Soft, Squishy White House Girlz

Ty, Inc., of Beanie Babies fame, released a set of dolls before the inauguration. COINCIDENTALLY, the dolls are two girls with dark skin and dark hair. Also COINCIDENTALLY, their names are "Sweet Sasha" and "Marvelous Malia." Not coincidentally, Michelle Obama is pissed.

The toymaker says they were "inspired by" the Obama girls, but that they chose the names because they are "beautiful." These dolls are not supposed to be exact replicas of the girls.
It's true. I don't think Sasha and Malia have hearts attached to their wrists. And the girls aren't as busty as these dolls since, you know, they're 7 and 10 years old. But this is far from a coincidence. Hey, at least they're not china dolls. Cause...well...plush dolls are pretty tough. Even if they DO have boobs.

Let the exploitation of two little girls begin!

STDs for Everyone!

A recent study from the CDC shows that ONE IN FOUR American teenage girls (age 14-19) have STDs, reports the BBC News.

Nearly half of black teens surveyed had at least one STD, while only 20% of white and Mexican-American teens tested positive. This is from a "representative" sample.

The most "popular" STD? HPV. Hmmm...maybe we should get a vaccine for that and make it available to poor people.

I couldn't find the study on the CDC, which worries me. I don't like to just take other people's words for it.

But this is just another sign that we need to teach sex ed in high schools. Abstinence-only education OBVIOUSLY doesn't work. These girls are going to have sex no matter what. Teach them how to protect themselves. We're leaving them defenseless because our president is an Evangelical, and it pisses me off.

According to the BBC, the CDC is recommending mandatory screening and an HPV vaccine. Okay, fine. But why don't we try to solve the problem before it starts? Hand out condoms in the streets, lower the cost of birth control, and TEACH these girls how to keep themselves safe.

ARGH!

Julie Newmar: Alive and Kickin'

Via Copyranter:

Desperate? Maybe. Awesome? I think so.

Julie Newmar bought an ad on the back cover of this week's AdWeek.
The new 70 indeed. The copy reads:"Untouched and unretired movie star, ex-Catwoman a quintessential quality advocate.

If this is what she wants to be doing, someone better hire her fast. Any company would be lucky to have her.

This is the point where I step back and look over at my other shoulder. The little devil is asking me if I would feel the same way if Newmar wasn't 74. Would I feel okay about a woman begging for a job this way? The photo is pretty weird. She's on some sort of desk, but there's a picture of herself there.

Nah . She can do whatever the fuck she wants. In a world where everyone tries to hide from death and aging, I love that "ex-Catwoman" is ready to flaunt her beautiful 74-year old self.

Little Beauties!

Via Feminist Law Professors:

Little Beauties: Ultimate Kiddie Queen Showdown is a one-hour documentary special that will take a light-hearted look into the wonderful world of children’s beauty pageants through the eyes of four, precocious six-year old girls. This documentary reveals the humor and love behind an American tradition; the always colorful characters on the pageant circuit; and the “sparkle” it takes to win a crown.

Aren't they adorable? See how the pounds of make-up create a doll-like essence? See the love the stage mother showers on her girl when she wins (ONLY when she wins)? See how they're learning to be little princesses (ONLY little princesses)? See how disgusting this is?

I have to go throw up.

Blogging for Choice

Happy Birthday, Roe v. Wade!

On the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, let's look at where we are.

People continue to try to strip away abortion rights by getting around Roe v. Wade. The decision was based on a Right to Privacy, a right that isn't constitutional, but is based on the 14th amendment, which guarantees a right to due process.

The court recognized a state's interest in the protection of fetuses (or, as I like to call them, fetusi).

In other words, Roe v. Wade is an unsteady basis for our right to choose.

If pro-life activists get their way, they would pass amendments stating that a fetus is a person. This would effectively counteract Roe v. Wade.

Men are now arguing that they should have a say when it comes to abortion. These pro-lifers are creative, I'll give them that.

Certain presidential candidates *cough* (Fuckabee) are towing the new pro-life line that doctors are to blame. We should protect our poor, stupid women from getting abortions. They don't know what they're doing.

If said candidates get elected, we'll have to speak through our votes. If you believe a woman should have power over her own life, is responsible to herself before the state, is of sound mind to make her own decisions, please, vote pro-choice.

To me, voting pro-choice means not only voting against all the efforts to strip away our rights, it means voting for candidates who will provide more access to sex education (to keep abortion rates low), voting for access to contraceptives, voting against all the little seemingly innocuous, bills that give the government, state, husband, father, sister, brother, mother, cousin the right to decide what's best for you.

Come November, a lot of people will be out there voting pro-life. Let's show them we're not going backwards.

Wait, maybe I should make it "cool" for the "young people."

Hey, dudes! Do you want to have ask your dad for an abortion even if he's the one who raped you? Do you want to be forced to have a baby when you're twelve? Do you want to pay a lot of money to have a coat hangar shoved into your vagina? That's right! No fuckin' way!

Get out there and Vote for your Vag!

I don't think that worked. Eh, it was worth a try.

I Love this Woman

Via Feministe:

Women and "Children" First

Though this Globe and Mail story carries the offensive title, "Will women or children pick the next president?" there's actually some good stuff there.

Basically, it's another piece about why young women aren't voting for Hillary Clinton. It starts off towing that same, bullshit:

Melissa Haussman cannot wrap her mind around why young women would vote for Barack Obama.

"It disappoints me greatly," said the professor of political science at Carleton University, an American who drove to New Hampshire last week to work on Hillary Clinton's campaign. "Your grandmothers chained themselves to the White House fence so that you could vote."

That's right - guilt us into voting for Hillary, that's great. But, even though the article gets a little condescending, the author, Siri Agrell, makes a good point.

The results of a 2007 survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press give the impression that Mr. Obama was tailor-made to woo the youth demographic.

Describing "generation next" - 18- to 25-year-olds who came of age with personal computers, the Internet and the shadow of Sept. 11, 2001 - the Pew Center found that nearly one in five has no religious affiliation, and that the majority are pro-immigration, in favour of same-sex marriage, colour-blind, pro-choice and against the Iraq war.

THIS is why we're not for Clinton. She's for the Iraq War and, more superficially, she doesn't speak to the younger generation. We have the luxury to vote for someone because we WANT THEM AS OUR PRESIDENT. So why shouldn't we use the rights women fought so hard to give us? We want someone who will stand up for women, but it doesn't have to be a woman. I think it's wrong to guilt us into voting for someone because of their gender. Voting for Clinton because she's a woman is as bad as voting for McCain because he's a white man.

Isabel Allende is a Goddess

Sure, I haven't loved every one of her books, but this is a great speech. It's worth watching the whole thing. I promise.

From last year's TED conference:

Hot Toddlers

Via Feministe:

This was spotted in LA:Apparently, these are available for TODDLERS. What the fuck?

Sad Santa

If every woman who was a victim of sexual assault got this attention, we'd never hear any other news.

In Danbury, Connecticut, a woman on crutches was arrested for groping santa.

The 65 year old santa was embarrassed. The woman denies any unwelcome or unwanted (to borrow corporate sexual harassment slang) touch.

She was arrested for 4th-degree sexual assault and breach of peace. How, exactly, did she breach peace? Hmmm...

I don't think women should get any different treatment than men for this kind of stuff, but this seems unequal to me. Just check out Hollaback NYC for all the groping that's going on out there.

Is this woman being treated differently because she's a woman? Because he's 65? Because he's santa? I'd say all of the above.

Eewww. Old is Gross

On his radio show yesterday, Rush Limbaugh talked about a picture of Hillary Clinton featured on The Drudge Report.

Here's Drudge's picture:No story accompanied the picture, just the headline,"The Toll of a Campaign."

Eek! A woman with wrinkles!

Rush's comments, courtesy of The Huffington Post:

There is this thing in this country that, as you age -- and this is particularly, you know, women are hardest hit on this, and particularly in Hollywood -- America loses interest in you, and we know this is true because we constantly hear from aging actresses, who lament that they can't get decent roles anymore, other than in supporting roles that will not lead to any direct impact, yay or nay, in the box office. While Hollywood box-office receipts may be stagnant, none of that changes the fact that this is a country obsessed with appearance. It's a country obsessed with looks. The number of people in public life who appear on television or on the big screen, who are content to be who they are, you can probably count on one hand. Everybody's trying to make themselves look different -- and in that situation, in that case, they think they're making themselves look better. It's just the way our culture has evolved. It's the way the country is. It's like almost an addiction that some people have to what I call the perfection that Hollywood presents of successful, beautiful, fun-loving people. So the question is this: Will this country want to actually watch a woman get older before their eyes on a daily basis?

He's completely right. This country is ageist and sexist, which spells FUCKED for an older woman in Hollywood.

But in politics? Is Dubya winning any prizes in the looks department? No. The question shouldn't be will we elect an older woman (60 isn't that old, by the way), but what the fuck is wrong with us if we choose a president by the way he/she looks?

Yes, I think it would be hard for Americans to elect someone with a harelip or no nose (which is also sad), but a woman with wrinkles? That's inexcusable.