this morning on what a groundbreaking work of young adult fiction Harriet the Spy was when it debuted in 1964. According to NPR correspondent Neva Grant, heroine Harriet M. Welsch was considered controversial because "Harriet saw too much, said too much. She even had to see a psychiatrist." Some schools banned the book, explains Grant, and some critics hated it, but readers, especially those who felt that they were outside the mainstream, appreciated that Harriet loved herself, disheveled hair and all. (You can get some more Harriet love in last Friday's Fine Lines column). Readers like Kathleen Horning, now a librarian in Wisconsin, liked the fact that Harriet was a tomboy who, unlike many 50s and 60s heroines, didn't have to go through a girlified redemption by the end of the book. In fact, as Grant reports, like Harriet, Horning was a "tomboy who didn't want to reform." Later on, Horning realized she was a lesbian. More »