Elsewhere in the blogosphere…

I love a good visualised pun! Photo via AllTop

Purple Power delivers an almighty blow to inequality as NY State legalises gay marriage!  Yesterday was a day to mark history (and herstory!). However, the state law is buried under a messy heap of federal legislation, which might mean that all the young and hot things in love out there might not be getting a break on their taxes.

I Am Not My Uterus – This is the blog post that had the Twitter kids slinging mud pies at each other all week. Clem Bastow’s article in defense of deliberately barren women polarised the blogosphere into two groups – those already on a vitally important errand to Babyco, and those who’d rather toss the baby out with the bath water (kidding! Kind of). Women who’ve remained childless rallied in defense of Clem (myself included), whilst mothers and fathers alike saw it as an attack on their choices, an immoral decision, or clearly in breach of what mother nature intended.

Miss Bastow, you would be best to simply stay silent rather than use your words to spread your own negativity, weirdness and confusion. Too many young women (and men) have been encouraged to supress their natural inclinations by the likes of you to their regret latter.

The reality of nature can not be altered by newspapers articles: reliable female fertillity is only between the ages of about 18-35 and once the opportunity is gone, it is gone forever. Young men and women waste enough time building a carear without you demoralising them.

Coming from a family of women who have all decided to marry and have children late (or sometimes, not at all), any plans for me personally getting up the duff are yet to be conceived. However, but the government focuses on working families, and even Barbie gets pregnant, I can’t help but feel that it’s expected of me. However, doesn’t everyone feel as though something is expected of them? Women with children feel pressured to raise perfect children and somehow climb the corporate ladder simultaneously, whilst women without children feel like they’re being vilified for putting themselves first. Whether you’re a mother or not, women are defined by their (lack of) children.
Unravelling Blake Lively – Is it a bubbly facade? What is this amazonian beauty like when the camera isn’t rolling? Just who is this blonde icon with enough charm to get the Queen of England naked? Can she stand on her own two feet or does she need to lean on the likes of Leo and teeter on her Loubotins to get ahead? Blake Lively represents a sort of obsession with celebrity. She’s seemingly perfect – a bangin’ body fit for a swimsuit campaign, she’s tight with the emperor and empress of fashion themselves, Karl Lagerfield and Anna Wintour, and also has claim to the lead role in the hottest teen drama since we were welcomed to the OC, bitch. And she has really, really pretty hair. But is she as credible as she seems? Can she act? Can she do the splits? How much wood would a Blake Lively chuck if a Blake lively could chuck wood?

Blake has effectively created a brand for herself. She’s a hustler, climbing up that A-List ladder towards shooting-stardom. She’s working it because she realises that it’s a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll, and you can’t get by without a little help from your Hollywood friends. And if her tabloid covers are anything to go by, it appears to be working. You know you love her.

Ms. Magazine interviews everyone’s favourite huggable green gargantuan, Feminist Hulk. Hulk talks about endless waves of loving smash, his effective abuse of the caps-lock, and the never ending fight to destroy bull-shit.
The sexually abusive tradie as a stereotype – Bitch magazine discusses the prescriptive stereotype of the objectifying construction worker. Is it a self-fulfilling prophecy? Is it a case of having the name so adopting the game?

It’s probably for this reason that working class men are complained about so frequently at talks on street harassment, depicted alongside news articles and blog posts about the issue, and featured in anti-street harassment videos – all of which reify the idea that working class men are harassers. This classist framework really bothers me. Maybe it’s because I grew up working class and my step-father is a truck driver — a profession that’s often perceived as being full of men who demonstrate lewd behavior (a stereotype that contributes to the erasure of the growing number (5%) of women in the industry, but I digress) — that I am resistant to such overarching characterizations. My familiarity with men in these fields makes me sympathetic to arguments of perception vs. intention. Social behaviors differ across class identification, and what may be deemed “crass” or “trashy” or “inappropriate” according to middle or upper class values might be entirely acceptable in my family’s neck of the woods. So, whose standards should get top billing?

Photo: AP/Tina Fineberg via Bitch Media

Another Bridesmaids review. I couldn’t not mention Kristin’s Wigg’s debut film. Most reviews are so quick to confirm that Bridesmaids is so cool! Because it’s like the Hangover! But for chicks! It has fart jokes AND Rose Bryne! Winning! This one’s for those who aren’t stuck in the body of a teenage boy and are a little apprehensive about seeing the female cinematic incarnation of a Judd Appatow film.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrRd2QSsGc4]

Style Bloggers and the Form/Function debate (and no, I’m not being ironic) – Are they more than just a pretty face? Are style blogs narcissistic mediums for cashed up clothes horses? Are bloggers lives a precious commodity? Could they die in a freak gasoline accident?  Fashion blogs are another form of fashion escapism, except much more affordable, accessible and personable. They blur the line between consumer culture and personal gratification with their diary-like form. We want to know the chick in the knitted jumper (isn’t even Russh employing this personability into their magazine shoots now?), but we also love honest fashion advice. We imagine that the blogger is just like us, although it might not always be the case (many already have profiles within the fashion industry or connections of the monetary or human variety). “Fashion bloggers,” argues author Lauren Burvill, “are undeniably successful. But at what price to the industry?” I don’t think they’re costing the industry – they’re just a new guarde of stylists.

Photo: Gary Pepper Vintage

BFFs are like a good wine – they get better with age.

“Humans are hard-wired to attach in a non-romantic way. There are evolutionary advantages for women to bond: to take care of each other, to provide a community and share responsibilities that increase the likelihood of survival,” Saltz says. “But friendships also fend off loneliness and depression.” – Gail Saltz, clinical associate professor of psychiatry at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

S.E Smith from This ‘Aint Livin’ talks about sexism and the female journalist. It’s a must read for any investigative lass.

For women in journalism, the undercurrent of sexism is always there and they’re often told to ignore it. Just focus on the story. Or manipulate it to your advantage (because women, you know, they are always about the feminine wiles and exploiting situations whenever possible). Definitely don’t complain, because if you do, you might get taken off the story and reassigned to the gardening desk. If you’re bothered that stories about women end up in the ‘life and style’ section you would do well to keep it to yourself, because no one wants to hear about it. The sexism is just an occupational hazard, you see, it is part of the job.

Nubby Twiglet has compiled a list of the best eye candy of the glossy variety. LOOK AT THE PURRDDYY.

Girl With a Satchel gives Cleo a high five for 10-page happiness special, but brandishes her digital wooden spoon for contradicting their soft-feminism with cover girl Beyonce’s bandaged body suit.

My new favourite website Autostraddle does the most hilariously accurate recap of the latest gay-centric episode of Pretty Little Liars. PLL is cat-nip for sapphic sisters – this show is FUCKING LADEN with lesbian undertones.

Spencer, you're looking very Shane today.

And to finish off your week with a ball-bashing to wet weather blues, here’s some wise words from all time bodacious babe Marilyn Monroe over at Yes and Yes.