When someone uses the word “feminist” to describe themselves, I often wince a little internally, as the word seems to have a wide range of intensities depending upon who you’re talking to. Using the most basic definition of the word, feminism is “the belief that women and men should have equal social, economic, sexual, and political rights”. Or to break it down even more simply, it’s the idea that chicks and dudes should be considered equals. In that respect, I think that most of us (men and women alike) could be considered feminists. Outside of some cheeky banter about how women should be in the kitchen makin’ sammiches, most folks – at least those in/around my generation – would agree that old social structures are pretty much dead, and we should all be on equal social and economic footing.
But there are some who take feminism to a rather radical and fiery place, and while I appreciate their passion, I just can’t get on board with righteous indignation. There will always be some form of “objectifying women” out there (most often in the media), but women shouldn’t act so pure and innocent – we do it as well. Visit any Vegas-area “all male revue” and you’ll see exactly what I mean.
Don’t ask me how I know that … 
However, I have to admit that the righteously feminine lady-beast buried deep within my breast was a little conflicted when I saw the newest Barbie, which debuted at the 2010 Toy Fair:
Does this laptop make my ass look big?Meet Computer Engineer Barbie, Mattel’s attempt at being culturally relevant – although the credit/blame isn’t all theirs. Apparently they conducted an online vote for Barbie’s newest profession, and interestingly enough, women voters actually preferred news anchor as the career choice, while men threw their votes behind computer engineering. Both dolls will be on the shelves this fall, but the one above is getting all the media attention, with most calling it a positive advancement. But I’m curious as to what the consensus is amongst women who are actually part of the nerdy niche they’re trying to appeal to.
I have to admit that I’ve always had issues with Barbie dolls, dating back to being 4 or 5 years old and being blinded by a wall of Barbie blond in the toy store, when all I wanted was a redheaded doll that looked more like me. I know there have been “friends and family” in the Mattel collection with other hair colors and ethnicities, and there have been some failed experiments at giving her different looks over the years. I can appreciate that the “golden standard” (as it were) has become what little girls expect when they ask for a Barbie doll. But the bland lack of diversity bothers me – and it gets even worse when Mattel tries to cram her into every mold possible.
Barbie has had well over 100 careers by now, from being a doctor to a rock star. And inevitably, she’s always rocking the perfect blond hair, glassy-eyed smile, and humanly impossible body proportions. But it struck a nerve when I saw Mattel’s interpretation of what a “computer engineer” (read: geek) would look like. They claim to have worked with the Society of Women Engineers to create “as realistic an ensemble as possible”, and I understand that they want to appeal to the pink and pastel lovin’ demographic, but c’mon! Pink glasses and wristwatch; a t-shirt and jacket covered in binary code and circuitry; skin-tight, sparkly black pants; a Bluetooth in her ear and laptop that’s literally attached to her arm? *Facepalm* Is anyone else experiencing a deja vu to Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde?
Here’s the thing … What I love best about geeky women is that they DO NOT fit a mold. While a news anchor or doctor might be expected to look a certain way and dress specifically for their profession, there are a far too broad range of nerds n’ geeks n’ gamers out there to be able to lump us all into a certain style or mentality. It’s cool that Mattel is finally recognizing a career that they’ve completely ignored for the last 30 years, but if Computer Engineering Barbie is their idea of an accurate representation, I think it fails pretty hardcore.
So what do you think, geeky gals? Is it a laughable attempt at gettin’ with the times, or a positive step toward encouraging the youngins to look at computer sciences as a career choice? Oh and just for the hell of it, I found this picture from Forbes that demonstrates what Barbie’s proportions would look like if she was in human form. (Real gal on the left, Barbie-ized version on the right.) Talk about someone who needs to run to the kitchen for a sandwich, stat!
And so it goes.
On January 22nd, we’re poised to lose Conan O’Brien as a fixture of late-night television – at least for a time, if NBC’s proposed contract settlement is carried out. (It’s been said that they’ll ban Conan from hosting a new show for anywhere from 1-1/2 to over 3 years, evil bastards.) It’s a poignant thing, what feels like an end of an era. After all, Late Night With Conan O’Brien debuted when I was just entering the 8th grade, and I remember it being a minor mark of bad-assery if you were able to sneak out and watch it after your parents went to bed. (Hey, this was 1993. No one had the internet and we took our small rebellions where we could get them!)
Myself, I didn’t really discover my interest in the show until the late ’90s, when I was a little more worldly and appreciative of the ribald humor. And even though he’s 17 years my senior, Conan always felt like that massively cool (yet utterly dorky) older brother who was whip-smart, humorously self-deprecating, and would do just about anything for a laugh. And it was that perfect blend of brilliance and dweebery that made him so endearing to so many in my generation. You know, my grandparents always preferred David Letterman. My parents were occasional watchers of Jay Leno. But Conan – he belonged to us. We of the “X and Y” generations – the ones who prefer our humor with an equal dash of snark and smarts, and an extra dose of jackassery. And what can I say? I feel an especial kinship to the man, given that we’re both tall, Irish gingers who are practically translucent. ;-)
Heh … I just re-read what I wrote and it almost sounds like I’m giving a eulogy. But it doesn’t feel so far from the mark. Honestly, I never thought The Tonight Show was right for Conan. It was too steeped in certain expectations and traditions – and above all else, too damn early in the schedule. Talk about crampin’ mah style! After all, Late Night was the reliable show you could turn on after a night of watching bad movies over beers with good friends. It was just late enough to fall asleep to, and just early enough so you could watch the whole thing and still have hope for a reasonable amount of sleep before an early morning class or commute. While Conan certainly had the moxie to reinvigorate The Tonight Show back to its Carson-esque glory, who knows if it would have worked out – even had dumb ol’ Leno actually retired as promised.
Speaking of which, many people are looking to Leno as the bad guy in this equation, and I’m not sure what I feel. It was a shitty stunt to pull – to decide in 2008 that instead of moving on, he’d start hosing his own talk show as a lead-in to the Conan-helmed Tonight Show. But I suppose we can’t fault him completely for the abysmal ratings that his 10pm spin-off received, which effectively led to a domino effect against the rest of the late-night lineup. Still, why is NBC being Leno’s bitch? Why are they so dead-set on keeping him happy? Why not put him on a six month hiatus and see if Conan’s ratings improved without Leno mucking up the lead-in? It seems like so much could have been done without resorting to NBC’s attempts to “demote” Conan to his previous time-slot. I agree with his statement – which I’ve heard had Conan in tears while writing it – in which he asserted that changing The Tonight Show’s format and schedule would effectively destroy the show. It could have been heading for destruction (maybe even cancellation) anyway, but Conan is a resilient fellow who pulled Late Night out of creative and ratings-based slumps before. I’ll bet he could have done it again. But I guess now we’ll never know.
So I’m with Coco – whatever that means, at this point. Boycotting Jay Leno? No problem, I never watch him to begin with. But what’s left to do? Hope that Conan finds a loophole in the settlement that would maybe permit him to produce a web-based show until the dust settles? It could be a brilliant maneuver, and I’m sure that sites like Funny Or Die would love to partner with him to produce something groundbreaking and awesome. I guess we’ll just have to wait to see. But one thing’s for certain … The jolly red giant may be lost, but not gone forever.
Seasons Greetings, dear readers! Apologies for the long overdue post, as things have been rather loco here at Casa Scarlett, business (and busy-ness) wise. But I’m sure you’ve had plenty of other eyebrow-raising reading material with which to indulge yourself. What’s that? Not keeping up on the latest sordid scandals? Let me sum up for you. In the last week or so, Alec Baldwin turned into a whiny attention whore; Adam Lambert proved to be an actual whore; and Tiger Woods went from being known as a master golfer to a raging swinger, when (following a truly bizarre car accident), five – count em, FIVE! – different women came forward with claims of having had affairs with the married father of two.
Two out of three women agree: Tiger Woods is a cheatin’ whore.Interestingly enough, I happened to read a magazine article the other day about the phenomenon of “schadenfreude” – which is a German word occasionally used in English that roughly translates to “harm joy” – or more specifically, deriving pleasure from the harm that befalls others. And it’s a perfect way to describe the general public’s rabid interest in anything having to do with sex or scandal (or preferably, a combination of the two) when it involves someone of celebrity status. Think about it: men cheat on their wives every day – it’s nothing new, and it’s not a practice that will die out anytime soon. But somehow it becomes hypnotically mesmerizing when the person involved has a certain level of notoriety. Now I’ll admit, Tiger’s case is particularly compelling when you factor in the odd way it all began, and the sheer number of women making claims. But even then, it’s nothing truly earth-shattering – and yet, the story has been dominating all news outlets for well over a week. Although I do have to thank the man for giving us a grateful reprieve from non-stop gossip about the New Moon cast. Huzzah for small miracles!
Still, I think the bulk of the public’s fascination could certainly be chalked up to a case of schadenfreude, and it’s easy to understand why. The Average Joe will never know the fame, success, or wealth of someone like Tiger Woods, and there’s a bit of a perverse thrill in seeing someone so seemingly perfect and untouchable take a tumble. But how did we let ourselves become so obsessed with the foibles of celebrities? Don’t we have our own lives and families and careers to worry about?
Now please don’t mistake this as me rockin’ some kind of “holier than thou” attitude; after all, I’ve been subscribing to Entertainment Weekly for years, and while they’re pretty good about not going over the top with scandal speculation, they are a pop culture “news” outlet, first and foremost. I just don’t see how these stories warrant endless news coverage. It’s one thing to be informed, but another thing to be inundated, amirite? If anything, I blame people like Perez Hilton who makes a living off exploiting the famous (and infamous) in his Blog o’ Shame. I do appreciate how celebrities are made accountable for their wrong-doings via public scrutiny, though. When you have people like Lindsay Lohan getting away with DUIs and drug possession charges with barely a slap on the wrist from those who are supposed to be judging her crimes fairly, it’s good to see that the public isn’t so forgiving. Still, I’m sure that Tiger will bounce back over time. Famous men have traditionally suffered much less backlash in the wake of infidelity than women (see: former US President, Bill Clinton). Although I hope that his wife takes him to court for every penny that he’s worth. I’m sure she’s not an unerring saint, but girlfriend deserves some major coin for this mess!
Aww, fuck. Now I’ve gone and dedicated an entire blog post to this junk – I’m truly no better than the rest. Quick, someone recommend a good game or movie to review! When does Avatar come out again?
Damn you, pop culture holiday slump! 
