Not All Princesses Need a Prince

May 13, 2008 · Filed Under Art & Creativity ·

Parents read to their children all the time; in fact, some expectant mothers read to their children while they are still in utero and one of the most popular things that parents read to their children are fairy tales.

One thing you will be slapped in the face with repeatedly while reading any fairy tale is that all fairy princesses find their prince and then live happily ever after. Of course most fairy tales were written so long ago that sure, finding a man and living your life together was the standard; but what you can absorb through watching just one episode of Sex and the City is that finding a man and living “happily ever after” is no longer the standard. Now, women can be without a man and still go on to pursue their careers, own their own home and most of all, be happy with who they are without needing the validation of having a man–And now there’s a fairy tale for the modern day life.

Princess Bubble is the fairy tale story of a princess who sees her friends find their princes, get married and live happily ever after all the while being told that she too must go out and find her prince charming. After searching high and low for the man of her dreams, she finds that she is happy just how she is–She has a career as a flight attendant, she has her very own castle (that is decorated just the way she likes it and she didn’t have to give up an entire room in that castle for her prince to make into a den or a rec room, by the way,) and best of all, she is happy with herself and her life without needing to find a prince.

This story is a must-read for both children and for adult women, in my opinion. It is a cute story and it validates women for the wonderful people that they are–And not because they attracted the attention of the right man. What I also liked about this story is that it did not mention that in order for Princess Bubble to be happy living her life without a man, she had to go out and get a lot of cats. The crazy cat lady stereotype may now be put to rest!

Tags: books, Princess Bubble, women's progress

This is What a Feminist Looks Like

April 8, 2008 · Filed Under Society ·

This video was put out by the Feminist Majority Foundation and has been out for a little while now, but it is truly a timeless video debunking those stereotypical feminist myths and using celebrities and familiar faces such as America Ferrera, Larry David, Michael Moore and Lisa Loeb to tell people what feminism is, who feminists are and what feminists stand for.

Tags: Feminist Majority Foundation, gender equality, men, women's progress

The World is Now Dominated by Women, Where Have I Been?

March 26, 2008 · Filed Under Society ·

After hundreds of thousands of years of men ruling the world and everything in it, especially women and government, men are now saying that they feel emasculated. Boohoo.

Via Broadsheet, I read about a study done by the Telegraph surveying the feelings of modern men living in the 21st century. About 2,000 men and women were polled for this study online and the outcome is quite shocking, in a “You got to be kidding me” kind of way.

“Many men believe the world is now dominated by women and that they have lost their role in society, fuelling feelings of depression and being undervalued.”

Wow, you know, this sounds eerily familiar. Say, aren’t men guilty of dominating the world and making women feel as if not only they don’t have a role in society, but they shouldn’t have a role in society? In fact, aren’t men continuing to make women feel this way today? Why yes, I believe they are! I would love to be informed as to where all of these women are dominating the world because I am sure as hell failing to see this.

This “study” also has the nerve to include:

“Asked what it meant to be a man in the 21st century, more than half thought society was turning them into “waxed and coiffed metrosexuals”

So what men are trying to say is that they feel it is unfair for them to be judged based on their physical appearance? Wow, that also sounds like more of the same. It is common sense that no one likes to be told or believe that they must live up to a stereotypical norm when it comes to appearance, but come on now, get serious. Men feel as if they are being forced into looking like something they’re not? Take a look at every Maxim, Stuff, Playboy, Penthouse and Hustler magazine; in fact, take a look at any magazine or turn your television on to any channel or watch any movie–And then look at the statistics for eating disorders and tell me that they don’t have the least bit to do with each other. Women have been conditioned to hate their bodies, which is the product of the media telling women what men want.

And lastly…

“Men said they “felt handcuffed” by political correctness - only 33 percent felt they could speak freely and say what they thought, whereas two thirds found it safer and to conceal their opinions.”

I know many women who find it safer to conceal their opinions, since women have also been conditioned to be seen and not heard and to be the pretty face next to the strong and powerful husband, which can clearly be seen in any story where a male politician or sports star is discovered in a sex scandal; of course, the woman is always standing by her man with her mouth shut, smiling politely like she is told to. A woman who chooses to speak her mind freely and openly is mostly ridiculed for her blunt honesty by the majority of people who care not to listen based purely on her possession of a vagina.

It seems as if once women set their footprints in the wet concrete of history and start making own choices without having to consult a man before doing so, the men start to get all uppity. You would think that with men feeling the way they apparently do, they would begin to see what women have gone through to get where they stand today and that they would understand and appreciate the activism and determination in which we have fought for our rights and have a better understanding of equal rights. However, men believe that they are deserving of all power in all aspects of life and in society based purely on their possession of a penis.

While you feel completely emasculated, confused and rejected from society, welcome to the lives of women.

Tags: gender equality, men, Sexism, stereotypes, women's progress, world domination

Happy International Women’s Day!

March 8, 2008 · Filed Under Activism ·

International Women's Day It’s International Women’s Day!

“International Women’s Day has been observed since in the early 1900’s, a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialized world that saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies.”

For history on International Women’s Day, click here and for web casts, news, events and logos up for download, go to the official International Women’s Day website.

International Women’s Day, to me, means a great deal. The jobs of women across the world are far from done. While women have seen great success in the last 100 years or so, they have fought tooth and nail for every bit of that success and we are still seeing administrations who are threatening to revoke our rights not only here, but in other countries as well and the women of Afghanistan, in particular, are not seeing the changes that were promised to them, making Afghanistan one of the most dangerous places in the entire world to be female.

When speaking about International Women’s Day with a friend of mine, filmmaker Dany Nieves, who for the record is a man, had this to say:

“I am a man but I also understand the dynamics of society. Men do have the supposed power and use it for evil. After thousands of years of civilization and male dominance, great turmoil still exists. The basic question to be asked is “Is rule by men good for society?” It isn’t. We are born to a maternal world and it should be that way. Women can make good choices and keep society in check. Of course, men should also be more involved with issues they don’t want to deal with, like women’s issues.”

Women have a great deal to contribute to the world and in some countries, women are being applauded and urged to go forward with their work for equality and for women everywhere, even for the women who live in parts of the world where their voices cannot be heard and who are treated not as second-class citizens, but as third and fourth class. International Women’s Day is for all women, everywhere–It is one day where we must really reflect on our history and the history of women and applaud those who have been activists and who have fought in the present as well as in the past for the liberties and freedom that we have as well as raise awareness for those who do not.

Tags: gender equality, International Women's Day, women’s progress