The stereotype of the man-hating feminist is quite pervasive in contemporary American culture, as exemplified in this brilliant cartoon, Straw Feminists. But do feminists really hate men? How can we find out? Turns out that empirical research will go a long way toward dispelling such stereotypes. A study published in Psychology of Women Quarterly [pdf] reported on college students’ attitudes toward men, as measured with the Ambivalence toward Men Inventory (AMI). Continue Reading →
Feminism
Recent posts
Why I Took My Husband’s Last Name
Last week, a colleague of mine asked me, “Out of curiosity, what’s your husband’s last name?” “It’s McCombs. Like mine.” “Huh. Well, you just defy all stereotypes, don’t you?” Continue Reading →
Nature, Nurture, And Vaginas
One of my favorite questions to explore since I took a psychology class in high school has been the relationship of nature and nurture, or biology and culture. How much of human behavior is determined by relatively fixed factors like our genes and hormones, and how much is shaped by environment, family, diet, and culture? These intersections are tricky and difficult to navigate, yet teasing out distinctions has been a key project of sexuality scholars and feminists for decades now (to cite but one example, in the Victorian era it was believed that women’s wombs would wander, causing distress and dumbness, and so women’s bodies were held against them as a reason they couldn’t be educated, own property, or participate in politics – which, today, is known to be obviously untrue). While I’ve not yet had a chance to read feminist Naomi Wolf’s controversial new book Vagina, I’d like to use its premise as a leaping-off point for discussing how complicated the nature-nurture relationship can get when you throw in sexuality and history (both personal and cultural). As Wolf describes her project in an interview, she “stumbled upon hugely important scientific discovery after hugely important scientific discovery,” proving what she called a “profound brain-vagina connection.” Drawing from scientific studies as well as her own sex life, the book’s premise seems to be that women’s sex lives are unfulfilling in large part because women’s biology (specifically regarding sex and vaginas) is so misunderstood. Continue Reading →
Ukelele Feminism
Among the many reactions to reproductive politics being misrepresented and misunderstood is this delightful ukelele song by my childhood friend Pam Shaffer. Enjoy! Follow us on Twitter @mysexprofessor. Follow Jeana, the author of this post, @foxyfolklorist. Continue Reading →
Gender Roles in Brave
The Pixar film Brave is notable for many reasons: it’s Pixar’s first feature-length film with a female protagonist, it tackles the Disney legacy of passive and pretty princesses, and it grapples with gender roles in magical past not terribly unlike our reality (social hierarchies attempt to keep order while individuals compete for status and struggle with their relationships to the natural world and their duties). A ranking of Disney princesses from least to most feminist reveals that over the years, the princess crowd has grown slightly less obsequious and obnoxious… slightly. Brave shakes all that up by having a fearless archer for a princess… or does it? Continue Reading →
Book Review: Confessions of a Pickup Artist Chaser
Longtime MSP readers will know that we are big fans of Clarisse Thorn’s writing: she intelligently tackles important sex topics such as BDSM, sexual submission, open relationships, and sex-positivity. So we of course were super-excited when her book, Confessions of a Pickup Artist Chaser, came out (available on Amazon and Smashwords and in paperback). Clarisse guides readers through her discovery of and interactions with the pickup community, explaining relevant concepts from feminism along the way. In fact, the book is so packed with anecdotes about her interactions as well as interesting ideas that she concludes each chapter with a tl;dr summary (for those of you who don’t live on the internet, “tl;dr” stands for “too long; didn’t read” and indicates that if you skipped the main content, you can get a tidy summary). So, my tl;dr summary of this book is that it’s a fascinating exploration of one sex subculture – pickup artistry – through the lens of another few subcultures – BDSM, open relationships, geek culture, and sex-positive feminism – which Clarisse puts into dialogue with one another. Continue Reading →
Why You Won’t Hear Much About My Partner
Don’t get me wrong, my partner is awesome. When we first met – a mutual friend introduced us because we were each looking for a rock climbing partner – we were such a good fit that we basically never stopped hanging out. However, when I first meet someone or am getting to know a person, I tend not to mention my partner. I don’t say anything about my relationship status. I don’t say that I’m getting married or that we’re going to live together or that we love to travel together and to go burlesque shows and science museums and beer tastings. Continue Reading →
Liking Sex Doesn’t Make You a Slut
That’s right ladies, you read me correctly: You can still be crazy about sex and have a good reputation. I know this may seem like a huge shocker—but after reading Chris Jones’ latest piece in Esquire (titled, Ladies: You’re Not as Good as You Think), I feel so much more enlightened on how to be good in bed—I feel as if I could teach a college course on it. So to share my newfound knowledge on what makes women the ultimate hook-up , let me give you the breakdown on the top five lessons I learned from CJ. Continue Reading →
Islam, Feminism, And The Law
This post by a feminist lawyer and Ph.D. scholar piqued my interest, as the author addresses how Islamic law and feminism are not always at odds. The author describes a case study in which she was able to help an immigrant woman, divorced and left helpless, utilize Islamic law (as well as her personal faith) to her benefit. It’s worth a read if you’re interested in overlap between different value systems that affect gender roles and sex. Follow us on Twitter @mysexprofessor. Continue Reading →
Being Ironically Sexist Is Still Sexist
A lot of advertising is, no surprise, rather sexist and regressive when it comes to gender roles. But if the advertising demonstrates an awareness of sexist tropes, is it still sexist? This analysis on Youtube says yes, defining “retro sexism” as “Modern attitudes and behaviors that mimic or glorify sexist aspects of the past, often in an ironic way.” The TV ad examples may appear innocuous at first glance, but watching them add up is rather striking. Follow us on Twitter @mysexprofessor. Continue Reading →