Harpy Seminar: On (Not) Wearing Underwea...

HOLY SHIZZNIT! Via Christopher Ware @ Flickr. A few weeks ago, PhDork, Pilgrim Soul and I met fellow fem-blogger Amanda Marcotte for some drinks and a mountain of fries at a local bar. Amanda happened to walk in right as Tha Dork and I were chatting gaily about how, as kids, we received conflicting messages...

What Not to Watch...

I am a total fucking party girl, so Friday nights usually find me on the couch with the Dude.  Especially since we got cable for the first time in my adult life. Last Friday, we were ended up watching a mini-marathon of What Not to Wear.  What can I say, it is the black hole of cable television: ...

Selling to men by insulting women...

Masculinity is a fragile thing. Even something as seemingly innocuous as foamed milk is capable of destroying it. At least, that’s what many companies and advertisers believe, which is why they appeal to men by tearing down women and anything associated with women (including men who relate to...

Forever 21–Now With Undermining!...

I’ve never liked the store Forever 21. The cheesy, youth-glorifying name grates on me: OMG, don’t get oooold! Stay 21 and sexxxy forever! Even worse, Forever 21 has an atrocious record of garment worker exploitation and creates cheap, unsustainably manufactured clothing that is distinctly...

New York Times Sez: You Women Suck at Ch...

If you’re like me, and you hate high heels, well, check out Roni Rabin’s article: High Heels and Pumps Now, Foot Pain Later. The article describes a study of people over age 66, which found that the women–who had worn heels most of their lives–had a lot of foot pain. The researchers...

Too Little, Too Late?...

The oh-so-revolutionary imageGlamour magazine is, as Kate Harding put it, planning a “naked fat girl extravaganza” for its November issue. The editors sneaked a model with a belly bulge into their September issue, and are floored by the mostly positive responses. So I guess they’re...

Michelle Obama does not need the country...

For heaven’s sake. I am not posting a picture of Michelle Obama wearing shorts on her family’s recent trip to the Grand Canyon. There are plenty of rocks to look under on the web, and plenty of “news” outlets wringing their hands about her sartorial choices. This Newsweek blog...

High Heels Now Officially NSFW...

Wear at your own risk! Via shoesexpert @ Flickr. Y’all know that I fucking hate high heels. And apparently, I’m not alone–since I wrote my rant about heels back in January, it’s been one of our top-rated posts, still getting a couple hundred hits a week and generating plenty of...

Against Modelling...

Before I went to college, I had never so much as glanced at Vogue.  To me a $40 shirt was extremely expensive, and I had no real personal aesthetic.  Mostly, that was because I wasn’t much of a participant in the social world until I was 23 or so.  I had written off any chance of having the...

Fake Bake: A Rant...

Via kibblesthepig @ Flickr. I fucking hate fake tans. Let me be perfectly clear: I don’t mean a nice, natural weekend-at-the-beach tan. Or even Jergens Glow. I’m talking about those fake-ass orange-y, practically florescent “tans” that you get sprayed on as though you’re...

Babies in Bikinis: Do Not Want....

It’s time for another rant about children and gender! Now that it’s summer, even the littlest ladies are showing off their “bikini bodies” at pools and beaches. I find the sight of baby girls in two-pieces unsettling – not because I think the little darlings should be more...

A Thank You from Me and My Booty...

When I wrote last month about my deep and abiding dislike of shopping for jeans, several commenters suggested I try the Joe’s Honey line, which is made for those of us with small waists and wide hips. Faced with the imminent demise of my favorite pair of Calvins, I went to South Moon Under in...