The thinking man’s circle jerk

The year is ending, which means that every website on earth is coming up with a Top 10 or Best of 2008 feature of some kind. I am reluctantly drawn to these lists — I feel utterly obligated to read them, even though they usually could be summarized as “Hey, look at my [intellect/hipster taste/class [...]

On Twilight, romance, and antifeminist ideas

The other day, Sweet Machine alerted me to a new study about the influence of media on relationship ideals. According to BBC News, the study found that people who watch a lot of romantic comedies have unrealistic and harmful ideas about relationships — they were more likely to believe in destiny when it comes to [...]

Dear Oprah

Dear Oprah,
Please just stop. Please. And I don’t mean that in a nasty way (though some of my commenters will). I mean please, stop doing this to yourself.
I know saying that is pointless, because I’ve been there, and I know it’s hardly a matter of just telling yourself to get over it and accept that this is [...]

There’s nothing wrong with your face

It’s been a long time since my days of rabid Ani Difranco fandom, but man, she’s still got it. Via Jezebel, I just clicked over to this WSJ (?!?) interview with Ani, where she talks about her new album, Red Letter Year. 
Of the song “Present/Infant,” about her new daughter, she says: “[It's] about one of the many [...]

In search of body positivity on cable TV

So I haven’t had cable TV in several years — I do most of my TV watching via Netflix (and am thus perpetually behind by a seaons), and this has been okay with me because I have always really liked TV, and thus am prone to watch more of it than is good for my [...]

Mad Men Open Thread

Okay, so this is a fluff post because I don’t have the energy to write anything else today, but it’s not entirely off-topic. Longtime Shapelings know Roberta and Deborah Lipp as two of our earliest and, for a time, most prolific commenters — they were here even before Fillyjonk and Sweet Machine, I do believe. [...]

Roseanne, 20 Years Later

Jezebel points out that this year marks the 20th anniversary of Roseanne’s premiere, and links to EW interviews with several cast members. So, first of all, holy crap, I’m old. Second, I’m really glad for the reminder of how much I used to love that show — and maybe more importantly, how much everyone did. [...]

More on Tina Fey

So, Jessica at Jezebel has a quibble with my quibble with Tina Fey. Except, I think we might be more on the same page than she realizes. Hang on.
I’ve already answered the “Tina Fey IS TOO average-looking, by Hollywood standards!” argument in comments on my original post, but here, have some magazine covers.

Granted, in two [...]

On Liz Phair, TLC, and White, Middle-Class Suburban Feminism

This began as a comment on Latoya’s post about Liz Phair over at Feministe, in which she references my Broadsheet post on the re-release of Exile in Guyville. As so often happens, the comment got so damned long I decided to make it a post.
So first, for the record, I actually didn’t (and wouldn’t) call [...]

Forty years of wankitude

Shapeling Ellen writes in:
Last night I ran across a picture of the 1965 Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover. I was so surprised by the difference between then and now in terms of what is considered “ideal” that I created a side-by-side comparison of 1965 vs. 2008.

[Click here for larger version.]
I’ve never understood the hoopla over the [...]