The ‘greening’ of sexism
I am enraged this morning and its not because the Fred Meyer pharmacy doesn’t open until 9 a.m. and I needed my mood-altering medication before my job starts at 8:30 a.m. (although that may have something to do with the rage).
It is because I saw this on the Mercury’s blog this morning. Apparently last year cosmetic company LUSH held a ‘protest’ in which employees at its stores spent the day in the nude besides an apron to promote the company’s use of ‘naked’ or package free, 100 percent vegetarian products. The company’s head honchos say this is a way to ‘educate’ businesses and consumers of the toll that excess packaging takes on the environment. LUSH on Northwest 23rd will reprise the protest today at noon.
*head explodes*
Question: Why do these so-called ethical companies feel it’s OK to exploit women’s bodies but its not OK to exploit farm animals or trees?
And some of you may say that the men at the stores will be naked too (equality?), but when was the last time you saw a dude working a LUSH? This company is not trying to inform people people about using less packaging, they are using female nudity to draw customers into its stores to buy $15 bath bombs. If they really wanted to raise environmental consciousness, they could do it without the naked babes by holding a seminar in their stores.
Reading this gave me the sick feeling in my stomach, like when I see those giant PETA billboards with the naked women panting in cages.
I know the employees only do this on a voluntary basis and I know many young women working in these stores will decide to de-panty and throw on an apron and it won’t affect their life one way or the other. But to me, this is blatant objectification. And using this tactic in the workplace, a place where it is already difficult for women to navigate without being judged solely on their ‘assets’, is more ethically irresponsible than slapping plastic wrap on vegetables at a grocery store. LUSH has placed a green film over sexism and calls it consciousness raising. This is unacceptable and I encourage you if you agree to write to them and tell them so, as I will be doing today.
LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics
8365 Ontario Street – Unit 120
Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada V5X 3E8
9 to 5
So I am one week into my new home and three books into the Harry Potter series, which is slowly turning me into even more of a geek than I was previously. Hippogryphs? Unicorns? Basilisks? Swoon! It doesn’t help that one of our good friends Nelson is staying with us currently, and so Jacob and Nelson have covered my new office in Magic cards (thats Magic: The Gathering, not enchanted cards, not nearly as cool as it sounds) and we also found a role playing game circa 1980 called ‘Top Secret‘ where you pretend to be a secret agent a la James Bond.
Wait where are you going? Ok, ok, enough with the nerd-talk.
So, one cool, hip thing I did this weekend was go out to dinner at Night Light with the lovely Kiala and the dashing Dane and the magnificent Meagn (Sorry Kiala, I couldn’t think of a ‘k’ word for beautiful) and then we went to Chopsticks and watched people sing karaoke. It was my first time at a karaoke bar and I was all prepped to sing Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5 when some other broad got to it before me. But thats ok because Kiala and I danced to 9 to 5 and I was probably too drunk to remember the words anyway. Thats right, internet. I had FOUR gin and tonics which is a lot for me, trust me. I then left Chopsticks and made Jacob pick me up and bring me back to a friends house. And then I announced to the room that I could out smoke the shit out of everyone out drink the shit out of everyone and passed out on my friend’s couch. And I felt fine the next day. But then on Monday I had some sort of evil, delayed hangover from Saturday and wanted to die. Has that ever happened to you? It was so unfair.
Oh, and I work at a newspaper that covers a lot of ‘green’ building and ‘green’ architecture and ‘green streets’ and green, green, green green. Could someone PLEASE come up with another way to say ‘green’ or ’sustainable’ before I throw myself off of an Eco-roof? Suggestions can be left in the comments.
Geeking out
So I am pretty much the LAST person on earth who hasn’t read the Harry Potter series. I’ll admit, I thought I was above it. After all, I’ve been reading Literature since I was old enough to reach the adult shelves at the library and I majored in English at a University and it was all very Postmodernish and Romantical and full of woolen scarves and ascot sweaters and Keats. Those are real terms, by the way. I know. I have a degree. And I make $12 an hour.
Anyway, I finally gave in when my boss, in an unusual act of kindness, lent me the first two books when I said I hadn’t read them. I wasn’t expecting much; I’ve never liked fantasy unless it had to do with flesh eating zombies, vengeful ghosts or dystopic future worlds where people eat their food in pill form.
But, my god. I am IN LOVE with these books. First off, the setting is incredible: a magical wizard school with monsters roaming its halls, secret passageways, magic mirrors and an evil cat stalking the halls looking for wrong-doing students. Secondly, the text is not dumbed down too much to make it suitable for kids. I even caught a masturbation joke in the second book and everyone talks in these cute English accents. Thirdly, the books incorporate all sorts of mythic history, which makes my middle-school heart sing.
However, since I have been so engaged and perhaps unhealthily fixated on these books, the following has happened:
1. I was at Whole Paycheck buying a slice of cheese (they sell them that way so poor people like me can sample the Gruyere) to eat with some crackers and a cup o’ noodles I brought for lunch, because I am very classy. When I got to the check stand, I had to fish my debit card out and in the process, pulled both my cup o’ noodle and my Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone out and slapped them on the counter while I plumbed the depths of my bag. Seizing upon my debit card, I emerged victoriously from my bag to find the two snide but cute Eastside boys (who were identifiable by their little biker caps and pube-ish facial hair) laughing at my children’s novel and 10 cent lunch. I paid for my cheese bits and left red-faced.
2. A 15-year-old boy nearly fell into my lap on the bus trying to read The Chamber of Secrets over my shoulder, though by the looks of his WOW t-shirt, I knew he must have read it before. I couldn’t really blame him; I’d have done the same thing.
3. I was at a particularly dull work meeting and was doodling little wizard pictures of Harry, Hermione and Ron when my co-worker noticed and asked what they were. I mumbled something about research for an in-depth literary essay on JK Rowling and shuffled my papers and tried to look busy and important while avoiding eye contact with everyone for the rest of the day.
4. I actually hung up on Jacob so I could finish the last ten pages of The Chamber of Secrets.
Now I’m on the third book. Hopefully next time you see me I won’t be firebombing Warner Brothers Studios in a Dumbledore outfit for pushing the release date for ‘The Half Blood Prince’ from this fall to next summer. (But seriously, WHY GOD WHY?)
Watching under the influence (of Nyquil)
So I was sick last week. I borrowed a pile of DVDs from my neighbor and tore through them all except Cursed starring Christina Ricci and that cute guy from Dawson’s Creek. Not that I watched Dawson’s Creek. Ever.
Anyway, Cursed is about this PR minion (Christina Ricci) who’s dating this super-cool club promoter guy (Pacey from Dawson’s Creek) when a werewolf is let loose upon the city of Los Angeles. PR lady and her little bro hit some kind of animal while on their way home one night, causing them to slam into another car. When they attempt to rescue the other driver, the animal, which resembles a giant wolf, drags the passenger into the forest, biting PR lady and her bro en route.
This is where things start to get blurry. Basically, everyone in the movie starts becoming a werewolf somehow and people are all hairy and horny and eating raw meat and things. Then its a guessing game as to which werewolf is the ultimate supreme werewolf that if killed, will release the other folks from their werewolfdom. In the spirit of not ruining the ending, I will offer a list of potential candidates:
1. Pacey from Dawson’s Creek
2. Portia de Rossi (playing a psychic)
3. Shannon Elizabeth
4. That guy from Heroes who’s dating the cheerleader in real life
5. Scott Baio
6. Kitty from Arrested Development
7. Craig Kilborn
8. Mya
I’ll give you a hint. Its not who you hope it is. This movie is awful.
To end on a positive note, I leave you with a clip from a much better werewolf movie, The Howling. Did I mention this is really gross? Seriously. I just threw up a little in my mouth when I thought about it. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
The Summer Flu: The ultimate in evil
So, I have the flu. And its summer. And I don’t understand why I have the flu in the summer because its sunny and not rainy and cold. What the hell, immune system? So, I tried to console myself with a werewolf movie called Cursed that stars Christina Ricci.
This may or may not have been a mistake. I am still deciding through my flu medicine induced coma. I’ll have my postmortem on that tomorrow. In the mean time, please please please come to this event.
I am currently interning for the lovely Melissa Lion and Frayn Masters and assisting them with an amazing project called BackFence PDX. BackFence PDX is a bi-monthly, evening event in which six people each tell a six-minute, unscripted story based on a theme. This month, the theme is True Colors, like the Cyndi Lauper song. This month’s storytellers include Mercury news reporter Matt Davis, fashion designer Adam Arnold, IFCC creative director Adrienne Flagg, Reuben Nisenfeld, radical feminist Frances Miller and short story writer Frank D’Andrea.
Basically, it is going to be off the hook. Or, a real hootenanny, if you are more comfortable with that. Did I mention there’s booze? And food? And its only $7?
Oh, and if you are one of the first 50 people to register here for the event, you get a sweet-ass button. Plus, if you come I’ll give you a kiss. No tongue though. I am a lady.
BackFence PDX
Wednesday, August 13 @ 7:30 p.m.
Urban Grind East
2214 N.E. Oregon Street
$7
