Women Too Nice to Land a Job? [studies]

Are women "too nice" to land a job?

94-Yr-Old Woman Graduates from College [touching story]

This is a touching story. A 94-year-old Oakland woman, Hazel Soares, just received her BA in art history from Mill's College in Oakland.

She is believed to be the second oldest person in the world to graduate from college, second to Nola Ochs, a woman who graduated from Fort Hays State University in Kansas three years ago at the age of 95. You go, girl!

Hazel is a living example of the "it's never too late to realize your dreams" mindset.

My, How Things Change!

It is quite amazing how rapidly the social climate has changed in the past 50 years. Large breasts are highly valued in this culture; they are a great source of a woman's sex appeal, and much of women's clothing styles are designed to reveal this particular asset.

Flashback 50 years. In 1960, 24-year-old Sandy Cherniss, who boasting a bustline of 41 inches, was asked by school officials at the college she attended to "tone it down" in effect, so her bosoms would not provide such distraction to the male students.

There is no way this would ever happen in the modern world of 2010. Halter tops and other "club wear" type clothing are manufactured for and marketed to pre-teens just on the cusp of puberty, many whom haven't even developed breasts yet or started menstruating. Girls are shown that exposing their breasts and showing as much cleavage as (legally) possible not only helps in securing a boyfriend but oftentimes a job or promotion, too; many girls learn that it's often their body, not their brains that are their assets most valued by others.

One of the most fucked up things about this ad is that it places the blame on the female student, telling her to tone it down, as if she should be punished for her biology rather than expecting the oggling boys to behave like decent men and not gawk at her endowments while in the classroom. Rather than holding the male students to a certain standard of higher level academic decorum, they blame the female student.

After reading the text that accompanied the first photograph, I realized that this incident took place here in San Francisco, at City College. San Francisco is arguably the most politically progressive urban area in the United States and is seen as a counter cultural and queer mecca throughout the world, yet even here, just 50 years ago, things were vastly different.

Here is a clearer picture of the student, Sandy Cherniss.

Sexism in Advertising: Your Vagina is a Void

Women's genitals are not portrayed with nearly the same reference, respect, and even admiration that the male phallus is given in media and throughout society in general. Here is (another) sexist vag-negative ad that just reinforces womens' already low genital self esteem.

Read more about it here on Feministing.

female force comics

here is a series of comics featuring powerful female political figures. it's about time! women are rarely seen in comics as "superheroes," (there are a few exceptions- wonderwoman and supergirl come to mind) and i think this is a great thing for young women to have. it's important for women and girls to be able to identify with women who are powerful for something other than being sexually attractive.



also featured are michelle obama, condoleeza rice, and caroline kennedy.

you can see them here at blue water productions

great new read

i can't wait to buy this book. two years ago, the authors of this book set out on a cross-country road trip in which they talk to young women about feminism. they talk to many well-known feminists, but also to young women who are not close to feminism at all.

i think this is a great thing because it saddens me how many young women don't identify as feminists. as a young man, in college classes, when asked by the professor who considers themselves a feminist, i often found my hand to be the only one raised, in a class full of young women. i think this book will make feminism accessible to a generation who might be somewhat feminist-phobic.

read the original post at feministing