CULTURE BUZZ – Listen up, ladies! Now you can turn back time (well, if only for your V) with this ultra-creepy “tightening lubricant.” It does exactly what you think it does. That sound you hear is the collective slamming of SUV driver’s-side doors as wannabe-MILF’s race to the finish to see who can find Liquid Virgin first. Alas, it’s only available on teh netz. (Thanks for the tip, Sara!)

The Best Links:

1. Things We’re Afraid to Buy in Person
2. For Those of You Who Can’t Afford “Rejuvenations”
3. Buy Liquid Virgin In Private! (Thank You, Internet)
4. “Doctor, Can You Help Me Feel Like a Teenager Again?”

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CULTURE BUZZ – When somebody posts an unflattering picture of someone on their blog or Facebook page, then invites others to comment about how terrible the subject’s dimpled thighs look. There are so many ways in which the blogosphere is just like junior high gym class.

The Best Links:

1. Is Technology Exacerbating This Cultural Phenomenon?
2. WSJ Article: “The Rise of Bodysnarking”
3. “Insane State of Body Issues Drama Apparently Google’s Fault”
4. The New Sport for Social Networking
5. Thanks to Bodysnarking, Young Females Now Have Even More Body Issues
6. Blight of the cellulite: Mischa Barton reveals her very dimpled thighs (Example of Bodysnarking)
7. Watch: Fox News Channel Covers Bodysnarking
8. Young Girls Affected Psychologically by Blog Comments

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CULTURE BUZZ – Yale art student Aliza Shvarts’ senior art project documents a nine-month process during which she artificially inseminates herself while inducing miscarriages over and over. Her exhibition will feature video recordings of these forced miscarriages as well as preserved collections of the blood from the process. Finally, something that pro-lifers AND pro-choicers can agree on! Now both sides of the controversial debate can concur that gratuitous abortion art is pretty despicable.

The Best Links:

1. Yale Daily News - For senior, abortion a medium for art, political discourse
2. University calls art project a fiction; Shvarts ‘08 disputes Yale’s claim
3. Further developments reveal the “art project” is a hoax.
4. Aliza Shvarts’ Uterine Lining Inspires Jewelry Maker
5. Aliza Shvarts Inspired Jewelry (!!!)
6. Yale Threatens to Ban Shvarts’ Art Project from Show
7. Liberal Ivy League Art Project Not Appreciated by All
8. Here Is Some of My Abortion Art…It’s Pretty Gross
9. Poor Aliza’s Cry for Attention
10. I Don’t Get It, But At Least It’ll Get People Talking
11. Artist Or Violator of Ethics?
12. How Did She Get the Donors?
13. Yale Student Lowers Historical Definition of Art to New Lows
14. Can’t Start Conversation about Abortion; Too Busy Puking
15. Check Out a 2004 Photo of Shvarts
16. Did she punk us?
17. Most people find this gross.
18. Bleeding for Her Art
19. That Abortion Art Project, in the Artist’s Own Words
20. Controversy Over Abortion Art
21. She Claims It Wasn’t For Shock Value

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POLITICS BUZZ – Feminist writer Jennifer Baumgardener has created a T-shirt that reads “I was raped” as part of multimedia rape awareness project. Baumgardener aims to force the taboo issue of rape into everyday conversation. Not surprisingly, the T-shirt is causing a fair amount controversy. We wish people didn’t rely as much on slogan T-shirts for topics of conversation.

The Best Links:

1. “I Was Raped” T-Shirt Intended To Empower
2. “Rape Worn Not on a Sleeve, but Right Over the Heart”
3. I Was Raped: Wear Your Voice Out (Official Site)
4. “Rape T-Shirt Could Be Even Bigger Than Abortion T-Shirt”
5. I Love Jennifer Baumgardeners New Project
6. Would You Wear the “I Was Raped” Tee?

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TV BUZZ – The New York Times describes the third season of The Hills as having an “Antonioni plotlessness” and considers Heidi Montag to be some sort of “feminist hero.” We wish we were still in college so we could write our women’s studies thesis on the bastion of feminist theory that is The Hills. But we might consider writing an essay just for fun chronicling the Hegelian evolution of our brooding heroine LC, starting with her Laguna Beach days.

The Best Links:

1. Spencer: Othello?
2. “5 Ways In Which The Hills is JUST LIKE An Antonioni Film”
3. New York Times Reviews the Third Season of the Hills
4. WSJ’s Very Long, Very In-Depth Profile on the Branding of Lauren Conrad
5. What We Read When We Read About The Hills
6. The Hills: ‘I Want To Get My Hands In There And Make Myself Available To You’
7. Juliana Hatfield Has a Blog Where She Hates on the Hills
8. The Hills vs The Truman Show - Are they even comparable?
9. Heidi Montag - the next Gloria Steinem?
10. New York Times Calls Heidi Montag a “Feminist Hero”
11. Very Sophisticated Psychoanalysis of LC and Co.
12. How MTV Is Brainwashing You, from the Cinematography to the Soundtrack Choices

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BUSINESS BUZZ – A T-shirt reading “NO MEANS NO. Well maybe if I’m drunk” is removed from a retailer’s website after widespread complaints. Adding insult to injury, the tasteless retailer replaced the offending garment with a T-shirt featuring a “Miss Bitch” graphic, and offered a 10% discount to readers of Feministing, the site that lodged the original complaint.

The Best Links:

1. “How Did No Means No Become a Fun Rape Joke”
2. “Re-victimisation for fun and profit: more Goliath, less David”
3. “Rape Shirt Pulled”
4. “Disgusting T-shirt Making Light of Rape”
5. “Sweet, Sweet Feminist Victory”
6. “A Follow Up On the ‘it’s Ok to Rape Me if I’m Drinking’ Tee”
7. “No Means No (But Just Add Booze)”
8. Ohh Snap! Coincedence or Feminist Paranoia?
9. Offensive T-Shirts: No Means No, Always.

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POLITICS BUZZ – An article in the Washington Post entitled “We Scream, We Swoon. How Dumb Can We Get?” is generating outrage from bloggers. In the article, she accuses female Obama supporters of being silly groupies. Shouldn’t the fact that Barack Obama is the new NKOTB be a step up for womankind? We just put in our orders for some “Women for Obama” baby tees.

The Best Links:

1. Article Exposes Dumbness of Charlotte Allen, Not Womankind
2. Blogosphere Up-in-Arms over Article
3. How Did This Piece of Garbage Get Published in the First Place?
4. “Pure Conservative Crap”
5. Let’s Take a Look at Charlotte Allen’s Past Writings, Shall We?
6. It’s Too Easy to Accuse Charlotte Allen of Being the Dumb One
7. A Rant: “Is the Washington Post out of its mind? “
8. Charlotte Allen is the Ward Connerly of Females
9. Political Mombloggers think Charlotte Allen is the dumb one.
10. It’s time for another rousing round of “Let’s deconstruct this bullshit article!”
11. Katha Pollitt takes down Charlotte Allen

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SCIENCE BUZZ – The birth control pill that halts your period sparks a heated feminist debate. Ladies, it’s time to throw out those period panties and dig out those white jeans. It’ll be the most liberating thing you will ever do for yourself.

The Best Links:

1. Odd Feminist Reaction to Lybrel: Bad for Women’s Self Esteem??
2. A Boon to Suffering Women Everywhere
3. No More Tampons
4. Is your period obsolete?
5. Doctors Don’t Think You Really Need Your Period Anyway
6. What’s wrong with the idea of women intelligently designing themselves?
7. Why is the Pill Always the Answer to all Menstrual Problems?
8. Think of all the Money You’ll Save!
9. Let’s stay on the rag, ladies. Let’s stay on the rag.
10. Offsprung’s Amanda Marcotte on the right’s obsession with menstruation.

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CULTURE BUZZ – A new book called Porn for Women features sensitive men in aprons. We wanted to warn you about this book because it is NOT actually porn! But wait, what is feminist porn? We won’t get into it here; that’s what freshman year at Smith College is for. But here are some links investigating this enigmatic topic.

The Best Links:

1. “Porn for Women” Isn’t Even a Satire!
2. “X-rated films for red-blooded feminists”
3. Hot And Bothered: A Documentary about Feminist Pornography
4. There’s No Such Thing as Feminist Porn
5. Feminist Porn Awards - Only in Canada!
6. Looking for a Few Good Feminist Porn Writers
7. Why Chicks Hate Porn
8. Porn for Women: A Review

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CULTURE BUZZ – Egalitarian societies show a link between forced gender equality and poor health. Sigh. If we could all just marry rich and stay at home making pottery all day, we’d lead long happy lives of joy and prosperity.

The Best Links:

1. Egalitarian Society in Sweden Not as Rosy as It Seems
2. Women Probably Don’t Want to Trade Equal Rights for Better Health
3. American Women: Less Sleep Means More Stress Means Less Sex
4. Pressure Cooker Jobs Mean More Obesity and Heart Disease
5. Families Are Now Absorbing the Stress of Work-Related Pressure

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