Category Archives: Gender and the Body

Over a hundred thousand sign petition against Disney’s Merida Makeover

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Ampersand

To celebrate Merida of the Pixar film Brave “officially” joining the Disney Princess line, Disney released some new illustrations of her. In the new illustrations, Merida is even thinner than her already-thin movie version (as Alyssa put it, “what appears … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism, sexism, etc, Gender and the Body, Popular (and unpopular) culture | 22 Comments  

A Poem for Leaving Patriarchal Male Heterosexuality Behind

Posted on April 6, 2013 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

I’ve been reading and thoroughly enjoying a poet too few people read these days, J. V. Cunningham. One day, I will write about why I think he’s worth reading and learning from, even though the kind of poetry he wrote … Continue reading →

Posted in Gender and the Body, Men and masculinity | Leave a comment  

Clothes Never Shut Up

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Ampersand

[Description of photo: Legs of a young woman wearing a black skirt. She is lifting one side of her skirt high. We can read labels written at various heights on her leg, suggesting different skirt lengths, starting high on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism, sexism, etc, Gender and the Body | 2 Comments  

Pretty Privilege: Emilie Autumn’s “Thank God I’m Pretty” and Cameron Russell’s TEDtalk

Posted on December 22, 2012 by Ampersand

I ran into these two videos, and thought they made an interesting duo. In the above video, via Rebecca at The Mary Sue, model Cameron Russell talks about the ups and downs of “winning the genetic lottery” and being a … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism, sexism, etc, Gender and the Body | 85 Comments  

Dad Wears a Skirt So His Son Will Feel Strong Enough To Do So As Well

Posted on September 1, 2012 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

I saw this story by Piper Weiss on Yahoo and it is heartwarming and inspiring: [Nils] Pickert never minded that his son liked dressing in little girl’s clothes, but when his family moved from West Berlin to a small southern … Continue reading →

Posted in Gender and the Body, Men and masculinity | 16 Comments  

Blogging My Summer Classes: Literature of the Holocaust

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

I have just finished reading the first set of essays written by my students in ENG 261, Literature of the Holocaust. The prompt asked them to consider whether or not they think there is an obligation to remember the Holocaust, with … Continue reading →

Posted in Anti-Semitism, Gender and the Body, Jews and Judaism | 1 Comment  

Save the Body Parts

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Jeff Fecke

As you may be aware, I’m a testicular cancer survivor. That sounds a lot more badass than it is; testicular cancer is extremely treatable if caught reasonably early, and while chemo and surgery are exactly as fun as you’d think … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism, sexism, etc, Gender and the Body, Pornography | 16 Comments  

Fragments of Evolving Manhood: The “Cunt Poem” Challenge

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

Trigger warning for a brief mention of sexual violence. I have not posted a Fragments of Evolving Manhood piece on a long while, mostly because my attention has been focused elsewhere, but I have been working these past couple of … Continue reading →

Posted in Gender and the Body, Men and masculinity, Rape, intimate violence, & related issues, Sex, Writing | 3 Comments  

Poised behind my closet door

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Grace Annam

[Edited to add context: I am a trans woman. I have not yet publicly transitioned, so I still present as male. And I am a police officer.] In “Milk”, the movie starring Sean Penn, there is a scene which haunts … Continue reading →

Posted in About the Bloggers, Free speech, censorship, copyright law, etc., Gender and the Body, Gender and the Economy, Transsexual and Transgender related issues | 32 Comments  

Joe Paterno, Jerry Sandusky, Foreskin Man, Vulva Girl and the Two-Thirds of My Freshman Composition Class Who Are Failing Right Now

Posted on November 13, 2011 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

You know that feeling when there is so much going on, so much you have to do, so many different threads that you need to keep weaving together, or balls in the air that you can’t let drop, or spinning … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Anti-Semitism, Education, Gender and the Body, Jews and Judaism, Rape, intimate violence, & related issues | 27 Comments