Say goodbye to the boots
To get your week started, here’s a quick roundup of news affecting women from around the world and the web.
In Switzerland, the government has declared Roman Polanski a free man by stating they will not extradite him to the United States. He has reportedly been released from house arrest. Unless Polanski moves to another country that would extradite him, the case seems to be closed. Polanski fled the U.S. in 1978 following sentencing for what the media is calling “having sex with a 13 year old girl.” We call it rape.
Speaking of Hollywood, Mel Gibson has been accused of domestic violence. While I doubt the economy has anything to do with Gibson’s charges, we are noticing an increase in domestic violence incidences reported in our local police logs. Studies show a correlation between economic stress and domestic violence. Get the facts on domestic violence — how to get help, warning signs, etc. — here.
The women who work at “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” have jumped to defend their workplace following allegations of a sexist culture from Jezebel. If I wanted to keep my job (speaking of the recession) I probably would have signed on to the letter too, no matter what the reality was. The she-said she-said is, for us, just another reminder that popular culture is really male culture and will be until we see more women behind anchor desks, hosting late night television, leading drive time radio shows and publishing op-eds.
In Iran, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, the woman sentenced to stoning after being convicted of adultery, has been granted a reprieve, at least temporarily. However, her fate is still unclear. Care2 will continue to have information on AShtiani as well as petitions to help protect her.
And in lighter news, iconic superhero Wonder Woman recently got a makeover and a new back story. According to the New York Times, “In the reimagining of her story, Wonder Woman, instead of growing up on Paradise Island with her mother, Queen Hippolyta, and her Amazon sisters, is smuggled out as a baby when unknown forces destroy her home and slaughter its inhabitants.”
Too bad Diana Prince couldn’t retain her powerful past as an Amazon and instead is now a victim of unknown forces. As far as her wardrobe, the new writer of the series, J. Michael Straczynski, wanted to “toughen her up”. I don’t see much gain in swapping out her original outfit for skin tight pants and another low cut shirt. In fact, I think taking away her fabulous boots, o! those boots, is a total loss. Feminist writer Shelby Knox has an interesting analysis on Wonder Woman’s new image at the Women’s Media Center.
And finally, the new Scooby Doo series, Scooby Doo Mystery Inc. starts tonight. My children are thrilled. I am not. As we’ve previously reported, the new Daphne appears to be 20 pounds lighter and Velma’s breasts have increased a few cup sizes. It is very hard to manage media and marketing messages to little girls that pretty and thin trump all. To see a picture of the new Scooby Gang, click here. And to send a message to the Cartoon Network that our kids need healthy characters, you can use this form.
