Gender Across Borders

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On May 14th, Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood opened in theaters worldwide to indifferent and some would say dismal critical reception. Not one for epic period piece action flicks, I had no intention of seeing the film, especially after reading its mediocre reviews. But then last weekend, stranded in a “dry” town outside of Boston at a family reunion of sorts, I found myself oddly suggesting the movie to my similarly worn-out family members one evening. Even more surprisingly, not far into the 130-minute long film, I found myself beginning to really enjoy it. Maybe it was the heat, the two and a half hour graduation I had just attended or the tension that always arises at such events when divorced parents are involved, but the Robin Hood I watched last Saturday night was entertaining, eloquent and dark—fit characteristics considering the story’s setting smack dab in the heart of England’s Middle Ages. Even more fun, for me at least, was the film’s unbridled commitment to strong female characters. For a story about bow and arrow wielding mercenaries combating an evil dictator, it surprisingly passed the Bechdel Test, staging important conversations between the current Queen of England, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and Prince John’s Queen-to-be, Isabella of Angoulême, as well as vibrant village scenes, where Robin and Marion engage in dialogue with the men, women and children alike. It furthermore touted Chomsky-esque politics, as Robin and Marion work together to unite people from below to fight the power above.

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Last week, I wrote about Publishers Weekly selecting only male-authored books for their 2009 top-ten list. Today, I want to explore one issue that Lizzie Skurnick wrote about as contributing to this sort of skewed selection: perceptions of ambition. She describes what occurred in the process of judging a literary award:

Our short list was pretty much split evenly along gender lines. But as we went through each category, a pattern emerged. Some books, it seemed, were “ambitious.” Others were well-wrought, but somehow . . . “small.” “Domestic.” “Unam –” what’s the word? “– bititous.”

I don’t know about you, but when I hear the word “ambitious,” what I think is “Nice try. Better luck next time. Keep shooting for the stars!” I think many things, but never among them is the word Congratulations.

But, incredulous, again and again, I watched as we pushed aside works that everyone acknowledged were more finely wrought, were, in fact, competently wrought, for books that had shot high but fallen short. And every time the book that won was a man’s.

My question then is whether women do, in fact write less ambitiously. In other words, is the problem that ambition rather than success recognized or that our perception of ambition is off?

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The Art Institute of Chicago’s newest exhibition opened on Saturday, and I must admit that I found it to be truly exquisite. Housed in the basement, tucked away with the restrooms and Family “Touch Gallery,” Playing with Pictures: the Art of Victorian Photocollage engages its audience with intimate materials in the capacious museum’s most visceral space.

Many young women today, myself included, can recall making goofy collages of photos, magazine cut-outs, markers and paint with girlfriends at slumber parties or for high school or college class projects. Some of us are still in charge of updating the family album or are beginning our own, taking the opportunity to get a little more creative, incorporating alongside photographs memorabilia embellished with additional craft supplies.

What Playing with Pictures shows viewers is the origin of this personal practice. On display are the pages of fifteen different nineteenth century photocollage albums. Pieced together predominately by upper-class English women in the 1860s and 70s (there is at least one made by a French woman and one by a man), these albums combine the mediums of painting and photography into whimsical and fantastical works on paper. And while the scrapbooks and class projects I have held onto mean more to me than I can express, it is immediately apparent that they are distinctly different than the pieces included in this exhibition, which have clearly held  historical and aesthetic as well as emotional values throughout their lives—from their origins at the hands of their makers to their current existence in  museum collections. Read the rest of this entry →

Modeling is certainly an issue of contention within feminist discourse. On one hand, modeling (and the fashion industry, in general) is largely responsible for the unrealistic physical beauty standards that cause young girls and women to have skewed relationships with body image and develop dangerous eating disorders. On the other hand, fashion has opened up professional opportunities for women; it’s one industry in which women really are in charge. So where can we find common ground on the issue?

What about an international modeling agency with a philosophy about the importance of inner beauty? An organization less focused on mainstream standards of beauty and more focused on “beauty achieved from the perfect balance and unity of spirit, mind, and physical body”?

Enter Models of Life, a UK-based modeling agency founded on Christian values. With affiliate organizations in throughout Asia and North America, the group is currently recruiting prospective talent in London.

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The new show “Gay Icons” at the National Portrait Gallery in London presents portraits selected by 10 lesbian and gay artists. These portraits are not necessarily queer themselves, but were judged to be icons to the queer community, including such disparate figures as Francis Bacon, Benjamin Britten, and the Village People.

Pictured: Patricia Higsmith

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If walking past the overpowering cologne smell and mindnumbing music at Abercrombie and Fitch doesn’t nauseate you the way it does me, here’s something that certainly will: apparently employees with prosthetic arms don’t match the strict “look” policy. Riam Dean, a 22-year-old law student in London, is now suing the company for discrimination.

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Welcome to the first installment of the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) Situation Report! This monthly column will highlight advances or setbacks in SRHR policy internationally.

In this month’s SRHS Sit Report we’re highlighting Spain.The Spanish Parliament is currently considering legislation that would decriminalize abortion.  The law under consideration is a pretty good one, too.  It’s still being drafted, but public statements by the left-leaning administration have been emphasizing women’s rights and autonomy.  In a lot of countries with restrictive abortion laws arguments are focused around the public health consequences of unsafe clandestine abortion.  Although often that’s necessary because of the social climate, instrumental arguments are always more vulnerable to future challenge than are arguments based on intrinsic value.  And women’s autonomy is a pretty intrinsic value. Read the rest of this entry →

The Ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh: A Woman in World History by Linda Colley, 363 pp. Pantheon Books

To understand history, one must go beyond the charts of trade, the dates and names of wars and other events, for history is the story of the people who lived it, even and especially when these people were not the politically powerful individuals who we too often think of as being the only ones to make history. For this reason, the story of Elizabeth Marsh makes powerful reading for anyone interested in trade, colonialism, and transnationalism in the eighteenth century. Read the rest of this entry →