MetaFilter posts tagged with Gender and society

Men will never...clean without being asked “because it sucks"

DMelanogaster — Thu, 16 May 2013 13:31:13 -0800

Cleaning: The Final Feminist Frontier It's macho to be a "dad" and do childcare, and cooking is for tough guys, but cleaning? That's still women's work.

The Everyday Sexism Project

zarq — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 07:43:41 -0800

The Everyday Sexism Project collects user-submitted reports from women to document their day-to-day experiences with normalized sexism, including sexual harassment and job discrimination. Entries can be submitted at the site, in an email to founder Laura Bates or to their twitter account. Further Reading The founder, Laura Bates, contributes to the Huffington Post and the Women Under Siege Project. She also writes editorials for the Independent: Everyday Sexism: What’s the big deal?, Next generation of social media 'exposing girls to sexual abuse and Everyday Sexism: It isn’t restricted to adults – even young girls in school uniform share their experiences * BBC interview (audio): Project logs shocking 'everyday' sexism women encounter * PolicyMic: Everyday Sexism Project: Women Worldwide Turn to Twitter to Combat Misogyny "If the collective voice created by these stories teaches us anything it must surely be the realisation that it is not a young voice or an attractive voice, not provocatively dressed or just in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is the voice of a woman – every woman – old and young, married and single; anywhere, anytime. For as long as we continue to perpetuate the assumption that sexism affects a particular ‘type’ of woman, we will continue to focus on the victims rather than the problem. And the sheer range of women who have testified through our project proves that sexism is far too ubiquitous to be ‘asked for’ or ‘attracted’ by some women and not others. Sexism is neither selective, nor deserved. It affects us all."

Freedom from....

zarq — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 08:41:22 -0800

The New York Times asks seven 'experts': Does makeup ultimately damage a woman’s self-esteem, or elevate it? The Essays * Red Lips Can Rule the World by Natasha Scripture, blogger and writer about 'women’s issues and dating mishaps' for the Huffington Post. * Must This Get Political? by Phoebe Baker Hyde, author of "The Beauty Experiment" * Look Your Best, Feel Your Best by Scott Barnes, makeup artist and author of "About Face" and "Face to Face." * A Choice, Not a Requirement by Deborah Rhode, law professor at Stanford and author of "The Beauty Bias." * It’s What You Make of it by Nancy Etcoff, assistant clinical professor at Harvard Medical School and research psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital. Author of "Survival of the Prettiest: The Science of Beauty." * Using Makeup Shows Love for Yourself by Mally Roncal, makeup artist and the founder of Mally Beauty. * Women Should Do What They Want by Thomas Matlack, The Good Men Project Responses * The Last Psychiatrist: No Self-Respecting Woman Would Go Out Without Make Up * AutoStraddle: Let's Queer The NYT 'Debate' About Women And Makeup * Jenna Saunders at Jezebel: When Is Wearing Makeup A "Choice"? * Wild Beauty: Does Makeup Hurt Self-Esteem? Is The New York Times Sexist for Asking? * Echidne of the Snakes: On Makeup, Gender and the New York Times Also See * The Naked Face Project (Two Women. Sixty Days. No Makeup. No Shaving. No Primping. What Happens Next?) * About-Face (Site provides women and girls with skills to critically examine media messages that affect their positive self-image / Previously on Mefi) * Previously on Mefi: In the Eye of the Beholder, or a Bar of Soap? Covers Dove's Real Beauty ad campaign which was also discussed in Wrinkled and Rankled and The Eye of the Beholder. Dove still offers a website devoted to helping improve the self-esteem of young girls and women, including a Self Esteem Toolkit and Resources

Something like Anglophilia

Artw — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 07:25:12 -0800

My Life as a Girl - Why Stephen Burt likes dressing up as a woman.

Take that, Caitlin Flanagan

msalt — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 16:04:09 -0800

Focusing on career -- how hookup culture empowers women

It's a weird, sad way for an adult to behave.

The Whelk — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 16:31:53 -0800

So Tara Tiger Brown of Forbes.com wrote an article begging fake geek girls to go away. Leigh Alexander of Sexy Videogameland responds with "This is the worst kind of thing to me, because not only is it sad for her, but it sucks for all of us. Women in our space, having once been something of a scarcity, face particular challenges. We lack for companions and mentors. " Followed by The Mary Sue's Susana Polo "So yes, I understand the desire to weed the “posers” out of your personal life and interactions. But I have never, actually, in the flesh, met a “fake” geek girl. Or guy. "

Behind Every Great Woman

vidur — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 14:50:39 -0800

As more women earn high-level corporate roles, more husbands are staying home, raising the kids, and changing the rules.

male/female/more than that

divabat — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 23:34:24 -0800

Gender: there's a lot more going on than just "male" or "female". [some links NSFW]

A lady can do no wrong

shivohum — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 14:08:33 -0800

An Essay On The Noble Science Of Self-Justification: "Timid brides, you have, probably, hitherto been addressed as angels. Prepare for the time when you shall again become mortal. Take the alarm at the first approach of blame; at the first hint of a discovery that you are any thing less than infallible:--contradict, debate, justify, recriminate, rage, weep, swoon, do any thing but yield to conviction. I take it for granted that you have already acquired sufficient command of voice; you need not study its compass; going beyond its pitch has a peculiarly happy effect upon some occasions. But are you voluble enough to drown all sense in a torrent of words? Can you be loud enough to overpower the voice of all who shall attempt to interrupt or contradict you? Are you mistress of the petulant, the peevish, and the sullen tone? Have you practised the sharpness which provokes retort, and the continual monotony which by setting your adversary to sleep effectually precludes reply?" For remember, "a lady can do no wrong."

Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth

The Whelk — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 12:36:54 -0800

Style Like U features an exhaustive video archive of people talking about their clothes and history and what personal style means to them and the power of self transformation. Ilona Royce Smithkin - "Thank God I'm not young anymore" Kevin Stewart - "I lived at Danceateria" Dominique Brown - "I kept falling deeper in love with the 40s" Michele Savoia - "My father, I used to shine his shoes and put on his pinkie ring." MilDred Gerestant - "She helped me put on my facial hair and I felt like I was giving birth to myself as a man" Ty McBride - I'm a giant Aryan viking, my fashion icon is Tom Of Finland." Shien Lee - "When you wear a certain style, you enter into a new community" World Famous *BOB* - "I didn't know a strong, powerful glamorous women until I met a man." Emily Leonard - "I never felt like I was allowed to like clothes."

America's Next Great Civil Rights Struggle

zarq — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 10:14:30 -0800

The New Republic examines what they're calling "America's Next Great Civil Rights Struggle" and asks, "What will it take for America to accept transgender people for who they really are?" A gallery of images and interview excerpts related to the main article can be seen at the TNR special feature Breaking Boundaries. This project began five months ago as a simple reporting assignment: investigate how people who were making the transition from one gender to another learned to alter their voices. That relatively simple inquiry, however, opened a vast array of issues and questions, and introduced me to a number of people whose lives—despite any proclamations of banality—were utterly inspiring. The scope and length of the article grew, and eventually it turned into a broad look at the state of the transgender rights movement.

What It's Like To Get A Breast Reduction

reenum — Wed, 18 May 2011 12:29:25 -0800

A young woman writes about her breast reduction.

Going Dutch

modernnomad — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 05:43:19 -0800

Going Dutch Considerations of gender (in)equality in the Dutch workplace. Though the Netherlands is consistently ranked in the top five countries for women, less than 10 percent of women here are employed full-time. And they like it this way. Incentives to nudge women into full-time work have consistently failed. Less than 4 percent of women wish they had more working hours or increased responsibility in the workplace, and most refuse extended hours even when the opportunity for advancement arises.

The End of Men

marble — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 14:16:20 -0800

The End of Men , in The Atlantic. An article about the rise of women (now over 50% of the U.S. workforce), and implications of the attendant changes for both women and men.

Earlier this year, women became the majority of the workforce for the first time in U.S. history. Most managers are now women too. And for every two men who get a college degree this year, three women will do the same. For years, women’s progress has been cast as a struggle for equality. But what if equality isn’t the end point? What if modern, postindustrial society is simply better suited to women? A report on the unprecedented role reversal now under way— and its vast cultural consequences

Decline in Japanese marriage and birth rate

Prospero — Thu, 03 Jun 2004 11:46:01 -0800

Interesting article on the Japanese "social recession" (from the back pages of USA Today) "To an astonishing degree, the sexes are going their opposite ways in Japan. Young women are revolting against the traditional role of obedient housewife, opting instead to live at home and shop and socialize with girlfriends. Startled men are retreating into solitary ways. Check-ins at the country's famed 'love hotels' are even falling. As birthrates slip, a social crisis looms."

Maybe there's hope for our social lives after all.

Sapphireblue — Wed, 10 May 2000 10:49:39 -0800

Maybe there's hope for our social lives after all. A new study (complete report here) seems to directly contradict February's study which claimed that the Internet makes people antisocial hermits. This new study is particularly focused on the habits of women who use the web but offers many interesting numbers that apply across gender lines, i.e. "Nearly three-quarters of Internet users (72%) say they visited family or friends "yesterday," while 61% of nonusers report they had visited someone".