Paris Jackson is Becoming an Icon

Photo of Paris Jackson Appearing on "Ellen"
Michael Jackson took steps throughout his life to keep his children out of the public eye.  I can remember looking at the masks they wore out and about, wondering just what the heck his kids looked like behind the feathers and bright colors.  Surely I’m not the only person with that  morbid curiosity.

Now, I’m not exactly a member of Michael Jackson’s fan club or anything (in fact, I think the guy was pretty skeevy, to be completely honest with you), but I have a lot of respect for him because obviously sheltering his kids from the limelight was of vital importance.  After all, Jackson knew better than anybody the double-edged sword of fame.

Which  makes the question of the insurgence of his children’s faces into pop culture following his death so compelling.

Joe and Katherine Jackson foisted their own kids into a paparazzi-fueled existence because it was apparently a small price to pay for the swelling bank accounts.  Essentially selling their children into celebrity slavery had detrimental effects on the Jackson children, Michael in particular.

And now, despite Michael Jackson’s best efforts to give his offspring a different, gentler world, it seems …

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DC Comic’s Women Really Are Kicking Ass


DC Comics has a department called DC Women Kicking Ass, and that alone is pretty kick-ass. However, what they’re doing is even better: tdhe brilliant ladies over at DC Women Kicking Ass have posted a bunch of images from an ad campaign for a Mozambique breast cancer awareness organization. They feature Catwoman, She-Hulk, Wonder Woman and Storm giving themselves breast exams. Says DC Women Kicking Ass:

“The images are quite striking. The faces of the characters are only partially seen, but the characters are easy identifiable. And while we often see women feeling or touching their breasts n comics, the art here is not sexual or exploitative and has almost a solemn feel to it.”

There is something still really beautiful and striking about the images and it really helps to reach a new audience. Breast cancer awareness has always had a lot of fun with its publicity, and this is really just another branch on the tree, albeit a very innovative one. The images show only the comic heroine’s mouth, and the girls are fully clothed, so as DC Women Kicking Ass stated, it’s not sexual – there is no come-hither stare; the girls’ mouths are firm and serious.

I’m really glad comic are taking this approach, a lot of people have a lot to say about women roles in comics. Some say it’s anti-feminist and they set a bad body image. But these girls kick ass, and they look good doing it. I’m a comic fan, and a fan of any message that tells women or men that checking your breasts is an important thing to do. So, DC Women Kicking Ass, I salute you!



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Feminist Leader Paula Hyman Passes Away

photo of paula hyman pictures photos
One of the great things about women is our ability to multitask. We’re not just one thing, we are all things. This is true of Paula Hyman, a noted feminist and historian and former chair of the of the program in Judaic Studies. She wasn’t an activist for one thing, she was an activist for every thing that had to do with people’s rights. Paula Hyman passed away Thursday morning after a battle with breast cancer. She was 65.

According to Yale Daily News:

A founder of Ezrat Nashim, a group of Conservative Jewish women who advocate for changes in the religion’s treatment of women, Hyman was a prominent scholar of Judaism and a symbol of Jewish feminism. Rabbi James Ponet ’68 wrote in a Thursday email to affiliates of the Joseph Slifka Center for Jewish Life at Yale, “[Her] capacity for loyal friendship, her love of the Jewish people writ large and her passionate engagement in numerous Jewish communities provide us all with an enduring model of what makes a life worth living, and what it means to live a committed Jewish life,” Ponet said.
Throughout her illness, Hyman remained a prominent figure both on and off campus. She stayed involved with the Westville Jewish community and often spoke at community events, said Lauren Gottlieb GRD ’16, who studied with Hyman.

Born in Boston in September 1946 to Sydney and Ida Tatelman, Hyman was the oldest of three sisters. After attending both Radcliffe College and the Hebrew Teachers College of Boston, Hyman went on to receive a doctorate from Columbia University. In 1971, she helped found Ezrat Nashim, which successfully pressured the Conservative movement to include women in the minyan (the quorum of adults required for some Jewish rituals), allow women to participate equally in prayer leadership and begin ordaining women as rabbis.

Paula Hyman’s death is a great loss to many communities. She led by example and will be missed by many and forgotten by none.



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Gingrich Taking Heat for Playing Nice With Pelosi

Photo of Nancy Pelosi and Newt Gingrich
There’s little question that the Republican primary is providing a great deal of entertainment to American society.  Whether it’s Michele Bachmann sticking her foot in it yet again, Rick Perry’s utterly deplorable “Strong” ad, or Herman Cain’s shenanigans leading to an early departure, watching these clowns is better than scripted reality television.

There are times, though, when it stops being funny and crosses the realm into distasteful (did I mention Rick Perry’s “Strong” ad?), shocking, and jaw-dropping.

Because I wouldn’t vote for any of the Republican candidates, though, it’s very easy to remove myself from the whole situation.  In fact, I can pretty much write it off as entertainment via the television set.

And having that degree of separation, of knowing that I’m not going to get all shocked and appalled over the myriad “open-mouth-insert-foot moments”, has really allowed me to notice the little things that might well otherwise fly under my feminist radar.

Such as Mitt Romney taking Newt Gingrich to task for being buddy-buddy with Nancy Pelosi in the past.

In case you haven’t heard, Gingrich …

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