Abercrombie sells push-up bikini tops for kids

Abercrombie Kids is selling push up triangle bikini tops. Let me reiterate that these are for kids. According to Sociological Images (where I first discovered this), Abercrombie Kids markets their products towards 7 - 14 year olds, and the average age of puberty is 12. Don't you think their target audience is a little young to be enhancing their cleavage?

I don't know why any of this shit from Abercrombie surprises me anymore. Here's just a sample of some other offensive and sexist clothing they've produced:

• In 2002 Abercrombie Kids had to remove a line of thong underwear sold for girls in pre-teen children's sizes after parents mounted nationwide storefront protests. The underwear included phrases like "Eye Candy" and "Wink Wink" printed on the front.


• In 2004 they got in trouble for a sexist and offensive tshirt that said "L is for Loser" next to a picture of a male gymnast on the rings.


• In 2005 they came out with tshirts displaying sexist messages such as "Available for parties," "Who needs brains when you have these?" and "I had a nightmare I was a brunette."


• A tshirt controversy arose again over A&F's Back-to-School 2009 collection of "humor tees." One shirt proclaims "Show the twins" above a picture of a young woman with her blouse open to two men. Two other shirts state "Female streaking encouraged" and "Female Students Wanted for Sexual Research."
  Source: Abercrombie & Fitch product criticism - Wikipedia
  
  

It's 2010 and advertisers are STILL using gang rape to sell clothing?

When will designer brands learn that it’s not cool to use gang rape to advertise clothing?

In 2007 Dolce & Gabanna put out this charming ad, which was banned in Italy, Australia and Spain, and caused controversy world-wide.



Now, Calvin Klein has basically done exactly the same thing. This new ad, starring Dutch model Lara Stone, has also been banned in Australia for being “suggestive of violence and rape.” Australia's ad watchdog said the image "was demeaning to women by suggesting that she is a plaything of these men. It also demeans men by implying sexualized violence against women."

I believe these companies know that what they're doing will spark controversy, and they're using the old "any press is good press" motto. So on the one hand I'm reluctant to even mention this because maybe that's exactly what they want... but on the other hand, it's really important that people understand WHY these images are unacceptable: Studies have shown that increased exposure to images of violence against women "normalizes it" and makes it less shocking and seemingly less wrong. If people start to think of rape and sexual assault as something normal, they will have less sympathy for victims, and more offenders will get away with their crimes.

GQ's November issue turns Glee into porn

Is this Glee photo shoot too sexually explicit for the audience it courts? I think so. Glee is a hugely successful television program that's popular with tweens and teens. It's also wildly popular amongst adults too, but the producers of Glee have to remember that if youth are a big part of their audience, the actors shouln't be posing like porn stars.

The racy photo shoot features Dianna Agron (Quinn), Lea Michele (Rachel) and Cory Monteith (Finn). The Los Angeles Times has a really good article about this, and these two paragragraphs were stand-outs for me:

Monteith is, of course, fully clothed. Not so his female costars, who bare their midriffs and décolletage, bras and panties, in thighs-spread, derriere-hoisted poses made more than slightly unsettling by their school-girl ensembles. Michele, in particular, seems to be auditioning for a live-action version of Japanese anime porn.

The result is not so much saucy and in-your-face as it is predictable and depressing -- oh look, more young women being asked to assume the position, this time complete with pom poms and lollipop. No doubt Agron and Michele did it to be sexy and playful, and were not at all manipulated by forces that have put generations of young women in precisely the same poses for precisely the same reasons -- to feed the fantasy, promote the show and sell magazines. And that just makes it worse, doesn't it?

First, it upsets me that young girls look up to these actresses and here they are posing like porn stars... great. Second, I'm so fucking sick of the same old "sexy" poses: girl licking lollipop seductively, guy with two girls, girls sticking their butts and breasts out, etc. I mean really. Get some god damn originality. Third and finally, I know that all the people in this photo shoot are adults, but they play teenagers on a television show. GQ is a magazine for men, and considering that these photos are set in a school, the photographer has essentially served up over-sexualized images of school girls to grown men.

Any other Glee fans out there? What do you think of these pictures? Today, I am sad to report that I've lots a little bit of respect for Glee.

The Threesome. Super creative and original!

The crotch shot. Another classic.

Oh, the lollipop in the mouth! Another CLASSIC!
And by classic I mean completely unoriginal.

Australian Porn Censorship Going Too Far

Conservative Australian politicians are attempting to wage a war on smutty pornography through some very interesting (and anti-woman) censorship laws. These include proposed bans on small breasts and female ejaculation in pornography.

The “small breast ban” is supposedly an effort to fight child pornography. The argument is that women with small breasts may appear to be underage (even if they’re over 18). They propose a ban on female ejaculation because it depicts a form of urination, which is banned under the label of “golden showers” in the federal Classification Guidelines for pornography.

First of all – the small breast ban is ridiculous and insulting. It is an absurd reaction to a perfectly normal female body type. Not all adult women have large breasts! If this is their argument, then they should also ban shaved genitals, which I think looks far more “underage” than small breasts.

As for the ban on female ejaculation in porn – their arguments are once again based on fiction rather than fact. Female ejaculation is NOT urination – it is the female equivalent to male ejaculation. Maybe the REAL reason they want to ban female ejaculation is because (a) it’s a little too icky for them, and/or (b) they lack understanding about female sexuality.

Some of the Most Offensive Jokes I've Seen

A few weeks ago I received an email full of "jokes" from a female pal. I was appalled when I began looking through these so-called jokes, and found many of them to be overtly sexist and offensive. I was shocked that a female friend would send this to me. Regardless of the fact that she knows I'm a feminist, how could ANY woman not be offended by these jokes? When people make fun of serious issues like domestic violence, rape and kidnapping, it makes the issue seem less serious than it is, and can also result in victim-blaming and people not believing a woman when she tells someone she has been raped, abused, etc.

"Domestic Violence - Because sometimes you have to tell her more than once."

Well, isn't this a charming little "joke"? The fact that someone would even joke about this topic deeply upsets me. The message here is essentially this: If a woman doesn't do/say/act as a man wants her to, he has the right to beat her until she does. Yeah, real funny.

"Every male teacher that day contemplated the consequences."

Oh, of course! Men are such horny, dirty dogs that they can't keep their dick in their pants, especially not around hot 16 year old school girls [sarcasm intended]. If I were a man, I'd be offended. And another thing... what a woman or girl wears is not an indication of her sexual availability.

"Woman's Sports - A lot more interesting when hot Brazilian chicks play."
(PS - nice typo, assholes. It's "women's" not "woman's")

This is actually a serious issue in women's sports. The less they wear and more beautiful they are, the more media coverage they receive. Athletic women must appear both feminine and beautiful to be noticed at all, and anyone who doesn't is labeled a dyke. A female athlete's physical abilities are rarely applauded, she is usually only well-known and celebrated if she is also beautiful.

Just kidding, there's no candy.

Because luring and kidnapping young girls is so hilarious. The violent undertone in this "joke" is deeply disturbing.

So, Women With Short Hair are "Insane"?

Solange Knowles, the younger sister of Beyonce Knowles, recently cut her hair super-short and has been taking some serious heat for it.

Jezebel reports that some of the bullshit responses from the media include:

- MTV news wrote: "The motive is still unclear, but considering how gorgeous her mane was, it's not a great style choice."

- The Hollywood Gossip website wrote that Solange was "batshit insane" to cut her hair

- The Daily Fail accused her of pulling a Britney Spears, even though Solange had her hair professionally cut and did not shave it off herself like Britney

I can't believe how much crap this poor woman is taking simply for cutting her hair. I hate how a woman's femininity or sanity is often questioned if they go from long hair to short. Why do so many people think all women must need and want long hair?

As for Solange, she was so upset by the outrage over her hair that she posted a great response online. She was particularly upset that the topic of her hair was talked about more than the Iran election - a true sign of just how shallow and sad North American society has become!

Here are some clips from Solange's response:

i. have. done. this. twice. in. my. life. i. was 16. i was 18. did. not care about your opinion. then. dont. care. now. dont. need. your. attention. or. your. co-sign.
i am #3. trending topic. before. IRAN. &. some of you cant even locate it on a map. its sad.
i. just. wanted. to. be. free. from. the. bondage. that. black. women. sometimes. put. on. themselves. with. hair.
this. phase. of. my. life. i. want to spend . the time. the energy. and the money. on something else. not in the hair salon.
ONLY reason i responded to this i have is because i was disappointed to see my name more talked about than Iran election.
we. gotta. do. better. people.

Indeed Solange, we've got to do better.

Relationship Advice from Sexist Assholes

AskMen.com has an incredibly sexist and downright insulting article on their website. The article, Top 10 Subtle Ways to Tell Her She's Getting Fat, basically advises the partners of chubby women to humiliate them into losing weight.

Here's a sample of some of the stellar advice:

• Take her to places where she has to wear a swimsuit
• Leave "now" and "then" photos lying around
• Sabotage her chair
• Ask her to wear an old dress
• Buy her clothes that are too small
• Sign her up for yoga under the pretense of "stress relief"

Here's my own little bit of advice for men: Have an open and honest conversation with her about it, and provide her with positive support. Sure sounds a lot easier than sabotaging a chair or making her feel shitty about herself - which would likely have the opposite effect.

Playboy Magazine Promotes “Hate Fucking”

On June 1st Playboy Magazine published an article on its website entitled “10 Conservative Women we’d Love to Hate-Fuck.” For those who don’t know what “hate-fuck” means, here’s a quick translation: rape.

The article was written by Guy Cimbalo and contains repeated references to the authour’s desire to degrade and humiliate certain conservative women based solely on their political ideology. The article only remained on the website for a brief time before word got around via Twitter and the controversial article was removed.

Smart Girl Politics, a coalition of conservative women, has condemned the lewd and degrading article. “The language used in Mr. Cimbalo’s screed was misogyny, pure and simple,” stated Teri Christoph, Co-Founder of Smart Girl Politics. “The vile nature of the article indicates that the author, and apparently Playboy Magazine, advocates violence against women with whom they don’t agree. The true feminists of today will not tolerate this kind of hateful exploitation.”

As a “true feminist” I absolutely agree with Teri Christoph – we cannot tolerate hate towards any women, regardless of their religious or political beliefs, race, class, sexual orientation or anything else.

I’ve never been a fan of Playboy, but this one really seals the deal for me. Here’s a little tip for that jackass Guy Cimbalo: If you want to sleep with a beautiful woman, maybe try respecting her. Just a thought.

Jezebel has more info here.

"Manliest" Cities in America? Barf.

Yes, there is such a thing as the “Top 50 Manliest Cities” in the U.S. - the study (which I can't believe someone spent money on) found that Nashville, Tennessee is the "mecca of manliness." Why, you may ask? Well, apparently Nashville has great sports teams, monster truck rallies, lots of hardware stores and an abundance of salty snacks.

Yes indeed folks, those are the criteria by which the manliest cities were judged. Cities also lost points if they had more "feminine attributes" such as high mini-van sales, lots of home furnishing stores and high subscription rates to beauty/fashion magazines.

What do these pathetic "categories of manliness" say about the state of American masculinity if men can be reduced to such tired stereotypes? If I were a man I'd be insulted by this study that claims that manliness is all about sports, power tools and fatty food.

Dad Sells Daughter for Meat, Beer & Cash

A California man is accused of selling his 14-year-old daughter into a marriage with an 18-year-old man for 100 crates of beer, several cases of meat and $16,000. The father has pleaded no contest to felony child endangerment.

Marcelino de Jesus Martinez had pleaded not guilty in February to procuring a child for lewd acts, aiding and abetting statutory rape and child endangerment. If convicted of those charges he faced 10 years in prison.

Read the full story here.

Since When is THIS a "Fuller Figure"?

Britney Spears recently had a "comeback show" in New Orleans, and the Daily Mail reported that she has a "rather fuller figure these days." They also used the phrase "Bulky Spears" in the headline - how charming.

I'd like you to take a look at this photo and tell me this: How, in any way shape or form, can this be considered a "fuller figure"? And how can they refer to her as "bulky?" Her body looks healthy and great to me.

No wonder the girl shaved her head and went crazy.

A Shocking T-shirt?

Diagram labels: Depth Gauge, Awe, Shock

So, a friend of mine came over last night wearing this t-shirt. When I realized what it was, I said to him, "Dude, you know I'm a feminist, right?!" Then he looked all sheepish and was like "... yeah."

Anyhow, I'm not really sure what to think of this shirt, I just knew it somehow irked me. Even though I don't find it overly offensive (because I don't think its inherently sexist) it still bugged me. I think more than anything it's the name - "The Shocker." Maybe if this "technique" was called something else, it might be cool. After all, this is essentially a diagram of how to pleasure a woman, right? So in that sense it's cool... I just don't like the name. Maybe we can rename it to "The Handy Dandy" - I like that one better!

A Man With Some Repulsive Opinions About Why He Can't Get Laid. Comedy? Not Quite.

He says women go to clubs wearing “...next to nothing because they want attention from men”. While he is entitled to making shallow assumptions about the reasons why women dress the way in which they please or why they go out to clubs, it’s impossible to ignore the fact that his opinions are lacking in taste, that they are aggressive and completely fucking ignorant.

For those of you familiar with Naomi Wolf’s The Beauty Myth, you’ll likely recognize that this foolish perception of the way women are expected to dress --and what must, apparently, be determined of us based on the way we dress-- is a clear and precise example of some of the dilemmas examined in the book. Toju (as he is called) expresses that, while he claims to love women, the attitude women tend to dish out produces a number of challenges for him as he attempts to collect phone numbers, grind against strangers without invitation, and do whatever else it is he thinks gives women the attention we’re looking for when out at a bar or at a club. This challenge somehow manages to turn him on.
Just me? Or are we standing firmly on the territory of blatant harassment? Yes, I think freaking so.

If anyone out there is even slightly offended after watching this young man run a muck , I suggest you do whatever is in your power to publicly decry this sort of abusiveness. I’ m shocked that his opinions are even slightly welcome by modern collective journalism websites like the one where this video can be viewed.

Toju, you do NOT love women. You clearly hate them. No, I'll re-phrase: you hate the ones that aren't afraid to look how they want, say what they don't want, and give you the burning slap in the face you're so desperately awaiting with your tongue hanging out like a diseased and starving animal, as you’ve shown us.

The video can be seen here

Maybe you'd like to say something to him? If so, I suggest you send him your message.

This is what Christmas looks like at Playboy

Just in time for Christmas, the Mexican issue of Playboy features a nude "virgin Mary." I'm not even religious and I'm offended by this!

From an article in The Sun:

The December issue features model Maria Florencia Onori posing as the Virgin wearing nothing but an angelic white cloth.

The release was timed for the day before Mexico's traditional Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, a celebration of an apparition of the Virgin in the town.

Its headline reads in Spanish: "We adore you, Mary."

*Sigh* I hate our culture's obsession with female virginity.