WTF HAPPENED?! (2014)

WTF Happened in 2014?!

Since I wasn’t present in 2014, (because I got hit by this giant evil space meteor called life), I think we should take a quick look back at some epic moments, awesome/not so awesome women and trending topics that transpired! Who showed their boobs, was a boob and gained extra Boobity points* in 2014!

            ** Boobity Score:  rating system in which credit earned or taken in conjunction with this blog in which a person(s) exhibits exceptionally noteable behavior. Behavior is then scored with the systems of A, B, C, & DD.  (More explanation on my next post!)

And in No particular order…..

IDC what year it is! It’s all about 1989

___________ - That is a blank space and Taylor Swift, I’ll write your name. Admittedly I have not been a huge Taylor Swift fan in the past, but 1989 I have to say is pretty dope. Not to mention she won The 2014 Billboard Awards for Woman of the year? I heard (via radio) it came down to Taylor, Yoncé (The Queen B- Beyoncé) or Kim Kardashian (why? I don’t fucking know). I love the QB, but I have to say they made a great choice, because on top of all her accolades and talent, Taylor Swift is actually a great person! Check out her surprise some of her real life fans with Christmas presents! I literally shed a tear or two on this one.. I might just be a sap, but this is amazing.  ** Boobity SCORE: DD Fa show**

Taylor Swift Surprising Fans - "Taylurking"

There was no Treble!

I felt less fat and more fab almost all year! Why? Cus chubby girls came out swinging and America was “All About that Bass”.  Meghan Trainor with the chubby girl anthem of the year had me singing loud and proud…Although I do find it funny she claims have brought booty back, though I’m pretty sure that was J-Lo. Also in Music, I do believe Drake ended the year with saying he likes his woman BBW (If you don't know what that means definitely look it up). 

Other pioneers on the chubby girl frontier include GabiFresh – plus size Fashion/Bikini Blogger who I avidly stalk. She decided to redefine what it means to be “Flawless",  recreating Beyoncé's  hit song and video. I’m not gonna lie, I think that rendition could have been better. Just because those girls were thicker didn't  mean they couldn't move. I’m very disappointed I didn’t see them shake it! Watch it here!

 Rounding off this list Mindy Kaling, female comedian and actress of the Mindy Kaling Project, speaks on all the random flack she gets, from the public and press alike, for being success without confining to ‘traditional American standards of beauty’ – You know having the courage to NOT be a size two and looking like normal person.

Mind you, she’s a size 8 and the average American woman is a size 12! I don’t know what’s wrong with people, but she doesn’t care! She embraces herself and encourages other woman to do the same. **Boobity Score: DD status ALL THE WAY! ** 

http://www.crushable.com/2014/05/06/entertainment/mindy-kaling-body-image-weight-quotes/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/29/body-image-2014_n_6392350.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000046

Wait ! Did someone say Booty? 

Yeah that Andaconda came back… Though it’s not like the song Baby Got Back or Nicki Minaj ever faded from American pop culture…..

But hey, revampich is cool….. And DAT ASS DOE!   (It's going to eat the world I know it) 

Iggy Izalea …. Can you STFU? It’d make you more appealing…Please and thank you. 

(If you don't know what I'm referring to, just Google 'Iggy Izalea' Twitter. I do not mind her music and yes, she's passionate, yes she can say what she wants… But, No. She doesn't know wtf she's talking about.)  **Boobity Score: B**

Beyoncé – Stayed fabulous and **Flawless** all year 

  (That VMA ending... When she went “On the Run” with her hubby... when she was in that elevator….) 

Tracee Ellis Ross (have my babies) – “If you hire me, you hire my hair”. Oh the conviction. Oh the hair <3 . You’re funny, unconventional, beautiful and rocking it on ABC's new hit show Blackish.

This just  goes to show you can never keep a ‘Girlfriend’ down.

KKK…K

So I’m pretty bored with the nakedness... And the young fashionable hotness trying to be old and get into club-ness…..and the loving the black guysness… ( okay not that part). But as it pertains to the Kardashians I’m pretty much spent. 

But hey, a catrillion of you just CANNOT get enough. So yes, like Kim K’s ass, the Kardashians(+Jenners) were HUGE in 2014. I don’t get it, but I’m sure I am just missing their genious. It’s me. I know it.

** Boobity Score: DD for the Kardashian's (+Jenners).. for being bosses at nothing

A Boobity Score of A (that's low if you haven't figured out yet) for ME & YOU for loving them or being ambivalent - which I am. ** 

All that Rhimes…

With Shonda that is! ABC's Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder and just the fact that Shonda Rhimes is a WOMAN of color writing for network primetime television is an amazing feat! In addition, the women that channel her work through the art of acting are just outstanding! The effortless beauty that is Kerry Washington and commanding prescence that is Viola Davis has, in my opinion given TV a fresh perspective.  And of course who can forget Grey’s Anatomy, on it’s 11^th season, still holding on. 2014 was another great year for Shonda, can't wait to see what 2015 brings. 

I’m a Boob, You’re a Boob we’re all Boobs HEY!

We spent a good amount of time this year in celebrity land trying to figure out who defines themselves as a feminist and who does not. Some of those who don’t may shock you – Names such as... Lady Gaga. 

Celebs like Amy Poeler, Ellen Page, John Legend, Ashton Kutcher, Patrtick Steward and Emma Watson, all took a stand for the feminist cause this year. Watson, who was named the U.N’s Goodwill Ambassador, even started a campaign to get men and boys more involved in the cause.

I know what you're thinking… Did I just replace the word feminist with Boob? Was it negative or positive Boob? Can I do that? …. I did. It was both. And yes I can. 

We focus on celebrities, I suppose, to help scope our feelings on certain topics and situations as a culture, but aside from them, it was a BIG year for feminism all together and believe me we will be getting back to this topic!

Spoiler to future post: Being a feminist is NOT the same as being Neo-Nazi.. I don’t feel like everyone knows that….

Stay Tuned for that one!

http://www.mtv.com/news/1822259/celebritiy-feminists-pharrell/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/celebrity-feminists/

OISTNB – #OMFGMYMINDISINPRISON #IAMINLOVE

…...With Orange is the New Black. I LOVE that every sentence is a story and EVERYONE has a story. IT IS OUTRAGEOUS. IT IS DRAMA FILLED. IT IS GUT WRENCHING. IT IS EDG. IT IS FUNNY. All tied up in a refreshingly evil little Netflix package. 

Why evil you say? Because in the Summer of 2014 I had to FORCE myself NOT to finish Season 2 in one day and then go back and watch Season 1 all over again. The combination of the two is like television bondage --- pleasure and pain. "Netflix - It's Television Bondage" or "OITNB - S&M for Television" I am not going to say much here because I KNOW I will be fan-girling about it in later post.

The Glamourous Woman of the Year 

On a surprising note, Laverne Cox of  OISTNB was named Glamour Magazines, 'Woman of the Year.' http://www.glamour.com/inspired/women-of-the-year/2014/laverne-cox

I LOVE the fact that Glamour is taking a stance with Lavern Cox, naming her 'Woman of the Year' due to all of her amazing efforts to raise awareness for gender equality; A campaign that was much needed to shed light on an issue rarely discussed. Reading that 41% of transgender people consider suicide due to the ignorance and bigotry of others who cant accept those different than themselves -  those who harass, harm and even kill transgenders for simply being them - was truly heartbreaking. I admire Cox for speaking out for this under represented group of people, she is changing and saving lives and that makes her a strong, beautiful individual.

On that note, however, this brings on the question of how we define gender in America. As we grow as a country the lines of what is gender appropriate and requirement is blurred and transforming everyday and I think that’s freaking awesome! Glamour is forward thinking and breaking barriers with this one, but with that being said, what IS being a woman in modern day America? Are you a woman because you were born with a vagina or have the ability bare children? Is it about attitude?  Or is what makes a woman a woman feeling like a woman and transmitting that energy into the world? Is it physical or is it mental? The fact that Lavern Cox is not a naturally born woman winning this award has caused a LOT of backlash online and honestly, I understand.  ** Boobity Score: C…** 

Going forward to 2015 I predict we will see a lot more people challenging how we define gender and I AM READY. Are you?

I was once told….

There's nothings sadder than a dead blog…

                                                                  …. But no worries, Boob Tube is on the rise for 2015


Boobity Tubity.. Boob Tubes full name. For a moment I thought, " hey, maybe new Boob Tube will be a Zombie Boob Tube and focus on dead woman in the media?!"…but then I realized that's freakin creepy.

It'll be Better, Fuller and Boobier.

Stay Tuned.

The New Aged Chic Flick: Harmless Romedy or Social Set Back?

Although I happen to be an independent, educated young woman of the 21st century, I cannot deny I love myself a ‘chick flick’! Though the term itself is degrading, these estrogen filled tearjerkers have always offered me a glimpse of the perfect life. A heroine, that after years of hard work and struggle gets the love of her life and the life of her dreams, all in a perfect little Cinderella package. But what if these 21st century heroine aren’t really heroine at all? What if even though we appear to be self sufficient and thriving we are no better off now than we were when we were being depicted barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen!


Okay, I believe we have evolved from that, but it is an ongoing trend in Hollywood that in every romantic comedy or self contained chick flick, the heroine is a 30 something with ALL the success in the world BUT NO LOVE LIFE AND NO HAPPINESS. And how does she find that happiness? Well of course she has to meet a MAN.

•   The Wedding Planner: Jennifer Lopez plays a beautiful career driven women, who happens to plan weddings, but ironically, she has no man of her own. In fact, she seems down right jaded from the idea of finding love, even though her parents had a perfectly healthy marriage. When does her story pick up? When she meets an already engaged man, accidentally falls in love and steals him away! What a hero! *sarcasm*

•   The Proposal: IMDB describes Sandra Bullock’s character as a ‘pushy boss’ who forces her assistant to marry her in order to stay in the country. At the beginning of her journey she is cold and distant with everyone, some might even say a bitch. After she gets goo-goo eyes for her assistant guess what? She’s less bitchy! And dare I say it… happy… and now the heroine we know and love.

•   ANY MOVIE WITH KATHERINE HEIGL: She is this generation’s poster women for hard working lovable businesswomen in need of a man.

•   Pretty Woman: …….Julia Roberts is a prostitute…. .. saved by a rich white man…… enough said.

•   The Devil Wears Prada: This one I consider the gem of them all. Meryl Streep’s character is feared for her success in the fashion industry. Opposite of her, Anne Hathaway as her assistant, is ignorant to the ways of the industry, however she soon adapts and becomes successful- the first thing to go? Her relationship… She examines her new life and realizes that she doesn’t want to end up like Meryl; a bitter successful old hag going through a divorce.  Here you see both sides of the spectrum- successful and alone, less successful and completely happy.

So what is this saying?
Is it the only way to be happy as a woman, is to give up success? Or is it the only way to have success as a woman, is to have a man in your life? In speaking to real life successful women, this does seem to be the trend, the less you work, the happier you are in your relationships.

But isn’t that true of both genders? So why is it that you rarely see movies focused on a man that has to choose between success and a relationship? Doesn’t everyone have to sacrifice to be happy? I would love to see a film where the women are just as happy at the end choosing her self! Or more films where the man quits his six figure salary job and moves half way around the world for a woman. Of course the target audience for the type of film I’m advocating for would still be women, but it would be great to see some diversity and a truly independent heroine.

The New Girl by guest blogger Sarah Mincher

New Girl

Hello my name is Sarah Mincher and I have a serious obsession with New Girl on Fox. If, for some crazy reason you have not seen New Girl 1. Read this blog and 2. Go immediately to hulu.com and catch up. Crazyface. Not only is the show smartly written, with the perfect amount of off-beat pop culture meets relatable real life drama, it seriously sheds a light on a very specific personality I totally relate to: the quirky female. Often overshadowed housewives, sluts, models, bacherlottes and other television molds females have been neatly type cast into via our television, the quirky female has been looked over for quite some time. Until now.

Meet Jess Day, played very fittingly by everyone’s favorite glasses wearing “it girl”- Zoe Deschanel. Suffering from a bad breakup with a total nutcase, our heroine in her late 20’s finds herself out of a home and moving into a loft with three, uh, grown frat men who badly need some estrogen in their life. Despite being, well extremely beautiful, Jess is a nerd at heart and the show completely embraces and highlights her goofy personality over her good looks (talk about a breath of fresh air). From wearing hats made of ribbon (Ribbon-hat. Seriously), singing songs about and to her food and actually pretending she was a sexy lumberjack during a not so hot and heavy bedroom scene with her boyfriend, Jess is a female role model for the current generation of young women. A generation who’d rather cook cupcakes for their girlfriends than a casserole for their man, would rather work on her record collection than at the gym, and who would rather steal a hug from a friend than a boyfriend.  Television and her impression young viewers have needed a “Jess” for quite some time, and I really hope Jess and her Ribbon Hat are here to stay.  

--

Sarah Mincher

www.sorrydarlin.com

www.twitter.com/sarahmincher

www.twitter.com/sorrydarlin

The portrayal of the Black Women - Part 1 Reality Television

I recently read this article published by The Grio, entitled 'Should White Women and Latinas Battle Black Reality TV Stereotypes'. First off, in reading the title of this article I was a bit confused, and didn't fully understand the premise of the article until the very end. Perhaps that's because as a young black women I never think about the battle of 'black reality tv stereotypes' let alone who should stand up for them.

To sum up the article, the author makes a point to say that reality TV shows, such as Mob Wives, Basketball Wives, Shahs  of Sunset, and The Real Housewives of Atlanta, are perpetuating negative stereotypes of the black women, and women in general to the pubic. She goes on to speak with Kaolin, a member of the National Organization for Women (NOW), a feminist women's group, who states that all women, in particularly black women should be outraged by the portrayal of themselves on reality television. And furthmore women of all races should stand up against it. She gives examples of the Basketball Wives and The Real Housewives of Atlanta. In Basketball Wives, the Latina character of Evelyn is far from a role model, and as I've discussed in previous blogs the Housewives from Atlanta are no where near praise worthy.

She solidifies her point however to say that the only women that has it together on The Real Housewives of Atlanta is Kim Zolkiak. Kim is the only real married house wife, who tends to avoid drama, she is portrayed 'too busy to recognize the nuance of racism', Kim is also white. The fact that the only white 'character' on the show is living the happy life is something that all women should be upset about, and Nigerian writer Chimamanda Adiche, comments on the dangers of one story, portraying African American women, she states


"When all we have is one story or one representation of us, everything we do is judged by that standard. Because there are so many representations of white women, when a single white woman does something negative, it is not representative of the entire race. We have so few stories that everything we do becomes representative of everything we are.The key is balance. We need to have more stories, more often, and in various forums so that people can begin to see the beautiful complexity that is black women. Adiche also reminds us that stereotypes aren't untrue necessarily -- it is just that they aren't all that is" 


I whole heartedly agree with the above statement. Growing up in California, going from one of ten black girls in my graduating class of 300, I always felt like I was representing not just myself, but my whole entire race. If I didn't graduate, if I didn't get good grades, if I ended up pregnant, that was not just on me, but on my entire race, because we (meaning everyone), are forever judged by the other races and people around us. Living in Atlanta now, where the black population is far from scares however I do feel like more of an individual and less of a representation, but the reality of it is, each black person, as individuals, is a representation of 'black people' to someone. But doesn't this work with other races as well? Can't I as a black girl see a white girl, and be just as close minded as anyone who buys into black stereotypes? 


Though I do agree with the article on the level of equal representation, I have to point out that in comparison with other shows on network television, that feature plenty of 'white bimbos', their point is flawed. 


The Real House Wives of Orange County, Mob Wives, Dance Mom's, The Real Housewives of New Jersey, all feature WHITE American women, that are far from perfect. That fight and act just as ignorant as any black or latin american on Basketball Wives or Real Housewives of Atlanta. As an African American women, I look at how far we have come through our portrayal on television and the media, and   for the most part I am content. The article ends with the effect shows such as House Wives is having on our youth, in particular our black youth, however I feel that that is a separate broader issue all together. 

Baby Bump Blues

With today's media and television depicting sexuality as second nature, and even worse, a selling point, it's hard to imagine a time when sex was a taboo topic. And with shows such as 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom, it's an even harder concept to imagine a time when depicting pregnancy on television was considered 'in bad taste' because it exhibited sexuality. A perfectly natural, extremely essential part of life treated as a burden.

The first person to break this taboo topic was none other than Lucille Ball. Visibly pregnant throughout most of an entire season of I Love Lucy, the producers decided to take a stance against the norm, and write Lucy's pregnancy into the show (from the episode "Lucy Enciente"), becoming the first pregnant women depicted on television on December 8th, 1952, while never actually mentioning the word 'pregnant' on the air.

But you would think that almost 60 years later that a women being pregnant wouldn't be an issue, well in the world of television, which is all about appearance, it is definitely something to take into consideration, especially for actors and actresses in specific roles. What happens when a lead character gets pregnant in a show is at the discretion of the producers of the show. Sometimes it's accepted and cleverly written in, strategically hidden, or in the worst cases the actress is dismissed for reasons supposedly unrelated to their pregnancies. Lil Sugar, a website dedicated to pregnant women, outlines some of the situations in which television shows had to adapt to their actresses real life pregnancy, for the show. The cases the website lists are all shows in which they adapted to the situation, by using large clothing, writing the baby for the character, or using the "she got fat" scenario.

Generally here in America, we have adapted to the fact that women, yes, even the women on our tv screen get pregnant. However, in Mail Online website "The Ugly Truth About Pregnancy on TV...." Denise Van Outen, and english presenter on The Big Breakfast, has not been welcomed with open arms by her UK audience. The actress, singer, presenter was scheduled to be a judge on BBC's Over the Rainbow, was dumped from the shows because she was pregnant. Outen, who is on her forth child now was well aware of the prejudice to come in her last pregnancy. A producer once commented that her pregnancy was a 'bit icky'. And when appearing as a guest on Gloria Hunniford's After noon show, she was asked why she didn't just take time off, like other actresses, and why she insist on living such a high profile lifestyle. In Outen's defense she states that as an announcer, her job is to do interviews, and this is, or should be, unrelated to the size of her belly. Where as actresses play a character, and the size of their stomach, and being pregnant, effects the character they may be portraying.

After reading the comments attached to the 'Ugly Truth' article, I found the comments of the viewers a bit off putting as well. They were as followed :


"I do not want to see pregnant women on tv esp those wearing tight skimpy tops that do not cover their bump. They earn more than enough to take a few months off. No I am not some grumpy spinster but a mother of five who had to work throughout my pregnancies. These celebs have taken the dignity of being pregnant and made it inot something very tacky."


"It's not about how the bump looks. I for one am sick of this 'family friendly' guff that's everywhere at the moment...I'm sick of seeing little girls in men's public lavatories; sick of having to pick up the slack of work colleagues who only work two days a week; and of having my work held up because the people I need to be liaising with are at home minding children. You either have a career or a child, and I don't care how politically incorrect that sounds."


And that was just to name a few. Aside from Outen's issue being in the UK, it is surprising to me that this kind of prejudice exist on something so natural. The fact that pregnancy could be considered a 'women's issue' and comparable to a period is ridiculous. The article was written in 2010, a full 58 years after Lucy bore her baby bump. Perhaps it is a prudish Brit conception to have, either way it's appalling.  

O to a Bad Girl

Oxygen, launched on February of 2000, is an American cable network that markets to young women focusing primarily on talk and reality Tv shows for their original programming, Needless to say, although entertaining this programming can be a bit juvenile but Oxygen, makes it work, streamlining their priorities on hair battles, the life of B list celebrities, dancing, modeling and of their most popular claim to fame, the cat fight; modeled best in their hit series, The Bad Girl’s Club (BGC).

What is the Bad Girls club you ask? Well you’re either 68 years old, or have been living under a rock in a third world country….or both, if you are not acquainted with shallow, barbarism that is The Bad Girls Club . In which case, I will tell you.

The Bad Girl club is a reality tv show focused around a group of 7 girls, picked to live in a mansion located in a populated major American city, with no job or critical life goals. Their common interest? To drink, party and pick up guys … or girls(many of them aren’t picky). Oh, and also, being a self proclaimed ‘Bad Girl’.  So you could imagine what goes down in a house with seven bad divas, with nothing to keep them occupied, but partying and drinking. That’s right., pandemonium.

After the drinking and the partying, and the making out, there’s fighting, and after the fighting there’s partying, and after that more fighting, then more drinking, then more fighting. Oh yes, I forgot to throw in scheming, because a house full of Bad Girls, can’t exist without at least one of them, trying to prove they’re the “baddest bitch” 

So why does this show exist?  I hate to say it, but it’s damn entertaining. I will guiltily admit since the shows release in 2006, I have been an avid fan. They’re something about watching a girl take another girl by the hair, over an eaten granola bar, that’s just exiting television. Not necessarily, good or quality television, but entertaining and exciting. I apparently am not the only one who thinks so, considering BGC is on the taping their 9^th season, with their top viewings for Season 5 being 1,679,000.

What worries me, is what this says about me, and a million other Americans, at the fact that we take such joy in such foolery. I recently have examined the errors with this show and myself, while watching Season 8. After witnessing a girl that was in the house for less than a night, get jumped by all the other girls in the house, for no other reason, that being new, and them not liking her face, I felt like the show had gone too far. I at least like some rhyme or reason to my violence. 

Furthermore what does this say about me and the primary audience of the show that are women. This show, displaying women and childish and wild, and unable to support one another, is on a women’s network. It is being ran by a women and targeting young women, instantly making the ignorant women of the shows celebrities. 

Yes, of course you could argue that those watching it know the difference between right and wrong and they also know not to idolize the women on the show for their ignorance. You could also argue that the women on the show are well aware of their ignorance and choose to participate to become celebrities. Alright that's fine, but what does it say about us culturally as American women, that we support the ignorance? While watching the shows and reading between the lines, a majority of the BGC celebrities are women that have been hurt in the past, either physically, emotionally or both. If they haven't then they were spoiled rich girls looking for attention. Is that what we want to promote to the young women of America? That it's more acceptable to hide our pain through drugs, drinking and partying? 

Yes, I know no one wants to watch Oprah and Dr. Phil making people cry on the couch all day, but there has to be a better way to display reality than watching drunk ignorant women make a spectacle of themselves on television for sport.