genderful

So-- this isn't a gender studies blog, but two gender-related things, again:

1. I went shopping yesterday (it is tax free weekend in VA and I definitely bought the cutest clothes ever). I'm really fascinated by fashion (specifically, t-shirts) marketed to teenage girls that perpetuate the worst stereotypes about women (catty, bitchy, manipulative) and are directed towards other women as forms of passive aggressive size-ups-- shirts like "tell your boyfriend I said thanks" or the many types of clever ways to say "I am prettier/ more popular/ more promiscuous than you." It's a tough time to be a teenage girl (especially pre-teen) these days if you want a little integrity. Or if you just don't want to be negative and lash out at other girls. Anyways, the newest slogan for this type of t-shirt that I saw yesterday:

"Your boyfriend is in my top 8"

Hilarious. Love the intersection of technology and shallowness.

I can't stop thinking about the ways individual identity is shaped by the clothing options available, and how mainstream clothing manufacturers perpetuate and bank on the insecurities caused by strict gender roles. Assuming you want to be a trendy teenager, basically your only choices are what is being marketed to you-- and of course, every mall around the country has the same clothes. You have to shape your identity based on these few options, and the options often have such strong gender scripts underlying them. It reminds me of the dilemma my friends and I faced as teenagers and in college when we did not feel comfortable wearing super short shorts (as Anne cleverly called them "cookie cutters")--they felt skanky and we didn't like being 24/7 sex objects for the stereotypical male gaze. We would go to several malls, and none of them sold women's shorts that were longer than upper-thigh. So some of my friends wore boy shorts, but I was reduced to wearing long pants for several summers in a row until Bermuda shorts became trendy again. Such are the costs of identity preservation!

I also love the repetition in fashion-- things come back into style several years later. I saw a sweater at Banana Republic yesterday that looked exactly like a sweater I bought from Old Navy in eighth grade. No thanks.

Note: I recognize that current fashion is arguably much less restrictive as far as gender roles and evolving to allow more diversity in appearance. Express now sells the "boyfriend tank" for women, which is basically a man's white ribbed a-frame. And men are now wearing pink clothing even in a business setting, which is just the hottest thing ever. There is a whole chapter in The Guide to Getting it On about how fashion manufacturers like Calvin Klein changed the nature of men's underwear so that men can wear briefs and not feel like their masculinity is threatened.

But despite all these recent changes, the mean t-shirts directed at other women are just as popular.

2. I absolutely love this new gender divide series in the NY Times this summer. The newest one, Facing Middle Age with No Degree, and No Wife is particularly interesting.

I think I appreciated it so much because it reflects a generational shift occurring in my hometown, where my grandfather had no degree, but he worked at the automobile manufacturing plant and was unionized, so he was able to support his seven children fairly well (at least by small town standards: they went to McDonalds once a week and with the cost of living being so low, they had a nice house. However, my father was the only one to get a college education). In the last twenty years or so, the plant closed down, so now the small town economy and the marriage market have both shifted in response. Because of the sex-segregated economy, the women have stayed in the same jobs (pink ghetto, but again, low cost of living, so $25-40K is just fine in a double income household). But their husbands now look like deadbeats because with the plant's closure, they are now selling appliances at department stores or scheming up small businesses that aren't successful and drain the family's resources. They are forced to acknowledge and rely on their wives' financial contributions, all thanks to a lack of education that didn't seem necessary twenty years ago.

All of this breeds a lot of resentment, a lot of stress and strain on everyone involved. And it explains the continuing popularity of fraternal organizations (often named after masculine animals, like elks and moose), where many men drink the evenings away (day after day) among the company of other middle-aged small town male friends, despite the fact that they have families at home. I could write a whole scholarly article on fraternal organizations, as I am the daughter of a former chapter president of one of them (he was the "exalted ruler" until April of last year-- I swear to god I am not making up that title!).

1. One of the best things about DC: genuine racial diversity.

2. I bought some of my textbooks today and actually got a little excited for school-- I can't believe i will be working full time in a year (& taking the bar!).

it's for the kids.

Basically, both courts found that marriage is like a box of Trix: It’s for kids.

A very well written article. Howver, no offense to Dan Savage (because I love him), but his subtle use of the gender normative leisure activity (his son loves baseball) makes me laugh a little: it's so sad that same sex parents often feel the need to show that their children end up exactly the same as children from opposite sex families. It becomes a sly PR campaign-- think of how this article would be read differently by the dominant audience if the son was eager to see the ballet. I just hate how all these gay people are running around yelling, "I swear we can socialize him into his binary gender role just the same as if you straight people were raising him!"

Or the kid could just love baseball, no gender scripts involved. This is probably closer to the truth, but it's amazing how many articles I read about same sex parenting where the kids in the background just happen to be engaging in gender normative play. Now is not the time in this civil rights movement to acknowledge any sort of differences in parenting style-- "we're just the same, I swear!" The Goodridges' daughter never wore combat boots in those publicity shots.

Thinking strategically, I know this is fundamentally the way to go. Too few people have interactions with real life same sex families, so articles like the one above fill in the gap and hopefully get the majority on board to this civil rights issue. But as a gender studies major, it gets on my nerves in the meantime.

watch out oprah!

1. A recent interview with Oprah and her "best friend" Gayle: (from this article)
Lisa: Do the rumors bother you, Gayle?

Gayle: Not anymore, but I used to say, "Oprah, you have to do something. It's hard enough for me to get a date on a Saturday night. You've got to go on the air and stop it!" And then you realize you really can't stop it. And, you know, somebody made a good point: "Well, every time we see you, you're together," which is true.

Oprah: We were just down in the Bahamas—I was giving a wedding for my niece there. And we're having this big party in my suite. And who comes walking in—

Gayle: With my suitcase.

Oprah: With her suitcase! And I knew what all the waiters, what everybody was thinking: They're gay. This proves it. Has to be, because Stedman isn't around.

Gayle: And sure enough, the tabloid headline was "Oprah's Hideaway with Gal Pal." Ridiculous. But that said, I have to admit, if Oprah were a man, I would marry her.

2. the best thing about a blog + a stat counter is seeing how people google and end up at your blog. last night someone googled "joy like a river" which brought them to a post i made a few months ago where i quoted a religious song from my childhood. i am sure this blog was exactly what they were looking for.

much love,
laura

just saying--

one of the best weekends ever. i love indiana friends (especially anne).

future patron of the arts

this article is interesting to begin with, but then this quote also made me laugh.

And how do they feel about the pre-emptive bid for their as-yet-unearned income?

“It feels sweet,” Mr. Shih said.

“I feel used!” Mr. Wang said.

from this article

We took a tour of the east wing of the White House today. The end of the tour consisted of exiting through the north entrance (the traditional front of the building with the columns). They finished a big construction project around a year ago which closed PA avenue off from traffic, so now tourist groups hover around the huge fence which separates the WH lawn from the closed off road. Tourists take pictures, watch protestors camped out in the park, and generally peer through the lawn shrubbery toward the white house (~200 feet?).

So as we were walking through the exit, my friend stops walking and briefly waived to the tourists several hundred feet away.

They started screaming like he was the President.

It was SO funny. He actually felt kind of bad about it, and he took off his jacket with the hopes that they wouldn't recognize him because of course, we eventually had to cross their path to get back to the office. And it wasn't crazy for the tourists to assume we were some group of political officials-- we were all wearing suits and such.

I told a firm secretary about it, and she said, "From that far away [with his bald head], they probably thought that he was Michael Jordan or something!"

cursing love.

The fact that the CNN headline today is about a microphone picking up the President saying the word "shit" to Tony Blair demonstrates how stupid the mainstream media tends to be. Especially considering everything else going on these days in international affairs.

The fact that I got a distinct feeling of pleasure while watching said video demonstrates my similar quality.

My favorite part of the CNN headline: "Bush to Blair: candid, open, uncensored"

HA!

If I were ever President, I would make a point of cursing like a sailor from the get-go. This would not only let the public get to know the real me (transparency in politics, love it), but it would also serve to undercut the stereotype of the weak government lady. Margaret Thatcher took lessons to lower her voice, I would simply relive my high school days (I have gotten slightly classier since then, although you can take the small town girl out of the midwest, but you can't take the midwest out of the girl) and I would stun/charm everyone with my eloquent use of the phrase, "What the fuck is going on in the mideast?!?!"

facts

1. i eat beef noodle soup (AKA pho) at least once a week.

2. my secret food love as of late (so unhealthy!) is salami and fresh mozzarella. i also like cherries and corn on the cob.

3. my high school was more challenging than undergrad and law school combined. this disappoints me a lot.

4. i love reading periodicals.

5. i was raised pentecostal. but no denim skirts, thank god.

6. i once won 52 pints of ben & jerry's ice cream by registering young voters.

so... i am obsessed with the washington post food critic's weekly chat, especially after i submitted a question and a month later, it was published in the express!

now, more dc food gossip: here.

favorite dc restaurant as of late: ROSA MEXICANO. technically it is a chain, but that is because it is so good. Oh, and I love Fogo de Chao, although I think it made me sick on my b-day on Friday (everyone else felt sick too).

in other news, my best friend from when we 11 through 19 randomly contacted me today... it had been years. i sat on a blanket out in the grass and we talked on the phone for two and a half hours. so much fun to reconnect and discover that at the core, we have not changed.

two links i love right now

public interest= lots of time to play on the internet.

1. cancelling AOL

2. maopost.com (click the link on the right hand side of the page to get your face painted into a piece of communist propoganda art!!)

lawyer joke

A young lawyer died and went up to face his final appeal, if you will. When he got there, St. Peter glanced at his records and thought for a second, then said to him "young man, it seems you've led a very good life, yet you're a lawyer and we typically send them 'downstairs', so to speak. This is quite a conundrum, so I've talked it over with God and we've decided to make you a deal: we'll show you both heaven and hell and you can make your own decision about where you'd like to spend eternity."

Now the lawyer thought this was pretty strange, but he wasn't about to argue with the Big Guy so he said okay. St. Peter immediately led the way to hell and he peeked inside the flaming gates.

All around him were people partying and laughing, drinking top shelf cocktails from an open bar and flirting wildly with each other as they danced to music played live by all the dead rock stars. The lawyer looked around and thought to himself "Holy s--t, if this is hell, then imagine what heaven must be like! This is going to be great!"

Then he stepped back outside and allowed Peter to lead the way to the pearly gates. Only this time, when he peaked inside their splendor, he saw only people in comfortable business clothes sitting at desks and cheerfully working away. He watched for a moment, puzzled at the apparent calm-but-diligent atmosphere, then turned back to Peter.

"Well," he began, "I never thought I'd say this, but I think I'm going to go to hell, if you don't mind." Peter smiled and nodded, adding a quick "Yeah, most attorneys choose that place" before he led the way back to hell and opened the gates, this time forever. The lawyer ducked inside eagerly, ready to party, but instead found himself knee deep in documents, surrounded by groaning young workers who were struggling to stay upright at their desks while older devils smoking cigars stood over them with whips. "What happened?!!" He yelled to the devil who grabbed him by the collar to lead him to his new life. "I was here just a little while ago and everyone looked so happy!"

The devil just smiled and nodded, "Ah, yes," the devil chuckled. "That was our summer associate program."

can't stop listening

that echo chorus lied to me with its
hold on hold on hold on hold on

my favorite summer associate friend explained the unexplainable: the reason I have struggled and somewhat disliked direct legal services is because you take the role of the client and... it sucks. it sucks to be poor and have legal needs and have to beg to get the public benefits you need or beg for some sort of justice for a wrongful termination based on HIV discrimination. i love doj and the firm because there's power, it's easy to get things done and still intellectually challenging. you are disconnected from the bureaucracy. as she said this, it completely overwhelmed my brain... suddenly so much made sense. and suddenly i was a little embarassed too.

i've figured out that i still like public interest, but i like the public policy and impact litigation parts of it... not so much being in the trenches and the routine application for public benefits and such.

1. As I have said, I love, love Alison Bechdel: ny times review

2. this was so hilarious to me that I emailed it to myself at work:
Governor Daniels, who flew back from a trade mission to Asia to attend the ceremony marking the announcement, said Honda's decision was exciting for his state.

"These are the jobs we seek for Hoosiers most avidly — high paying jobs, stable jobs," Governor Daniels said. "These are the jobs that Hoosiers admire most."

article
umm... i beg to differ.

again, a crosspost

So it appears that when it becomes hot in DC, all the homeless people get umbrellas. I was walking along K Street yesterday and all of this sudden this homeless lady emerges from underneath the umbrella and barks at me: "Buy me a Coke!"

That is SO what I would say if I were homeless and down on my luck!


also a true life overheard in dc:

Sorority girl to her friend: I really like monogrammed stuff, but my initials are ANS, which sounds too much like anus... so that would make me uncomfortable.
Friend: but actually if it were monogrammed it would be little A, big S, little N.
...
Sorority girl: hmm, I had never thought of that before.
--Tenleytown metro station

so long, civil rights

i meant to post this last week--

This is so disturbing. This is the second of two Supreme Court decisions that came out after exams which would have changed some of what I was taught this past semester (the other was an evidence related case about 911 calls being admissible).

and you know you are in law school when you read the summary of the majority opinion and think in your head exactly what you later discover the dissent said.

fucking awesome

(crossposted from my other blog)

Pope Makes First Papal Visit to Six Flags

In other news, H is gone until Sunday, so I am going to spend the rest of the week unpacking, getting my hair cut, going out to dinner with S, and doing all the DC type things I love to do (like shopping in Georgetown.... I have money to spend!).

i'm in a computer lab, as the internet has not worked in my new apartment yet since i moved in this weekend. i keep thinking of amazing blog topics, but i have of course forgotten them all.

i am going fishing tomorrow with the firm. and by "fishing" i mean, sitting on a boat and drinking beer while the rest of the people kill animals in sport. :-) although i do think someone will end up eating the fish, which evens out everything.

this story makes me laugh so much. and last week cnn had a video of a cat that chased a bear into a tree. there's a photo where the bear is a 100 feet high, looking down in terror, and at the bottom of the tree is this tiny little orange cat. my childhood cat (the one with three legs who is actually still alive) used to chase deer, but then the deer would figure out the size differences and the chase would be reversed.

this book is amazing. i met her last week and she signed my book with an exclamation point... so cute.

FUN HOME ALISON BECHDEL As a little girl, Bechdel knew that her father, an English teacher in small-town Pennsylvania, was odd. He was withdrawn, he decorated their house too much, he moonlighted as an undertaker. But she didn't realize he was gay and seducing his young students, and she certainly didn't expect him to kill himself at 44 years old. In this brilliant, bleakly hilarious memoir in comic-book form, Bechdel combines stories from her emotionally barren but weirdly fascinating childhood with elegant allusions to Proust and Joyce to make a gripping story of filial sleuthery and, in the end, hard-earned acceptance of how much of her father she finds in herself.
from here.



the firm is taking us on vacation starting tomorrow. time to go pack the seersucker and linen clothes.

peace like a river
joy like a fountain
love like an ocean