Monday, January 30, 2012

Our very own spanking-new course library page!!

I encourage you all to peruse our course library page that Lareese Hall has created; she has done a terrific job!
http://libguides.denison.edu/wmst390

"advice" from Disney Princesses

courtesy of a former student (who follows George Takei's facebook site).

Cool article about need for "boyish" girls in the media

Blogger Michele Yulo has published a really interesting response to the outcry over Brangelina's daughter's short haircut. In case you missed the buzz, you can still catch it here (thanks to Lena for keeping us abreast on these important issues. And, no I am not being facetious--the politics of hair is a real and important issue.)

Researchers Determine That Social Media Is Ruining Girlhood

While this article is quite critical of the research (which it calls 'specious'), the study nevertheless raises interesting questions about the effects of social online networking on our interpersonal intelligence and "about the role increasingly faceless modes of communication play in social development": http://jezebel.com/5880260/researchers-determine-that-social-media-is-ruining-girlhood

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Cosmo Magazine: A History of Telling You How To Please Your Man

I just found this video from The Onion News Network mocking Cosmopolitan's repeat topic "How To Please Your Man." Watch below:


Side Note: The Onion is actually coming to campus tomorrow (Friday, Jan 27th in Swasey at 9pm)

Disney's First Girl Princess

Meet Sofia!

Dangerous Messages about Romance abound

As I collate material about femininity in the 21st century, adolescence, romance, and potentially dangerous messages in pop culture, I discovered this editorial and found it thought-provoking....
 
Looks as if we will have plenty of fodder for discussion. Any other examples you come across? Please post!
 

Peggy Orenstein's blog

As we move into our course unit about the corporatization of childhood, I wanted to call your attention to Peggy Orenstein's blog. She's the author of Cinderella Ate My Daughter, a portion of which we will be reading. I highly recommend the entire book, however (as well as talking to Kate Sullivan, who has lots of interesting insights on it).

And, if you want more, there is an interesting interview from last February with Orenstein and Terry Gross (who, by the way, is also featured on the Colbert Report from 1/25/2012, the same day as the second part of the section with Maurice Sendak, which Emmanuel called our attention to).

Enjoy the weekend,
Dr. Gillespie
A friend of mine pointed out the new Nike marketing campaign for women. It is definitely worth giving a quick look

http://adland.tv/ooh/nike-gets-real-ads-women

Interview with Maurice Sendak

This weeks Colbert Report aired a very comical, yet enlightening, interview with Maurice Sendak (the author of Where the Wild Things Are) that briefly touched on a few of the topics we have discussed in class. It is definitely worth checking out if you have 15 minutes to spare and want a good laugh!


http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/406796/january-24-2012/grim-colberty-tales-with-maurice-sendak-pt--1

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/406902/january-25-2012/grim-colberty-tales-with-maurice-sendak-pt--2 

Dr. Gillespie mentioned another interview with Sendak, which is much more serious, but just as relevant to the class. He has an interesting discussion regarding his own desires for having children (even though he is a gay man, which, as Colbert points out in his interview, makes it physically impossible to achieve) about 6:30 into the interview, which is one of the highlights of the interview.
http://www.npr.org/2011/09/20/140435330/this-pig-wants-to-party-maurice-sendaks-latest

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Welcome!

Hey Everyone: This is a blog that is a safe, free space for everyone to post articles, songs, youtube videos, etc that may be relevant to class. You will be also posting class notes and assignments.

To get us started, check out this article on the first plus size model to grace the cover of French Elle.

Enjoy!

Lena and Katy