Feminist Frequency on _Hunger Games_

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8428XSejp0&feature=relmfu

Human Barbie

http://shine.yahoo.com/beauty/human-barbie-valeria-lukyanova-did-she-way-184700407.html

Fan Fiction + Howl's Moving Castle

     In a July 2011 issue of TIME magazine, journalist/novelist Lev Grossman wrote: “Fanfiction is what literature might look like if it were reinvented from scratch after a nuclear apocalypse by a band of brilliant pop-culture junkies trapped in a sealed bunker. They don't do it for money. That's not what it's about. The writers write it and put it up online just for the satisfaction. They're fans, but they're not silent, couchbound consumers of media. The culture talks to them, and they talk back to the culture in its own language.”
      Though I don’t read fanfiction on a regular basis, I find it to be a fascinating subculture and enjoy exploring/taking note of available works from time to time. As fanfiction based on literature often springs from fantasy novels (think Harry Potter, Twilight, etc), it is perhaps unsurprising that there are thousands of fanfiction works based upon Diana Wynne Jones’ book Howl’s Moving Castle and its movie adaptation. Many of these works develop the romance between Howl and Sophie, satisfying many readers’ desires to see them “together” in a more concrete, sexual sense; however, many of them also tell the original story from a different perspective, develop particular plotlines, provide alternate endings, elaborate on topics felt to have been glossed over in the original text, place the original characters in different situations, etc.
     I encourage a perusal of this site: http://www.fanfiction.net/anime/Howl-s-Moving-Castle/ !! It is interesting to see the personality traits (of Howl, Sophie, etc) that writers (fan readers) have latched on to, as well as to see what plotlines they were not satisfied with or burned to develop. Many of them offer commentary on the themes that we addressed in class, often providing unusual, creative, and thought-provoking insights. Though fanfiction is an often-discredited cultural movement, it shouldn’t be; we stand to learn a lot from fanfiction writers who “talk back to the culture in its own language.” Check it out for yourselves!

Bella Swan Cullen--Superhero?

Just in time for Thanksgiving, food for thought.... Also, who among us will admit to wanting to see this film?

100 Young Adult Books for the Feminist Reader

Check out this list released by Bitch Magazine in 2011 for their top 100 recommendations for Young Adult books for feminist readers! Many of them are already included in our syllabus and author presentations but there are also some new ones that are worth checking out!

http://bitchmagazine.org/sites/default/files/bitch-young-adult-list.pdf

Katniss BARBIE® doll!!

http://www.barbiecollector.com/shop/doll/hunger-games-katniss-doll-w3320

Is nothing free from being Barbified? If you are intrigued (curious, outraged, I recommend reviewing the postings on our Blog from March and April of 2012 on Hunger Games). Also, some Denison students from last semester posted excellent commentaries to an online academic discussion board, In Medi Res, the week it featured Hunger Games:
http://mediacommons.futureofthebook.org/imr/2012/03/26/girl-youll-be-woman-soon-gender-politics-mother-daughter-bond
http://mediacommons.futureofthebook.org/imr/2012/03/27/adapting-trauma-novel-screen

http://mediacommons.futureofthebook.org/imr/2012/03/30/hunger-games-and-disruption-reality-tv

College Men and Women's Rights

"Frat-talk": conversations on a topic that college men don't seem to fully grasp...

http://captainawkward.com/2012/09/12/350-lets-crowdsource-some-feminist-sex-ed-for-frat-guys/

also, here's something about consent:

Consent is…

            Non-coercive: If you’re cajoling, threatening or otherwise trying to “convince” someone to engage in a sexual act with you, you are breaking consent. If you asked 16 times and got 15 No’s and 1 Yes, you still did not adequately obtain consent. Also, you’re a weak individual.

            Not fixed: What I mean by this is you shouldn’t take for granted that after asking once for consent that you now have consent forever. It’s not like landing a gig as a Supreme Court judge. You don’t have consent for life. It should be continuously negotiated.

            Dynamic: Related to the above note, consent for one act does not necessitate consent for all acts. Consent is not an EZ Pass. It should be re-addressed constantly for different acts.

            Conscious: Yeah, I want to believe I don’t have to explain this one. Bad enough I had to list it. But ok, yes, an inebriated/asleep/passed out or otherwise not fully coherent person cannot consent. There, you can’t say no one ever told you.

            Unambiguous/Explicit: Assume all of the following to mean “no.” — “Maybe,” “I’m not sure,” “Not yet,” “Kinda,” “Wait a minute,” …I could go on.

            Not contingent upon sexual interest nor sexual arousal: We know. Blue balls are a motherf**ker. Still no excuse. Neither your NOR the expressed/implied interest of any potential partners is an invitation to any act. Also, neither your nor the (assumed) arousal of anyone you might want to have sex with is an invitation. Yes, someone might be aroused and still not want to f***. Crazy times. I know.

            Not compensatory: Yeah, that dinner and a movie were nice. Still not an invitation to f***. And if you thought it was, you’re a world class a**hole.

            Not something that requires a qualifier: No one needs to explain why he or she is not granting you consent. No is enough.

Via: girlebony.tumblr.com