Tag Archives: stereotypes

Which Single Woman Stereotype Are You?

Amelia McDonell-ParrySeptember 29, 2010 //

In my early 20s, I’d say I was an Organic Slow and Steady. When I was engaged to my fiance, I definitely thought of myself as a Ritual Re-Inventor. And after our breakup? A Phoenix, baby. Nowadays, I’d consider myself an Organic Someday Mom Trailblazer. What the hell am I talking about? These monikers are just some of the 12 “categories of single women” outlined in Michelle Cove’s Seeking Happily Ever After: Navigating the Ups and Downs of Being Single Without Losing Your Mind (and Finding Lasting Love Along the Way). MarieClaire.com has the full list of single woman types and their brief explanations, writing that Cove “interviewed more than 100 women and talked to them about how relationships based on what they think they should want often leave them unhappy. She tried to determine what it was that they truly wanted — in the process, getting readers to think a little more deeply about what their dream relationship might really be like.” Keep reading »

Could Mattel’s Japanese Barbie And Ken Be Any More Stereotypical?

Jessica WakemanSeptember 16, 2010 //

A geisha girl and a samurai warrior: these are the stereotypes Mattel used for Japanese Ken and Barbie dolls. Barbie is dressed as a geisha with lotus blossoms in her hair, a gold fan, and some gladiator heels which are badass-looking, but I’m thinking not particularly Japanese. Ken is dressed as a bare-chested samurai warrior with a small ponytail and a long sword. An ex-boyfriend who went to grad school in Japan called the Japanese Ken doll, quote, “pure Fu Manchu stereotype” — minus that nefarious mustache, of course. Surprise, surprise, Mattel has a long history of representing their Japanese Barbies as geishas. Keep reading »

Nancy Pelosi Cast As The “Wicked Witch Of The West” In Campaign Ad

Jessica WakemanSeptember 14, 2010 //

She’s mellllllllting … and she’s the Speaker of the House. Nancy Pelosi is the cackling Wicked Witch of the West in a new “Wizard of Oz”-themed campaign commercial by Republican Congressional candidate John Dennis. An actress playing Pelosi flies in on a jet, jabbing Dorothy, Toto and pals with the end of her broom and shrieking that her flying monkey henchmen, the IRS, will come after them. That is, until John Dennis throws a bucket of water in her face. Keep reading »

“Nikita” And The Sexy Ass-Kicking Female Stereotype That Won’t Go Away

Jessica WakemanSeptember 9, 2010 //

What to think about “Nikita,” a new show debuting on The CW tonight at 9 p.m. (EST)? Based on the 1990s TV series, which was based on the French Luc Besson flick “La Femme Nikita,” in this incarnation of the story, martial arts star Maggie Q plays a woman rescued from prison by the CIA to become an assassin in a secret division. She has escaped their clutches and after years in hiding, she wants to rescue others from the division’s control.

A smart woman? We love it. Principled characters? Great. But why does Nikita have to be yet another ass-kicking female in tight pants, stilettos and a blowout that always looks just-so? Keep reading »

Introducing “K-town,” The New “Jersey Shore” For Asians

Jessica WakemanJuly 16, 2010 //

Italians, you won’t be the only ones stereotyped on the boob tube: “K-town,” a new “Jersey Shore”-style reality show randomly produced by male model Tyrese, starring party-hearty Asians, has begun filming in Los Angeles’ famed Koreatown. Months ago, “K-town” posted a casting notice on Craigslist for Asian-Americans “with lively, strong and unique personalities” who love “the Koreatown life” — muscles, short skirts and drinking a la Jersey Shore-houses. The cast of “K-town” is four guys and four girls: Young Lee, Jennifer Field, Joe Cha, Scarlet Chan, Violet Kim, Peter Le, Steve Kim, and Jasmine Chang. Bodybuilder and alleged porn star Peter Le is said to be the Asian “Situation,” although his beefcake abs make The Situation look like tofu. Still, isn’t it beautiful how fist-bumping transcends cultural barriers? [Broadcasting Asian America, New York Post, Jezebel] Keep reading »

6 (More) Absurd Gender Stereotypes That We Offer Up For Science

Ami AngelowiczMay 11, 2010 //

Can we stop making jokes already about women being bad drivers and even worse drinkers? No, I guess we can’t. Apparently there’s a reason why the most generic gender stereotypes won’t just go away and die … they’re, uh, scientifically proven. I felt like I was watching a bad series of beer and detergent commercials as I browsed through this list of “6 Absurd Gender Stereotypes (That Science Says Are True).” OK, so we can’t hold our liquor as well as dudes because we have higher fat ratios and smaller livers. And the driving thing? Apparently, testosterone levels determine your navigational skills. Sadly, women and gay men’s spatial prowess pales in comparison to heterosexual men. If it’s any consolation, though, men are bigger slobs because they lack our olfactory skills and they don’t see colors as well as we do. Ha ha! [Cracked]

After the jump, six more absurd gender stereotypes that we’re sure can be scientifically proven. Keep reading »

Why People Make Dumb Blonde Jokes: An Explanation

Jessica WakemanJanuary 26, 2010 //

Researchers do all kinds of dumb studies but the latest dumb study gets kind of meta: it’s about why men tell “dumb blonde” jokes. According to the journal Society, men crack wise about “dumb blondes” because they’re intimidated by their perceived sexiness. You know, all those mystical, magical sexy-powers blondes keep in their hair!

Pardon me for sounding like a blonde here, but … like, duh. Keep reading »

“Women Are Crazy, Men Are Stupid” Is Sure To Be Quality Programming

Jessica WakemanDecember 22, 2009 //

My 9th grade boyfriend once told me, “Women are crazy and men are stupid. And women are crazy because men are stupid!” Alas, I never touched that guy’s wee wee and he still lives with his mom and dad—so reductive gender stereotypes haven’t worked out for him so well.

But they have fared better for the authors Howard Morris and Jenny Lee, whose self-help book, Women Are Crazy, Men Are Stupid, was picked up by ABC as a sitcom. According to a Publisher’s Weekly review of their book, Morris and Lee are a self-described “major nut bag” and a “genuine dunce” who found love. Ah, nut bag and dunce: role models for us all!

I doubt I’ll be TiVo-ing, since a show implying women are “crazy” in romance doesn’t exactly endear me as a viewer. But who knows? Maybe it’ll be brilliant! (Snickers.) [The Hollywood Reporter] Keep reading »

Female Bloggers Ask, Is Taylor Swift Bad For Women?

Jessica WakemanDecember 7, 2009 //

Let me start off by saying a few things: I’m a feminist; I love Taylor Swift; and I also respect the minds of bloggers Kate Harding of Broadsheet and Amanda Hess of The Sexist.

But I really disagree with both of them, as well as with Sady Doyle on Bitch magazine’s She Pop blog, about Taylor Swift, specifically how detrimental it supposedly is that Swift’s songs “reinforce some not-so-woman-friendly stereotypes in extremely annoying ways,” as Harding wrote.

I know. Heavy stuff for a Monday. Keep reading »

15 Things A Woman Can Do And Still Call Herself A “Feminist”

Wendy AtterberryNovember 24, 2009 //

There’s an article this week in the Daily Mail UK admonishing a TV newscaster in England for wearing “more makeup than a drag queen” during a recent news report. The biggest problem was that she’s a feminist news correspondent. “Is it possible to be a feminist while wearing false eyelashes?” the writer — a self-defined “old-school feminist” asks. Uh, yeah, it is! And after the jump, 15 other shocking things it’s possible for a woman to do and still call herself a feminist.
Keep reading »

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