• • Bibliothèque
  • Media Savvy
  • Sexuality

  Why I can’t ignore How to Raise a Boyfriend [Book Review]

  February 22, 2011 • Emma Woolley

  

  If there is a book that can be accurately judged by its cover, it is How to Raise a Boyfriend by Rebecca Eckler. It’s a “humour/non-fiction” book offering “sound” relationship advice based on the idea that men are just like children, desperately in need of raising by women. If not the cover or its premise, surely we can judge it by its marketing. (An earnest quote from this video: “You have to disguise the nagging.”)

  Not according to Eckler. When people starting talking about How to Raise a Boyfriend in overwhelmingly negative ways, she decided that everyone talking about her must be grumpy. I dropped some real talk. Eckler told me that I was wrong, that her book is funny, and that I had to read it. Okay, Eckler, I thought. Game on. (This is part of my explanation why you are reading about a blatantly sexist book on a feminist blog.)

  It took me two long weeks to read How to Raise a Boyfriend. This is because a) I was too embarrassed to read it in public (I see you subway lurkers, reading over my shoulder), and b) I couldn’t make it through a paragraph without scowling. (more inside…)

• • Body Politics
  • Sexuality

  Feminist Pinups: Can You Be A Sexy Role Model?

  February 16, 2011 • Desirée O

  

  Heidi Van Horne as “Rosie the Riveter” by Mehosh Dzadzio

  There are endless contradictions for women and girls to face when trying to understand and explore their identities, and a contradiction that has always fascinated/frustrated me is the one that exists between feminism and sexiness.

  We’re seemingly free as feminists to embrace our sexuality, but when it comes to being “sexy” there’s a very blurry line that is impossible to define.

  The concept of “sexy” itself is full of personal opinion, cultural influence, and a million debatable factors. One person’s idea of sexy could be another person’s idea of tame sensuality and yet another person’s idea of pornographic smut.

  Go beyond this to try to pin down what is “acceptable” sexiness (how it is portrayed and/or used), and the debate is never ending.

  This is what leads me to pinups. As an example of this acceptable sexiness debate, it exemplifies the differing opinions. Some feel that pinups are women who are empowered and owning their beauty and sexuality. While others believe that pinups are stereotypical representations playing into harmful beauty standards.

  I recently stumbled across an article where Heidi Van Horne identifies as a feminist pinup. “It may sound like a contradiction in terms, but I’m a pin-up and a feminist. I’m very specific about the way I portray women. I’ve turned down major projects that just didn’t sit well with me.”

  We’ve previously had a discussion on the Shameless blog that addressed an ad that used a pinup-esque style. That post (as well as the comments) addressed not only the pinup aspect, but also the fact that it was being used for advertising (and advertising razors to shave your legs which reinforces another beauty standard). But what if we removed the advertising and shaving points from the debate? What if we were just talking about the pinup?

  What do you think? Can pinups be feminist?

  If not, why? And what would it take to make them feminist (if that’s possible)?

  If pinups can be feminist, then what defines a feminist pinup?

• • Race and Racism
  • Sexuality

  Change Needs to Happen for Métis Youth

  December 15, 2010 • Erin Konsmo

  This is the third and final part of an introductory series of posts. Parts one and two can be found here and here.
  
  What makes us different as Métis youth? What makes me different, and why do I continue to fiercely voice this opinion?

  There are specific vulnerabilities to Métis that increases the chances of us being affected by HIV, and I am sick of the racism that is felt by being placed in this colonial grouping of all Indigenous people. I’m not the same. I grew up eating doughgots, not bannock; I grew up with beading/arts/crafts as my medicine, not learning off the medicine wheel (I don’t want you to relate everything to the medicine wheel, because that means nothing to me!); my grandparents spoke Michif (a language specific to Métis), not Cree or Anishnaabe; I say thank you by saying “Marsé eki” not “meegwitch,” I grew up trying to feel out two drastic different sides of identity (my soft Métis mother and my white, loving, conservative father). Yes, it’s true my grandmother also felt the effects of residential school, and yes, I feel the effects of colonization and blood memory, but they are not the same experience as every other Aboriginal youth. They’re specific to me, a Métis.

  (more inside…)

• • Race and Racism
  • Sexuality

  Voices of Truth - Métis and HIV

  December 14, 2010 • Erin Konsmo

  This is part two of an introductory series of posts. Part one can be found here.
  
  My voice has a lot to do with where I come from, and the Métis people who have taught and guided me within the Aboriginal HIV/AIDS movement. I am currently part of a project called “Voices from the Fire: Vision in Truth.” This project seeks to develop a community-based perspective of HIV/AIDS to inform education, prevention and/or support strategies and ultimately reduce the incidence of HIV/AIDS in Aboriginal communities in central Alberta.

  Being from Alberta, we have one of the highest populations of Métis at over 66,000 out of 3.7 million. Working within the Aboriginal HIV movement, I continue to see Métis people affected by HIV and forgotten because of the discrimination in pan-Aboriginal approaches. It pisses me off when I see how it has affected Métis elders, and still have a provincial health provider tell me that they are “culturally competent.” It pisses me off when I hear fellow Métis youth tell me that condoms are not available on their campuses, or that they aren’t even allowed to talk about gender identity. It pisses me off when I talk to the family of four that are all living with HIV. The father has First Nations status, the wife is Métis, and their two children are First Nations. However, the husband has to share his Ensure with his wife because it isn’t covered for her, because she is Métis. I have reason to be concerned as a Métis youth, that the impact of HIV/AIDS is far more than we currently understand. I have reason to believe this because we are lumped into the ethnic statistic of being Aboriginal.

  (more inside…)

• • Race and Racism
  • Sexuality

  Aboriginal Youth and HIV in Our Communities

  December 13, 2010 • Erin Konsmo

  My background as a Métis youth is increasingly important to me, and one of the issues I find myself extremely passionate about is sexual and reproductive health. In response to that passion and my involvement with the Aboriginal HIV/AIDS movement, I am providing a three-part piece on this issue in the form of a call-out.
  
  As a Métis youth representative on the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network, I take my role seriously in making sure a Métis voice is present in all discussions. Recently, this voice has become disgruntled over how HIV/AIDS is affecting Métis communities. This is a response to that discomfort and a call-out on what must be changed.

  My call-out is to the Aboriginal HIV/AIDS Movement, and more appropriately the discriminatory colonial local, provincial and federal health services of Canada. Dedicated to all the Métis youth out there, my Métis grandma Marie, and to an HIV elder (xx-name I will not share out of respect for not confusing your spirit) who left to be in the spirit world this summer (thank you for everything you were able to teach me, and continue to show me in this movement).

  (more inside…)

• • Activist Report
  • Sexuality

  On the “I like it” Facebook meme and breast cancer awareness

  October 6, 2010 • Emma Woolley

  A few weeks ago a message was forwarded to me on Facebook. It encouraged me to update my status with where I like to set my purse. The result would be “I like it on my kitchen table” or “I like it on the dresser.” Suggestive. But why would I do it? To put dirty thoughts into the heads of all my Facebook friends? Duh, to raise breast cancer awareness! Of course!

  Straight up, this meme sucks. It’s bullshit and impractical because one’s purse and where one likes it have nothing to do with breast cancer. Equally problematic is the fact that suggestiveness and sexuality are being equated with breast cancer awareness (which is, uh, never mentioned) rather than some kind of pro-sex movement. If we’re going to be pro-sex, I’d prefer it be appropriate. As Allison Martell pointedly wrote on Twitter: “If we want to be pro-sex, why not actually post where we like to have sex? Why is coy sexier?”

  To that point, an anonymous commenter on my original post claimed I was discouraging female sexuality by opposing this meme, when I just think it’s too unrelated and ineffective. You may also remember last year’s meme for the same cause about posting one’s bra colour, which, the more I thought about it, became less offensive because it actually concerned breasts.

  I mean, I get it – it’s a fun game that we girls can all get in on to fool our clueless man friends, get people to ask questions, et cetera. I think this approach is poor, and again, too far removed from the cause it claims to support. As Shannon Whibbs wrote on Facebook: “I’m all for being united, but why does it have to invoke images of people fucking all over their houses?”

  It doesn’t make any sense to me, and for more reasons than the meme not being conspicuously related to breast cancer awareness:

  1. I think it’s safe to say that most people know about breast cancer. In the past few years the disease has received an incredible amount of research and fundraising. In fact, Run for the Cure 2010 just raised a record-breaking $33 million.

  I say this not to diminish the importance of breast cancer education and awareness, but to highlight the fact that breast cancer research and funding has increased dramatically. This “I like it” business doesn’t give enough information to change much of anything, especially regarding breast exams. And so I think memes like this are incredibly ineffective on the awareness side and that our focus should instead be on practical ways to battle and screen for the disease.

  2. If you want to help, and, you know, actually make a difference, donate to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation or another breast-cancer specific charity. Encourage your friends to do the same. Examine your breasts (you’re never too young to get it) and encourage other girls to examine theirs.

  3. This meme perpetuates various female stereotypes and assumes that all women embody a certain kind of “femininity,” if at all. (Speaking of breast cancer awareness and super-pink femininity, I actually participated in Run for the Cure this year as part of a somewhat controversial team [Booty Camp Fitness], donning its pink camo, which is totally not my style. But that’s a blog post for another day.) For example: what if you’re not the kind of girl who carries a purse? Would you substitute the status update with where you like your wallet? “I like it in my pocket” doesn’t really work the way the creators want it to, does it?

  What do you think? Do you like the “I like it” meme and if so, why?

• • Media Savvy
  • News Flash
  • Sexuality

  In defence of the Bic “legs that beckon” razor ad

  September 21, 2010 • Emma Woolley

  

  (From Sager's petition page)

  I received a blog tip last week from Jenni Sager, who encouraged Shameless to shed some light on the Bic razor ad that was running in many Canadian cities. In the ad, a leggy 50s-pinup-style woman is bending over and shooting us a confident smile with the overarching slogan: “For legs that beckon.”

  Sager, upset by what she viewed as the objectification of women, launched a petition called “Women Aren’t Objects,” writing:

  When I saw these advertisements for Bic’s razors on the subway I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was shocked that no one seemed to be quite as shocked as me.

  Though I’m sure Torontonians have grown a thick skin to media bombardment, I doubt I am alone in finding this poster distasteful, offensive, and a push in the wrong direction for women’s equality.

  In Toronto, many of the ads were vandalized. According to the Toronto Sun, messages like “Aren’t we past this?” and “‘50s values” were scrawled across them.

  Some people went as far as to paste homemade stickers on the ads, including one that read, “Retro-sexism,” and another that said, “Hey Ladies! Don’t kid yourselves. Your gams are for glaring at[…]NOT for kicking ass, standing tall or marching. Like a slab of meat or a tasty cake treat, you are an object to be consumed and don’t assume otherwise. If you are wise you will do everything you can to look pretty because that’s all that matters.

  Sager’s petition says that the “old style of less feminist times is trendy” (Mad Men, anyone?), which promotes the idea that “women are sexual objects who who dress up in heels, makeup and sexually provocative clothing when they go out and do their job - grocery shopping.”

  Before Sager even had the chance to send her petition, Bic pulled the ad, stating that the company had received numerous complaints and never meant to offend. She even received an email apology from Bic on Sept. 16.

  Here’s the thing: I like this ad and I don’t think it needed to be pulled. I think that examining it requires us to view it in a context beyond second-wave-style interpretations. I don’t consider the referencing of less feminist times offensive, mostly because I believe it was done for aesthetic reasons (who doesn’t like pinup cartoons?!). Furthermore, this isn’t the 50s, I have a job (and it isn’t grocery shopping, though sometimes I wish I got paid for doing it), and looking at this ad makes me feel powerful because I know that my legs can be attractive and kick ass.

  It’s important to note that the woman in this ad is not necessarily misrepresenting women. Many choose to wear heels, makeup, and provocative clothing, and are very happy about it. Some women enjoy bending over and giving a little show at the grocery store. (Personally, I enjoy being ogled from time to time. As I walked the streets of Victoria, B.C. in a fairly short dress this summer, a girl told me: “I like your legs. They’re very womanly.” I beamed.)

  I like this ad I because I see it as a playful and sexy throwback that successfully reaches its target market: women who shave their legs because they consider it attractive. While many women rock hairy legs like Mo’Nique, others prefer to keep their gams smooth. To shave or not to shave is a decision made with very personal reasons. For me, it’s just my preference. My skin feels great afterward (aside from the annoying, few-days-later stubble).

  I realize that there are women who shave because they feel pressured to or because their partners prefer it, and these reasons are unfortunate. But many women shave because it’s their idea of what looks good, and I don’t see anything wrong with that.

  Obviously, this ad is about more than leg shaving. It’s using sexuality and prevailing beauty standards of Western society to sell a razor, which encourages both. I understand the arguments made by Sager and others, but I believe that women can be sexy and appealing to others without being objectified, and that considering choice and context is essential.

  What do you think? Should the Bic ad have been pulled? Is throwing back to “less feminist times” regressive and harmful to women’s equality? Can sexuality and attractiveness be used in advertisements and media without objectifying or misrepresenting women?

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