He gets hero worship, she gets laundry

Today on feministing, Jessica Valenti blogs that PlaySkool is still pushing their Rose Petal Cottage on American girls.

The pink, pastel wonder comes complete with a washer/dryer, oven, baby cradle and stuffed chair. Now there's nothing wrong with children wanting to play house or play with domestic toys. I had a tea set when I was little and I adored princess clothes and baby dolls. But sometimes my "baby" and I would be mother and daughter taking a safari through the backyard. Sometimes I'd be wearing a tiara while climbing trees and splashing in mud puddles.

I don't understand why we haven't advanced beyond this notion that kids today play a certain way based on what's between their legs.

The Rose Petal Cottage is a classic example -- it's just one female stereotype after another. A line from the sing-songie advertisement goes, "I love when my clothes get so clean, taking care of my home is a dream dream dream."

Now Playskool has put out the Sweet Lily Castle -- for $200 your daughter can be a princess complete with frog to kiss (cause every princess needs a prince). Just once I want the princess outfit to come with a throne and palm pilot to plan all your diplomatic meetings and charity events!



Again, I see nothing wrong with selling stuff like this. But when you step back (like way back) to look at the big picture. It starts to get frustrating.

Last night, I was watching TV and a ridiculous commercial came on. Sexy boyfriend and I were laughing hysterically at it, but I immediately noticed the language



It's not just that only boys are featured in the video, from the voice over, it's clear this is a boys-only toy.

"He’s steering the action"
"Everything your little hero needs" -- hero apparently meaning MALE
"His imagination is racing"

Keep in mind this is also a PlaySkool toy, the same folks that make Rose Petal Cottage and Sweet Lily Castle.

When toys mature, it's the same problem. Take a look at this image (I lifted it from Feministing who got it from Elle phd




Via Elle:

And while the "boy's" kit promises to boost your brain... the "girl's" kit promise to relax you and let you experiment with different fragrances. The boy's box is also covered with words like "go wild" and "erupt" and "blow your mind,"while the only thing that promises to be exciting about the girl's is the foaming and frothing of bubbles.

When you stop at feministing, check out even MORE examples of sexist packaging for young girls/boys products. And it starts at Playskool and just continues... actually, it probably starts the minute the doctor says, "It's a girl."

As soon as the "Helmet Heroes" commercial was done (and we were finished giggling at the dad "behind bars") I said to Sexy Boyfriend, "Why can't HER imagination be racing?"

He sort of snorted at me, "You WOULD notice that."

Yeah I would. And I'm kinda pissed that he doesn't. I get really sick of people brushing it off as 'no big deal' when we just went through an election that had some of the worst open displays of sexism and misogyny our country has seen in YEARS. Don't tell me that all these antiquated ideas about sex and gender and the so-called limitations thereof (what girls can't do etc) doesn't have REAL ramifications.

Luckily, I saw this video on CNN today about two high school girls who play football on their school team. Yes, they wear heels and like to shop but they are assets to the team and even wish they could tackle. That representation is much more truthful. Girls can still be girls (whatever that means) even while playing football in the mud, experimenting with chemistry and running for President!

This is why...

...photographs that cut women up into body parts aren't innocent, cute fun.

When you dehumanize a woman and reduce her to parts -- just the ass for example. That is exactly what she becomes -- a piece of ass. She becomes SEX itself, not a whole, human being, a person with a name, a personality, an athlete....


This female Olympian has been cut up and 'othered' so much that she is now the acceptable icon for "sex" itself.

The article is pretty much as disgusting as you can imagine

...there were the indigenous lovelies who came to watch the competitions. And then there were the female athletes - literally thousands of them - strutting, shimmying, sashaying and jogging around the village, clad in Lycra and exposing yard upon yard of shiny, toned, rippling and unimaginably exotic flesh. Women from all the countries of the world: muscular, virile, athletic and oozing oestrogen. I spent so much time in a state of lust that I could have passed out. Indeed, for all I knew I did pass out - in a place like that how was one to tell the difference between dreamland and reality?

and then there's this

...success does not work both ways. Gold-medal winning female athletes are not looked upon by male athletes with any more desire than those who flunked out in the first round. It is sometimes even considered a defect, as if there is something downright unfeminine about all that striving, fist pumping and incontinent sweating. Sport, in this respect, is a reflection of wider society, where male success is a universal desirable whereas female success is sexually ambiguous. I do not condone this phenomenon, merely note it.

I do not have the energy at this point in a Friday to talk about all the ways in which this article is tasteless, sexist and vile. I just want to get done with work and have a big f---ing drink.

CNN examines sexism in the Olympics

It's great to see mainstream media tackling this subject. I like to think they got the idea from feminist blogs -- many have written about sexism in the games this Olympic season.



I think it was wise not to focus the discussion on Michael Phelps as a "typical male" earner. He is an extreme case. He was America's star this year breaking records left and right, amazing story, 8 medals etc. But when you compare male/female Olympians with similar qualifications (good story, press coverage, similar medals won, records set etc) ... men STILL earn more. Much more. The pay disparity shocked the hell out of me. Nearly an 80 MILLION dollar difference between the top female and male athletes!


click to enlarge

You cannot tell me this is an accident.

The CNN discussion also touched on the longevity of medal winners. Of course the Olympics are about fulfilling dreams and showcasing athletic ability. But it's also a career move. Winning gold means getting Gold. Endorsements, jobs in sports commentary and speaking deals can make a career. Bruce Jenner, a former gold medal winner, can be seen on the reality show "Keeping up with the Kardashians" still doing speaking events for business in California. He was a hero in the 70s (athlete of the year, Wheaties Box etc) and he is STILL a hero to many today.

Women do not see that kind of long-term success. Hell, they don't even make the short-term success staples in sports-- take for example, a cover of Sports Illustrated.

From a fantastic article Sports Illustrated’s Cover Barrier: Who Will Break the Bikini Line?

So far in 2008, only one woman has made the SI cover: Swimsuit model Marisa Miller. What about 2007? Yup, just one woman again. Her name?: "Beyonce". 2006? Well, one winter Olympics issue had 6 athletes with three of them being women. In the year’s other multi-female issue there were 8 half-naked supermodels. So who was the last female athlete to grace an SI cover by herself? That would be softball player Jennie Finch in 2005.

And Finch was not photographed like her male peers-- in an action shot. She was wearing a miniskirt and the headline read, "SI Throws a Party: Jennie Finch Will be There."

One would have to go back nearly three full years, 10 bikinis, and one miniskirt before finding a female all by herself on the cover who was recognized for her athletic achievements (Danica Patrick in June 2005).

A photo of Sports Illustrated covers. Three whole years and these are the ONLY covers with women.



Is it any wonder we remember our male sports heroes longer than the women? Is it any wonder we don't take our female athletes as seriously or value them as much? When we acknowledge them, we tend to so for their beauty. We put them in a miniskirt and we tell them to "smile not sweat." We want it to be all about their woman-ness, not simply the fact that they're a kick ass athlete.

CNN briefly touched on the beauty double standard. It doesn't seem to matter if a male Olympian has classic good looks, but for women... well if she's gonna have to be in a bikini or miniskirt to grace a magazine cover, I'm betting it's still an issue.

This year plenty many great blogs have tackled the crazy differences in men's vs. women's Olympic uniforms (click that link for pics) and also the sexist coverage female medal winners receive but again this is indicative of the larger sexism that pervades against female athletes,

IN 1972, Title IX was passed mandating that public schools provide women equal opportunities to enjoy sports just like men had been doing since --- ever.

Still 36 years later, there is no equality.
--According to the Women’s Sports Foundation, U.S. men receive $133 million more in college athletic scholarships then women.
--Female pro tennis players make 37 cents for every dollar their male peers earn.
-- Only 16 percent of collegiate athletic directors are women
-- 8 percent of media coverage of sports focuses on women.
-- Some high schools schedule girls basketball games on weekday afternoons and the boys games on Friday at eight p.m.

In 2004, Sepp Blatter, president of the international soccer governing body known as FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) suggested that female soccer players wear tighter uniforms to attract more television viewers. He also thought it would bring in money from fashion and beauty advertisers.

In 2002, The Ladies Professional Golf Association gave their players makeovers for similar reasons.

Just this year the WNBA decided that they too would 'pretty up' their players.

Feministing didn't enjoy that too much:


I'm glad CNN did this story but I'm so very, very thankful that when I started to research this post and grab links and factoids, there were so many out there. We have to report these stories, we have to speak up because it should be better and it's not just gonna "happen" one day. We're gonna have to push for it!

Edwards wouldn't have cheated if dying wife would give more blow jobs

Seriously. That's Rush Limbaugh's "theory" anyway (emphasis mine)

OK, we're back. Ladies and gentleman, my theory that I just explained to you about why -- you know, what could have John Edwards' motivations been to have the affair with Rielle Hunter, given his wife is smarter than he is and probably nagging him a lot about doing this, and he found somebody that did something with her mouth other than talk. I think I can back this up from her.

(emphasis mine)

If you need to hear it from the horse's (ass) mouth...



PS: He also managed to launch a sexist attack against all females competing in the Olympics

I'm in a little quicksand already today talking about how the chicks are giving us boring pictures of the female athletes from the Olympics. Because I know -- you -- the diversity crowd's going to be upset. They're going to -- "Ooh, do you mean the Olympics are just so you guys can ogle wom--" Yes, because we do not care to watch 'em compete.

Hear that, ladies?

You aren't in it for the competition, or to showcase your amazing athletic prowess and bring honor to your country. You're here to help Rush pop a boner (that is if his maid ran out and got his weekly supply of Viagra in time). **

Pathetic.

But it's Rush. We already knew that.

PS: Since when are women-- over 50% of the world's population-- the "diversity crowd."


** So that isn't JUST a cheap shot, it's true. When they caught Rush getting his illegal oxycotin supply, they also found Viagra. And he did send his maid out to get it on the street.

via

Ouch

I must be mental.

I joined my company's softball team and it's actually been a ton of fun. However, I am not/nor have I ever been an athlete. Last night we played two games in a row and today I am moving like a robot. I know I've worked muscles that I've previously left alone and I think my body is protesting. Like, "Whatever bitch, you can TRY and get up that flight of stairs... maybe if you hadn't SPRINTED out of nowhere last night!"

What? Don't tell me I'm the only one that has conversations with my body.

Well today I was still in a sports mood so I had to watch a "League of Their Own." I frickin love that movie. It's just fun and full of important messages about women and feminism. I love this scene where the managers unveil the skirt-uniform expecting support and the athletes are pissed. Geena Davis' line is the best "SHORT!? I'm gonna have to squat in that thing!"



It reminded me of an amazing post I read awhile back on Echidne of the Snakes that talked about sexism in sports and how we STILL have a long way to go. It's a quick read. Make sure you head that way.

Proof...

that the media is part of an unspoken campaign to objectify women's bodies in new and disgusting ways.

Some slick ad exec thought this was the perfect way to hit their target audience of young men.

If I was a young man, I'd be offended. Maybe you like football, maybe you like boobs but do you need them together?

I HATE THIS COMMERCIAL.

Dogs > Women

Dear Footballers, beat your wives not your dogs

Today NFL quarterback Michael Vick accepted a deal to plead guilty to federal conspiracy charges involving an illegal dogfighting operation.

The Vick dogfighting scandal has been HUGE, GIGANTIC NEWS since it broke. And for good reason-- it's horrific.

Court documents released last week showed that two of Vick's alleged partners said he helped kill dogs that didn't fight well, and that the three men "executed approximately eight dogs" in ways that included hanging and drowning.

Hold on.... I just threw up a little in my mouth.

Seriously, it takes a special kind of asshole to do that to an animal.

The NFL has dropped hints that it'll be a long time IF EVER before Vick plays again. People keep saying how "troubling" this is for the NFL. Why then, doesn't it trouble these people when their star athletes abuse women?

This blog post says it all

It was only last summer when Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Brett Myers assaulted his wife in full view of onlookers, dragging her in the street by her hair and slapping her repeatedly. He was charged with assault and battery by a Boston court, but his employer, Major League Baseball, declined to level any punishment, saying, through a spokesman, "It was an off-field incident and it's the player's private life. We're going to let the legal system run its course." The league has no policy requiring suspension of players charged or convicted in domestic violence cases.

This horrible scandal with Vick should shock and disgust us all. But dragging your spouse by her hair is "a private matter"? Please tell me these people don't buy their own B.S.? Can you really delude yourself that much?

I realize I'm not the first, nor am I the only person to bring up this point but it just bothers me that the NFL is so blind.

Though they'll test their players till kingdom come for illegal substances, and kick them out of the league if they test positive enough times, apparently being charged with beating your wife -- and in some cases, being convicted of it -- just doesn't measure up.

When can we expect a public apology for disregarding women in this way?

I'm gonna venture.... NEVER?

Amazing woman of the day

The story of

Katherine Switzer

In conjuction with this story that shows us that women are STILL fighting for equal footing when it comes to sports.

Taunting the opposing team

Yesterday was another blowout game for UND football. Poor Augustana. Final score was something like 52 to 3. When this happens, most of the Alerus center empties and the student section thins down to the die-hards. Unfortunately, with a lead of almost 50 points, our team doesn't need a lot of pep-you-up cheers. So instead our student section turns to the players sitting right in front of us-- the opposing team.

I'm not Ms. Sports or anything, I mean to me seeing a football game doesn't make or break my Saturday afternoon. However, my blood was really starting to boil at this past game. How many times can you chant "Hey, # 78, YOU SUCK!" I mean, hello, he sees the scoreboard, he is aware that today is not the highlight of his career. I don't mind a few harmless cheers where we taunt the guys about bad passes or what not. That’s the game, but one cheer in particular was getting to me…

Must be yell "pussy" constantly? Is that necessary? Do I grab a bullhorn and start yelling "PENIS!"? Why is pussy the ultimate sports put-down? For example:

"Hey #78, quit being such a pussy!" ... "The Vikings are pussies!" ... "Your coach is a pussy!" etc etc etc. As if, "you suck" wasn't un-original enough.

I would like to remind all the testosterone brain-damaged fans out there that the 'pussy" is not an insult, it is a magnificent organ that gives pleasure and bears children. So if you could refrain from screaming it in football arena, that'd be great. If you really want to insult the guys why don't you refer to them as something powerless like, I dunno.. "impotent" or say, "limp dick." I can hear it now,

"#78 you have a flacid penis!"

See, doesn't that make more sense if you're insulting someone's masculinity?