In the social media era we live in, it’s hard for the personal to not be political. And often, for the political not to veer towards the personal. In the last couple weeks, for example, we’ve learned a few new things about Hillary Clinton. With the brilliant Texts from Hillary Tumblr page, we got to […]
Comedy
Because women have always been funny.
We Heart: Funny or Die Counsels Rick Santorum on “Aborting” His Campaign
Rick Santorum likes to tell women to “make the best out of a bad situation,” but he didn’t take his own advice with his own presidential run. After trailing Mitt Romney, he officially ended his campaign last week. But did anyone notice just how easy it was for Santorum to abort his campaign? He didn’t […]
F is for Funny, Feminist, Fey
Tina Fey isn’t afraid to throw around a few F-words in her new memoir, Bossypants. She stands up for funny women, and says to those who don’t like–or believe in the existence of–women comedians, “We don’t fucking care if you like it.” Throughout, she makes clear that she views herself as a feminist and offers […]
Don’t Ms. These Feminist Events: January 25-30
Even though the 38th anniversary of Roe v. Wade has passed, don’t think that the feminist celebration has come to an end, my friends. This week brings more pro-choice events around the country, along with feminist conferences, art exhibits, Barbie discussions and even some guilty-pleasure reality-show fun (Hint: don’t be tardy to any of these […]
Feminists Joking About Feminism: A Chat with Vag Magazine’s Creators
Recently, I had the opportunity to interview the creators of Vag Magazine, a comedy web TV show about a group of feminists starting an anti-patriarchal magazine. Leila Cohan-Miccio and Caitlin Tegart, the co-writers, co-creators and co-executive producers of the show, both hail from New York City’s Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre; after chatting with them, I […]
Vag Magazine: The Laugh’s on Feminist Journalists
The first episode of Vag Magazine, a six-part web series, has debuted online–and even though we’re in the line of comedic fire, we’re grinning, if not yet guffawing. The show was created by some funny women from the Upright Citizen’s Brigade, an improv and sketch-comedy group where famous peeps like Amy Poehler got their start. […]
Easy A Earns Its Grade
Easy A, a modern retelling of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter set in an Ojai, Calif., high school, is now in theaters. Emma Stone stars as Olive Penderghast, a 17-year-old high school student who finds her good reputation sullied when a prissy and vengeful Christian classmate overhears her making up a story about losing her […]
We Heart: Advice for Young Girls from A Satiric Princess
Cartoon princesses give the best advice. “Never be comfortable in the body that you’re given. If you don’t like how you look–snip snip!–there’s nothing wrong with that!” “Don’t ever talk to a man until he kisses you on the lips first. Then, as a woman, you’re allowed.” Thanks to a set of YouTube videos from […]
Serious Laughs: Laura Linney in “The Big C”
In the opening scene of The Big C, a new series that premiered this week on Showtime, suburban schoolteacher and mom Cathy Jamison (played by Laura Linney) wears a bright, strained smile. It’s the people-pleasing, trying-to-be-nice smile that many women put on when they try to negotiate for what they want. In this case, Cathy […]