Friday, October 28, 2011
Role Reversal
As we thought about fashion photography and feminism for our Fashion Issue, we considered the ultimate battle mostmodels must face: objectification. Typically, females are portrayed as the weaker subject in a photo, based on who's showing more skin, who's got the stereotypically seductive facial expression and pose, and how each model is clothed. By switching roles and positioning females in typically masculine poses, MEDUSA seeks to question the familiar standards of beauty
and sexualization in glossy fashion magazines. We hope that this role reversal facilitates a critique of the rigid structure of fashion photography and illuminates the
possibility that fashion photography doesn’t always have to be portrayed in such a binary way.
An Eyelid Tutorial
http://www.theunexpectedtnt.com/2009/02/more-impossible-beauty-standards.html
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Medusa Documentary Picks: Gender and Society
Medusa Documentary Picks: Gender and the Body
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Medusa Issue #5 is Live!
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Dear Everyone, Please Stop Trying to Make Me Hate My Body
I thought that’d be a reasonable answer, but yet, every time they pause as if they are waiting for me to add to my statement before they ask “So… how much weight are you looking to lose?” And I respond, dumbfounded, “I don’t know… I’m not really looking to lose any. I mean if it happens, fine. I’m just trying to stay active.”
Now, I’m an average height, and know for a fact that I’m well within the healthy BMI range. I have no chronic health problems and eat my fruits and veggies on the regular. My nutritional habits might not be perfect (as my penchant for peanut butter can attest to) but all in all, I think I’m doing pretty alright at this point.
So I’m kind of wondering why everyone— from my family, to the media, to so-called “health professionals”— seem to equate diet and exercise strictly with losing weight. Maybe I’m on the treadmill because, well, I like to run? Or maybe I’m eating carrots because I haven’t had my daily dose of Vitamins C? I’m trying very hard to understand this obsession with size, but seeing as my brain doesn’t really get fatter or skinnier depending on what’s on my plate, I’m finding it a little difficult to care at this point.
Yet, no matter how confident I try to stay in my own body, other women are always there to keep me in check. “She’s really gained some weight”, my mom comments on a friend’s Facebook photo before turning to me to say, “You might think about losing a few pounds too.” Why do we feel the need to police each other? If Kim Kardashian gains 10 pounds, it’s an instant headline. But what difference does her or anyone else's weight make to your own life? We are conditioned not only to hate ourselves, but also to take issue with any other woman who doesn't have the picture-perfect bodies we're so constantly shown.
We can't entirely put the blame on each other, but it still feels like everyone wants me to be concerned about the number on the scale? I’ve been actively trying to work against an idea that has been beat into me for several years now by pretty much every ‘Women’s Magazine’ on sale today, but it’s starting to feel like people actually want me to hate my body and equate waist size with self-worth. Has self-hatred really become the expectation for women everywhere?
Fortunately, I stopped putting up with that a long time ago when I went on the feminist diet, which means I eat whatever I want, guilt-free. It must be working so far because I feel better than ever. No self-loathing required.
Monday, July 11, 2011
A New Princess on the Block
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Pink Carriages: Peace of Mind or Unnecessary Protection?
Until I was 10 (and even then, very reluctantly) I was never allowed to walk to school without my older brother by my side. When I was 15 I fought my mother for the privilege of walking the less than a mile walk to the high street where I volunteered. Mind you, I lived in a small, sleepy English town full of elderly people and school children. Hardly the cesspool it had been made out to be.
Now having gained my independence for the first time, I stretched it as far as I possibly could by going to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for the summer. Everyone keeps telling me how “brave” I am to have come here “all my myself.” I’m not quite sure if I should take all this as a compliment or re-enforcement of my perceived limitations as a woman.
But I hate to admit that this constant fear mongering has gotten to me. I find myself picking up the pace when I’m alone, clutching my bag tighter and looking over my shoulder on a regular basis. Now, I know that not everyone is out to get me, but I’ve been conditioned from the point I was born until now to believe that “it only takes one time.”
However, the thing that puts me most at ease during my daily commute is knowing that in Malaysia the KTM has a section dedicated solely for women. These pink train cars, plastered with “Women Only” icons were introduced in 2010 not out of religious sensitivities as I had assumed, but as a deterrent for sexual harassment in the country. The segregated cars also have the added benefit of being less crowded during the intense KL rush hours. The gender segregation is not mandatory, and women are allowed to use the other cars as well, although men receive intense stare-downs if they ever unintentionally board the pink carriages. Women-only train cars also exist in Tokyo, although some men are petitioning for men-only carriages as a measure of gender equality, and to avoid false accusations of groping.
So then what is the Feminist stance on women-only carriages? Is it a good safety measure as a deterrent of sexual harassment? Other women like me who are travelling alone at night may feel sense of security from the measure, but is it reinforcing the idea that women need to be protected and setting back gender equality at the same time? How would women in the U.S. react to the introduction of women-only cars? Is the pink necessary? Hit up the comment box or tweet at @medusamagazine to let us know your thoughts on segregated travel.
Friday, April 15, 2011
MEISA presents: Nervous but Excited and Sarah Aument
Looking for a musical way to celebrate it being Friday WITHOUT the annoyingly catchy Rebecca Black? Tonight, MEISA is presenting their third show of the semester in downtown Syracuse at the Redhouse. Michigan based Folk duo Nervous but Excited will be here with an opening performance by none other than Syracuse University’s own Sarah Aument.
Nervous but Excited, comprised of singer/songwriters Kate Peterson & Sarah Cleaver, has been described as a “pleasantly aggressive folk duo”, and has shared the stage with artists such as Ani DiFranco, Catie Curtis, and Iron and Wine. Their arsenal of instruments includes guitars, a mandolin, a violin, a ukulele, harmonicas, dead-on harmonies that will shake your insides, some dancing, lots of laughter and a glockenspiel in a performance that provides both a sound and an experience that will resonate with audiences long after they’re gone. Their songwriting varies from intelligent, introspective narratives to tactfully political…interspersed with songs of love and loss that will undoubtedly tug on your heart. You might cry, you’ll definitely laugh, and their hope is that you’ll leave feeling your heart has grown just a little bigger than it was before you arrived.
And of course, it’s hard to be a music fan on the Syracuse campus without having come across Sarah Aument. A singer-songwriter based right here in Syracuse, her style is best described as Folk-Rock but her imaginative songwriting crosses over to multiple genres. Her debut album entitled "Vertical Lines" was released in Sept. 2010, and anyone who has been to one of her many shows on and around campus knows that she brings a wonderful energy and sweet sincerity to every one of her performances. Aument is currently touring the Northeast with her band, and has made a promising start to her early music career, already having shared the stage with the likes of Dawes, Erin McCarley, The Spring Standards, Sharon Van Etten and Ari Heist.
So come on out Medusa readers, and show your support for these wonderful and talented women! It’s going to be a great night of incredible music presented by three fantastic performers. I promise, you don’t want to miss it.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Is Rape Funny? (Don't Worry, the Answer is No)
Monday, March 28, 2011
Spoken Like a True Feminist...Continued!
Check out Olson's work here: http://alixolson.com
Check out Gibson's poems "I Do" and "For Eli" here: http://www.andreagibson.org
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
MEDUSA ISSUE #4
Download it here!
Drop us a line at medusamagazine@gmail.com
I love you very much,
Sammy
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Gender by Andrea Stopa
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Calling All Feminists!
This is Emmery here, you may have seen my name a couple of times on this wonderful website before as a contributing writer but guess what? Now I’m here to stay. That’s right, you’re talking to your new blog editor for Medusa Magazine’s wonderful world of blogging! I figured I would say hello and let you all know who I am because, lovely readers, I’m going to need your help. See this blog is a great way for all of us who love the magazine to voice our fabulous feminist opinions and share some really awesome and important stories in a more informal setting. And I highly doubt that all of you want to read everything from my point of view for the rest of your lives so, I’d love if you’d give me a hand. I want to hear what you have to say. Send me story ideas, things you want to write about, things you want me to write about, and let’s do our best to make it happen. I hope you’re as excited about this as I am, and I look forward to hearing from you all. Let’s get this party started! Just shoot an email to medusamagblog@gmail.com with your ideas and suggestions! I can't wait to hear from you all!