MetaFilter posts tagged with women and culture

Portraits of luminaries of the arts - 1930s-'60s

madamjujujive — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 08:08:36 -0800

Extravagant Crowd - Carl Van Vechten’s Portraits of Women and Photos of African Americans. Previous post by ND¢: Creative Americans: Portraits by Carl Van Vechten 1932-1964. Also, public domain works from Wikimedia Commons. Van Vechten was an influential critic, novelist, photographer, and promoter of the arts. He was an early patron of the Harlem Renaissance - but sparked a huge controversy with his unfortunately titled novel, Nigger Heaven. Despite this controversy, his interest in and high regard for African American arts was not in dispute. The Index and Introduction to the Portraits of Women collection is quite good, but for those who may not want to wade through all 96 pages of his African American collection, here is a selection I particularly liked: Eartha Kitt, 1954 Billy Dee Williams, 1963 James Earl Jones, 1961 Dizzie Gillespie, 1955, 2 James Baldwin, 1955 Ralph Bunche, 1951 Harry Belafonte, 1954 Billie Holiday, 1949, another, and with Mister Pearl Bailey, 1946 Leontyne Price, 1951, and as Bess Ossie Davis, 1951 Joyce Bryant, 1953 Diahann Carroll, 1955

The political-economy perspective on women's rights

kliuless — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 07:48:02 -0800

Women's rights: What's in it for men? - "Women in rich countries largely enjoy gender equality while those in poor countries suffer substantial discrimination. This column proposes an explanation for the relationship between economic development and female empowerment that emphasises changes in the incentives males face rather than shifts in moral sentiment. Technological change that raises demand for human capital may give men a stake in women's rights." also see "A Spontaneous Order: Women and the Invisible Fist"

All of this can happen quite naturally when a large enough minority of men choose to commit widespread, intense, random acts of violence against a large enough number of women. And it can happen quite naturally without the raping men, or the protecting men, or the women in the society ever intending for any particular large-scale social outcome to come about. But what will come about, quite naturally, is that women's social being — how women appear and act, as women, in public — will be systematically and profoundly circumscribed by a diffuse, decentralized threat of violence. And, as a natural but unintended consequence of many small, self-interested actions, some vicious and violent (as in the case of men who rape women), some worthwhile in their origins but easily and quickly corrupted (as in the case of men who try to protect women from rape), and some entirely rational responses to an irrational and dangerous situation (as in the case of women who limit their action and seek protection from men), the existence and activities of the police-blotter rapist serve to constrain women's behavior and to become dependent on some men — and thus dependent on keeping those men pleased and serving those men's priorities — for physical protection from other men. That kind of dependence can just as easily become frustrating and confining for the woman, and that kind of power can just as easily become corrupting and exploitative for the man, as any other form of dependence and power. (Libertarians and anarchists who easily see this dynamic when it comes to government police and military protection of a disarmed populace, shouldn't have any trouble seeing it, if they are willing to see it, when it comes to male protection of women.)

and btw "a book penned by a woman who lived with Roma for a time. The bare threads of Roma society are disturbing," cf.

What Really Happens When Women Rule?

amyms — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 21:16:46 -0800

"This will be a woman’s world, and men will have to learn to fit in." The Wilson Quarterly examines the historical, cultural, and sexual implications of matriarchy. Via.

exquisite living works of art

madamjujujive — Sat, 23 Sep 2006 16:33:27 -0800

Geiko of Kyoto is a stunning photo gallery of Kyotos's Geisha - both the mature Geiko and the apprentice Maiko. Melissa Chasse annotates many photos with fascinating details and offers an account of her tea party with Mamechika, a lovely Maiko. For more, this lovely Geisha site offers a brief history from the era of the floating world, more photos, Ukiyo-e art, and links. Also see y2karls' prior definitive post on ukiyo-e.

Writing "the girl"

klangklangston — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 09:49:20 -0800

Eight rules for writing a female comics character worth reading Karen Healey lays a cursory path for avoiding the major pitfalls of women in comics. Part of the larger Girl Wonder site (previously). Also good is Designated Sidekick's takedown of IGN.

"Looking for an Arab for serious purposes only."

onlyconnect — Sun, 29 Aug 2004 15:41:41 -0800

Personal ads in the Arab world "Resident of the UAE, 28 years old, high-school diploma, looking for a veiled wife, a citizen of UAE or any other Gulf county. Will be allowed to continue working after marriage." ~ "Syrian, 36 years old, holds a government position, is interested to meet a tall, fair-skinned and green-eyed virgin, Lebanese or Moroccan."

Mutilation losing favor in Africa

languagehat — Tue, 08 Jun 2004 16:10:23 -0800

Female genital mutilation is a blight on women's lives in many parts of Africa. Today's NY Times has a story, "Genital Cutting Shows Signs of Losing Favor in Africa" by Mark Lacey, that gives grounds for optimism:

Slowly, genital cutting is losing favor. Parliaments are passing laws forbidding the practice, which causes widespread death and disfigurement. Girls are fleeing their homes to keep their vaginas intact. And the women who have been carrying out the cutting, and who have been revered by their communities for doing so, are beginning to lay down their knives.

(If you don't want to register with the NYT, here's the Mathaba.net copy.)

Ex-women in Albania.

languagehat — Fri, 30 Jan 2004 09:47:44 -0800

Sworn virgins. "A sworn virgin is called such because she swears—takes a vow under the law of the Kanun—to become a man. From the day she takes this vow (which is sometimes at a very early age), she becomes a man: she dresses like one, acts like one, walks like one, works like one, talks like one, and her family and community treat her as one. She is referred to as he. He will never marry and will remain celibate all of his life." If you find this stuff intriguing, by all means read Alice Munro's great short story "The Albanian Virgin" (from Open Secrets, 1994); you might also want to check out A Dictionary of Albanian Religion, Mythology, and Folk Culture, where there's much more cultural weirdness, and Edith Durham's classic High Albania (online here), from which I first learned of these mannish gals. Oh, and there's a movie!

luser — Thu, 04 Oct 2001 12:31:44 -0800

Startlingly beautiful girl. What is her life like? Does she resent it? How uncomfortable must life be for this girl's boyfriend? Why do restaurants give her a 75% discount if she sits at a window table? Rhetorical questions all, but sometimes you gotta ask. Be sure to click the slideshow thingie. (NYtimes link)