Jezebel
domestic disturbances
Posts Tagged “
gender roles
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domestic disturbances
gender benders
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 »
clips
It's Never Ladylike When Little Girls Loogie
The Today Show's Meredith Vieira hosted a segment this morning about breaking children of their "gross" and "disgusting" habits — farting, burping, belching, nose-picking, scab-scratching (have you had your breakfast yet?) — and we learned that one way to cure kids from nose picking is to dip their fingers in lemon juice. (Also: teenagers who fart on purpose should their laptops taken away from them for a week!) Honestly, the entire segment, featuring clinical psychologist Ruth Peters, was hilarious, but we were most intrigued by Peters' assertion that there's an epidemic of preschool girls who are spitting in public because they simply need attention. Clip above.
Is Your Kid A Nose Picker? Cure Bad Habits [The Today Show]
An accurate but ultimately anemic article picked up by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune yesterday asserts that women are still prone to apologize for things they have no reason to feel "sorry" about, like asking for help, advice, respect or the salaries they deserve. "Traditionally, women didn't have the power — the economic, the social, the political," author Judith Selee McClure is quoted as saying. "We learn our language from the generation behind us...so being feminine gets tied up with being powerless." If we truly learn from the generation behind us, does being a young woman still mean always having to say you're sorry? And if so, how many times have we all apologized unnecessarily today? [Minneapolis Star-Tribune]
domestic disturbances
Little Boys Cook Up Controversy
William Baston is a 6-year-old boy whose favorite toy is his play kitchen, according to an AP story on CNN's website today. When his mother, Mary, bought him a kitchen set before he could walk, his father, Alan, "rolled his eyes". "I said, 'What are you thinking? Look at all the male chefs,'" Mary explains. Alan, who enjoys cooking, came around quickly when he saw how much fun his son had with the kitchen. So yeah, more men cook and do housework than ever, and according to Robert J. Thompson, director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University, TV shows like Iron Chef, Emeril Live and The Restaurant have "defeminized the kitchen." You mean little boys won't turn into girls if they pretend to fry an egg? Phew! More »
oldies (but not so) goodies
Vintage Ads: Women Can't Drive, And Other Misogynistic Messages
Today's Daily Mail runs excerpts from a new book, You Mean A Woman Can Open It?: The Woman's Place In The Classic Age Of Advertising which features those oldies but goodies we're oh-so fond of. It's hard to imagine a world in which advertisers actually got away with this stuff: A car ad with a ditzy-looking broad claims an automobile is "for simple driving"; a coffee ad features a wife about to be spanked by her husband for "taking chances on getting flat, stale coffee." And, most disturbing of all, a postage meter ad from 1953 has the headline "Is it always illegal to KILL a woman?" (The copy reads "Husband furious because you've missed the post? The Pitney-Bowes Postage Meter prints the stamp and seals the envelope all in one go.") (These ads may seem outrageous, but have you seen the billboard a concrete company ran recently?) More »
happy homemakers
Jesus Loves You, Wants You Barefoot In The Kitchen
"Womanly arts" like cooking, sewing, knitting, playing hostess and shit are fun to engage in, now that we aren't limited to them and them alone. But unfortunately, some still believe that we are. This fall, the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Texas added a "homemaking" concentration to its curriculum, reports the LA Times, which is all well and good, as those skills can totally be useful in everyday post-collegiate life. However, the classes are open only to women.The academic program includes lectures on laundering stubborn stains and a lab in baking chocolate-chip cookies. [It] will allow women to get credit toward bachelor's degrees by learning how to set tables, sew buttons and sustain lively dinnertime conversation.More »
broadsides
Heidi Fleiss Puts Hillary Clinton In Her Little Black Book
- Former Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss and born-again goth writer Anne Rice are coming out to support Hillary Clinton for President. Heidi, who was turned away from a recent Clinton rally, says, "Any woman who's smart, how can you not be [a fan of Hillary]?" Something tells us that Rice, who has traded in writing vampire fiction for some Born Again crap, is not getting into any Hillary fundraisers either. [Las Vegas Review Journal]
- The immigration activist who sought refuge in a Chicago Church in order to remain with her son in the United States was arrested and deported back to Mexico this weekend. Apparently, family values don't apply to brown people. [NY Times]
- A British woman has claimed the record for oldest woman to give birth, at the age of 59. Funny thing is, she waited ten years to mention it. [Guardian]
