Benjamin B. alerted us to a New York Times story about a new trend in Japan: yaeba. Some young Japanese women are now having dentists artificially enlarge their incisors so as to achieve […]
Author: Lisa Wade
Women Boxers Advised To Wear Skirts
According to the BBC, the Amateur International Boxing Association is advising women boxers to wear skirts. The President of the Association, Dr. Ching-Kuo Wu, argues that it allows viewers to tell the […]
The Problem with Pink
Breast cancer awareness efforts have been wildly successful in one way and, research suggests, a great failure in another. On the success side, the movement has mobilized a truly stunning […]
(Young) (Male) Americans Prefer Boy Children
In a previous post I’ve argued against framing a preference for boy children as “culturally ‘Asian.’” New data from Gallup, sent in by Kari B., shows that this preference is alive and […]
Sterilization of Women of Color: Does “Unforced” Mean “Freely Chosen”?
U.S. women of color have historically been the victims of forced sterilization. Some women were sterilized during Cesarean sections and never told; others were threatened with termination of welfare benefits […]
Culture-Jamming Sexist Ads
From Sociological Images: Reader Tara C. sent in a great excuse to revive an old post featuring public resistance to marketing that sexually objectifies women. As I wrote back then, […]
Defying Title IX, Colleges Report Male Athletes as Women
The New York Times has a fascinating 3-minute video on “roster management.” a term referring to the manipulation of Title IX rules in order to appear like you’re following them […]
Censored Cover Raises Question: Why Are Breasts “Obscene,” But Not Chests?
The cover of this month’s Dossier Journal magazine has caused a great stir. In a matter of a few hours, I’ve received five emails about it. Here’s what all the […]
Artist Challenges How Women Are Shamed About Eating
Growing up in America, we learn that sweets and junk food are “guilty pleasures.” Women, especially, are supposed to refrain from such indulgences. And, if they cannot—if they, for example, […]
No Comment: Caveman Courtship
Somewhere we got the idea that ”caveman” courtship involved a man clubbing a woman over the head and dragging her by the hair to his cave where he would, presumably, copulate […]