Why We Need Feminism

Some might say these days that feminism is a dying movement.

Women seem to have it all. We can go to any college we want to go to (or one that we can afford to go to). Careers that fifty years ago were only open to men are now open to anyone who is qualified and capable. We can have it all. The house, the kids, the marriage and the career, if we want any or all of it. The glass ceiling has cracked and the world is ours for the taking.

And then these happened:

The geniuses at Urban Outfitters are selling Hillary Clinton nutcrackers.

The thing that makes it outrageous is that I doubt that we will ever see a Bill Clinton Nutcracker. Or a Joe Biden or Barack Obama Nutcracker.   The product represents the idea that a man in a position of authority who speaks his mind is considered to be a leader. He is though to be bold, decisive, in control. A woman in that same position is considered to be pushy, bossy and a b*tch.

Good job, Urban Outfitters. I know what store I will not be buying anything from anytime soon.

The other thing was that the pictures were released. You know the pictures. The one of the pseudo celebrity with no discernible talent except for taking her clothes off and her oh so wonderfully intellectually inspiring family reality show.

She is unworthy of being named in this post and will be referred to as “she” or “she who will not be named”.

She who will not be named is a mother. She is  also an aunt and has two younger sisters. What message is she sending not just to the younger generation, not just in her family, but to young girls everywhere?

She smiles into the camera, a Mona Lisa smile, oiled up and made up like a turkey who is about to go into the oven for Thanksgiving. That is one image I really, really wish I could un-see.

Women have been taking off their clothes for money for thousands of years. Today, if they have any talent, they are either performers or models.

She is neither.

I’m going to end this post with Dana Carvey’s Church Lady. As she always does, the Church lady always hits the nail on the head in the most perfect of ways.

https://screen.yahoo.com/church-chat-kardashians-snooki-bieber-000000703.html

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Just A Little Tacky?

Giantmicrobes Inc, has added their latest stuffed toy to the catalog. It is selling like hotcakes to the point of being sold out.

The latest stuffed toy is an ebola virus.

The company claims that it is a tool for parents, educators and doctors to explain to children about the virus in a way that they will understand.

In the past, they have sold similar products such as the common cold, chicken pox and E. coli.

I get the point of the product, I really do.  Ebola is a virus that is scary, even if you know the facts.

However, this disease is not the common cold. The common cold, if treated properly, lasts about a week and forces the sick person to remain in bed for a few days.  It does not normally kill the person who is sick. Ebola has killed 5000 people.

I think this is a little tacky.

Throwback Thursday- Saturday Night Fever (1977)

The thumping beat starts as the first chorus of the song plays.

The camera pans up to see a pair of dark brown boots. The boots belong to a young man carrying a paint can, walking with a confident swagger. His hair is slicked back, heavy with oil. Above him, the train moves along the elevated track.

That opening song is Staying Alive. The movie is Saturday Night Fever, released in 1977. The character is Tony Manero, played by John Travolta. His parents misunderstand him; his job at the local hardware store is getting him nowhere. Tony finds haven from the hated monotony of his life at the 2001 Odyssey, the local discotheque where he is known as the “King of the Dance Floor”.

Set in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, Tony is representative of many young people. Listless, angry and unsure, he finds solace in the dancing. He wants more out of life, but is unable to take the steps needed to move forward with his life.

The music is iconic, as is the movie. Tony’s struggle to free himself from his dead end job, his dead end life and define life on his own terms is a familiar struggle. While some elements of the movie would be today considered very un-politically correct, Saturday Night Fever is a certified classic. The Bee Gees music and the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack is known the world over; their songs never fail to bring people to the dance floor.

While the times and Bay Ridge have changed, the music, the movie and the need to find ourselves will never change.