Archive for the 'wtf?!' Category

Woman! Be fruitful and multiply!

Published by
Sarah
at May 2, 2007 in Politics, choice, femininity and wtf?!. 1 Comment

The archaic ministers of the Howard Government are at it again. Whether it’s controlling access to abortion or accusing Deputy Opposition Leader Julia Gillard of the heresy of being “barren” it seems as if women’s bodies, choices and lives are a recurring obsession with them. And we thought we had enough of these hijinks with Hilarious Hilaly running around comparing women to “cats meat”.

Does it scare anyone that we have these men in authority with their perverse perceptions of female sexuality influencing policy??

The boys club of politics seems like an oversized fraternity- unable to deal with the presence of real women as equals and competitors in modern life they resort to puerile jibes at their opponent’s femininity as a way of discrediting them. It’s a recurring theme in politics- Whether its Bush feeling up Germany’s Chancellor at an international conference or US Presidential hope Hilary Clinton being accused of getting plastic surgery- these insults are so cheap their laugable. Grow up!!

The nature of the panopticon

Published by
Anna
at December 12, 2006 in sexism and wtf?!. 1 Comment

“She’s not very attractive”

I heard that sentence uttered in relation to Bindi Irwin the other day. Have we really got to a point in society where discussing the attractiveness of an eight year old is acceptable?

Is the line between women and girls being blurred so much that the atractiveness, or apparent lack thereof, of an eight year old becomes a talking point amongst grown men. That is just plain creepy let alone the societal implications of this. Me and a friend were discussing just the other day the increasing trend of young girls dressing like women.

I don’t know if I agree with Bindi Irwin’s pervasiveness in the media of late, the fintess dvd for kids (WTF?!), the shows, it sounds like an awful lot of pressure to be putting on a young child. But I don’t have any idea what’s going on inside the family, perhaps it’s what she actually wants to do. In any case what I find more worrying is this focus on whether she’s beautiful enough to be in the public eye. As if it’s offensive that anyone who doesn’t adhere to the [bullshit] mainstream ideal of beauty is in the media; that she shouldn’t be there, EVEN IF SHE’S EIGHT!

Are people so brainwashed into thinking that females, no matter their age, are there just as eye candy, that they should dress like women, that they should be taught from before the age of ten that it’s only their ‘attractiveness’ that matters in this world and who do you think you are appearing in the panopticon if you don’t bleach your hair, cake on the makeup and wear a short skirt - EVEN IF YOU’RE EIGHT!

Don’t answer that.

The mind boggles.

Did I mention we’re talking about an eight year old here?

BTW sorry for the absence. We shall be back to regular programming some time soon.

This is just getting ridiculous

Published by
Anna
at October 27, 2006 in indoctrination, pop-culture, raunch, sexualisation of children and wtf?!. 1 Comment

First we have prostituted up Bratz Babyz dolls, and padded bralettes for four year-olds,
the US sells g-strings and lingerie for toddlers and now retailer, Tesco, has just been forced to remove a “sexy” pole-dancing kit from the toys and games section of their website. Marketing pole-dancing to kids? WTF?! My head is going to explode.

A “sexy” pole-dancing kit has been pulled from the toys and games section of a website run by Britain’s biggest retailer after protests from outraged parents.

The Peekaboo pole-dancing kit, which has a “sexy garter” to help “unleash the sex kitten inside” was sold in Tesco Direct’s toys and games section, The Daily Mail reported.

“Soon you’ll be flaunting it to the world and earning a fortune in Peekaboo Dance Dollars,” its blurb reads.

“Unleash the sex kitten inside … simply extend the Peekaboo pole inside the tube, slip on the sexy tunes and away you go!”

The £50 ($125) kit includes a 2.6-metre chrome pole, a “sexy dance garter” and a DVD demonstrating suggestive dance moves, the report said.

I need to go lie down.

Everybody must get stoned?

Published by
Sarah
at October 18, 2006 in Islam, World, law, religion, violence, violence against women and wtf?!. 0 Comments


They’ll stone you when you’re trying to be so good
They’ll stone you just like they said they would
They’ll stone you when you’re trying to go home
They’ll stone you when you’re there all alone
But I would not feel so all alone
Everybody must get stoned

They’ll stone you when you’re walking on the street
They’ll stone you when you’re trying to keep your seat
They’ll stone you when your walking on the floor
They’ll stone you when your walking to the door
But I would not feel so all alone
Everybody must get stoned

They’ll stone you when you’re at the breakfast table
They’ll stone you when you are young and able
They’ll stone you when you’re trying to make a buck
They’ll stone you and then they’ll say good luck
But I would not feel so all alone
Everybody must get stoned

Well They’ll stone you and say that it’s the end
They’ll stone you and then they’ll come back again
They’ll stone you when you’re riding in your car
They’ll stone you when you’re playing your guitar
Yes But I would not feel so all alone
Everybody must get stoned
Alright

Well They’ll stone you when you are all alone
They’ll stone you when you are walking home
They’ll stone you and then say they’re all brave
They’ll stone you when you’re send down in your grave
But I would not feel so all alone
Everybody must get stoned

Everybody Must get Stoned -Bob Dylan

I sweeten your palate with Dylan- as the only way you are going to be able to deal with this is if you’re high on some hashish…

7 women have been sentenced to death by stoning in Iran.

Now that you have read that sentence which should have no place in the 21st century- follow the instructions artfully arranged by an American blogger and sign the petitions. 

You will feel much better.

This is really outrageous

Published by
Anna
at October 5, 2006 in eating disorders, indoctrination, media and wtf?!. 1 Comment

The Herald yesterday reported that during Australian Idol, channel 10 has been screening advertisements for the diet drug Xenical.

Screened during the high-rating Australian Idol program, which counts 13- to 17-year-olds as one of its largest audiences, the ads have reportedly driven girls as young as 13 and of average weight to ask pharmacists for the drug.

Pharmacists have reported an increase in demand from young girls since the campaign began two weeks ago. They have also reported that many young girls that have requested the drug are not overweight (surprise, surprise). The drug has side effects such as incontinence and diarrhoea.

This is seriously irresponsible. Here’s Ten’s contact details if you want to write to them and tell them just how irresponsible they are:

1 Saunders Street,
Pyrmont NSW 2009

PH: (02) 9650 1010
FAX: (02) 9650 1111
POSTAL ADDRESS
GPO BOX 10
Sydney NSW 2000

Arranged or Deranged?

Published by
Sarah
at September 20, 2006 in wtf?!. 1 Comment

Thought i’d share this hilarious article on Arranged marriages in the muslim community by Neil MacFarquhar of the New York Times.

It describes a “matrimonial function” held by an Islamic organisation aimed at hooking up young muslim singles and prevent the devilish enticements of pre-marital dating and other unmentionables.

Organised by the likes of the “Mothers Against Dating” it is an attempt to maintain traditional values in a Wild world.

One of the mothers Ameena Jandali describes dating “as  traps of the Devil to pull us in and we have no idea we are even going that way”.

I must admit the way these older mothers or “aunts” as we would call them, continue to pursue their dastardly matrimonial plans in a world of Sarah Jessica Parker and Sex and the City has its admirable points. They’re truly unstoppable. 

I for one have always lamented the waste of these female talents expiring in the limited world of this domestic sphere.

How waylaid these nefarious skills were! (the ominous picture in the front of the article of the desi mother leaning in before her hapless son is truly scary.)

If only these skills could be tapped into! The machiavellian machinations and double dealings would not be out of place in politics or the corporate world.

Alas.

Reminds me of an article i wrote a while back which caused a scandal for the subcontinental paper i was working for “Arranged or Deranged?”

You be the judge.

It’s hard to believe that this is for real

Published by
Anna
at September 14, 2006 in raunch and wtf?!. 0 Comments

This is a couple of days old but I’ve been a wee bit busy lately.

Victorian Target stores are leading the charge in Australia for the sexualisation of young girls, by selling padded bra and pant sets to children as young as six. This disgusts me in so many ways.

Tiny matching lingerie sets of lacy bras and knickers in many children’s brands including Bratz, Saddle Club and Barbie, have hit the shelves aimed at girls who are barely old enough for school.

The Bratz padded “bralettes” (pictured below) were among 30 different styles in the stores and, I haven’t been to target in a while but I’d say they probably feature in stores throughout Australia.

The Bratz distributor Funtastic had this to say about the underwear:

“The idea of the padding is for girls to be discreet as they develop,” a spokeswoman said.

“It is more about hiding what you have got than showing it off. It is certainly not there to make children look like they have breasts.”

I don’t know exactly what they think a six-year-old has got to be discrete about. And for those who are older- giving young girls the message that they should be ashamed about developing into an adolescent is not a good message to be putting across in any case.

And, I call bullshit.

“It is more about hiding what you have got than showing it off.” The rest of their products are promoting exactly this sexualisation of children.

This range of Bratz Babyz dolls leaves me a bit speechless:

What the hell is that?! I don’t get why anyone thought dressing up children’s toys like prostitutes, especially when said toys are toy babies, was a good idea. I’m seriously baffled. Apparently these baby prostitutes feature “milk bottles hanging off chains strapped to their legs.”

“Childhood experts” have slammed the dolls as verging on child pornography and I can’t say I disagree. Even though, the dolls aren’t real, it exposes children to sexualisation as far as the influences it has on them and how they develop their ideas about who they’re supposed to be, how they’re supposed to act, dress and form their identities.

have your rapists baby! It’s better than paying for therapy.

Published by
Anna
at August 31, 2006 in abortion, rape and wtf?!. 2 Comments

I’m going to write a more considered post on abortion and control later. For now:

This guy, who obviously isn’t partial to the rape and incest exception in criminalising abortion, thinks women should have their rapist’s baby to help them “in coming to grips with the abuse they suffered.”

No really. True story.

Why are we giving more trauma to the victim of rape by encouraging her to abort her child?

Carrying such a child to term has been for many women a help in coming to grips with the abuse they suffered. Many victims of rape and children born of such attacks have testified to these truths.

He argues that the punishment is being meted out to the fetus instead of the rapist and that maybe capital punishment for rapists is the way to go, but he’s against capital punishment. That’s it in a nutshell.

Yep. No considerations for the punishment meted out to the victim in being forced to carry her rapist’s child to term! Women aren’t people anyway didntchaknow?

via Pandagon

Update

And let’s see just how extreme those who don’t accept abortion in any case can get. Here’s a news story (video) about an 11 year old Colombian girl who fell pregnant to her stepfather when he raped her. She got an abortion upon demand from her mother and the child who “wanted to go back to playing with her toys” according to one doctor in the story. However, the vatican has now said they’re going to excommunicate the doctors who carried out the abortion because they “wanted to share in the pain”. Yeah right.

What a load of bleep

Published by
Anna
at July 29, 2006 in media, sexist and wtf?!. 2 Comments

According to a study of 61 male university students men who are hungry are attracted to heavier women. Perhaps they also should’ve asked if they have canabalistic tendencies.

And the following tends to be a tad contradictory:

The hungry men also paid much less attention to a woman’s body shape and regarded less curvy figures as more attractive.

So which one is it?

And did they record the “hungrier” men’s own bodytype as well? That’s not to say that people are attracted to people of their own bodytype but heavier people could have more realistic standards. But of course they didn’t, because this society only judges women on their figures silly. [Of course that’s not true for those who are notably overweight but as far as the media goes…].

Check this:

The men were then asked to rate the attractiveness of 50 women of varying weights, all within a healthy range, who had been photographed wearing tight grey leotards and leggings.

Not only that, the researchers admit that there really wasn’t that much of a difference anyway:

“Obviously we only saw a small shift in preference but it is a significant shift. If you were to extrapolate it onwards to people missing many meals and getting hungrier and hungrier over a longer period of time you might start to see a bigger shift.”

Australian universities can’t even get enough money to fund research into cancer, well pack up your belonging ye scientists, Britain is obviously just giving research funding away.

hmmm…

Published by
Anna
at July 27, 2006 in wtf?!. 0 Comments

If reclaiming the night wasn’t a big enough task for women

to take on, female drivers are now being encouraged to reclaim that dog-eat-dog battleground that is our raging roads. But put the brakes on, ladies. Before undertaking any such campaign, it’s recommended that you employ the services of a man - and more specifically, an instantly inflatable man named Buddy.

Specialist women’s insurer Sheilas’ Wheels has news today for solo female motorists, with the unveiling of its “Buddy on Demand” prototype. Buddy is a guy who’s ready to protect you whenever you need him. He is content to live in the glovebox and if you feel threatened, he leaps into action, transforming himself into a heroic passenger at the touch of a button, and allowing you to breathe a sigh of relief.
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