Beyond the Claremont Bubble RSS feed for this section

Preserving representation: artistic license in the Steven Universe fandom

It’s not much of an exaggeration to say that Steven Universe, ostensibly just another cute, fantastical offering from Cartoon Network, has spent the two years of its broadcast upending the status quo of American children’s cartoons. The diversity of skin color and body type in this show, not to mention its canonical representation of queerness, […]

Read more
goodwill

Goodwill Hunting: the feminist potential of of used clothing

  For my sixteenth birthday, I convinced my mom to take me to our local Goodwill, where I picked out a nice button-down shirt and a pair of black slacks. I was delighted with my new fancy-occasion outfit; she was displeased that it had come pre-worn. Even now that I’m in a position to buy […]

Read more
Students protesting against a Jefferson County Board of Education proposal to review the curriculum, September 23, 2014. (RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post)

Patriotism, Progress, and Defining America’s Past

  When the high school students in Denver took to the streets to protest the changes to make their history curriculums more patriotic, they were making a point that, as Eugene Debs put it, “intelligent discontent is the mainspring of civilization.” Progress, from this viewpoint, is created by people who actively disagree with the system […]

Read more
blogphoto_mothersday_cosmetics

Off brand – why women are paying more for the same products men use

    Image Source Before I start describing how I feel about a certain issue – it might be better for you to first understand the issue. Here is Buzzfeed to the rescue, with a handy article comparing the prices of women’s products to men’s products. http://www.buzzfeed.com/maitlandquitmeyer/lady-products-that-cost-more-than-their-male-counterparts#2soimul As a female consumer, Buzzfeed’s article was not […]

Read more
god has boobs

God has Boobs

“She is always listening.” “Who is always listening?” I asked my Grandmother. It was the first time I had ever heard someone refer to God as “she.” I spent most of my childhood praying to a superman figure named “Father,” “Lord,” and sometimes, “The Big Guy Upstairs.” His picture loomed above my bed’s headboard.  In […]

Read more
Image from absolutebodo.com

Power, Empowerment, and Earthworms (Happy Earth Day)

  “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” -Alice Walker Today is April 22, 2014, or Earth Day, as some people might realize only after looking at their calendars. Founded in the United States, Earth Day commemorates what was the start, according to many, of the environmental movement in 1970. […]

Read more
img001-6

Catholic or Feminist

Art by Emily Audet. Click for full image.    I remember asking my mom when I was young why women could not be priests (as shown in the illustration above). She told me that in the past, women were seen as less powerful than men and were not allowed to hold leadership positions in the […]

Read more
Screen Shot 2014-03-21 at 11.43.22 PM

The Patriarchy Need Not Apply

    I first came across the “Application to Date My Daughter” on Facebook, and I was immediately perturbed. For the uninitiated, it’s pretty self-explanatory – an “application” to be turned into the stereotypical, over-protective dad by a would-be boyfriend. It’s also very disturbing and highly problematic. I understand that the audience for this type […]

Read more
lady macbeth

Anti-Femininity: What Lady Macbeth can teach us about Feminism

  Jeanette Nolan in Macbeth (1948) “Come you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,” vows Lady Macbeth as she prepares to convince her husband to murder the King of Scotland. It is a line and a scene that I have pondered for far too long, caught up in my attempt to reconcile her aggressive […]

Read more
victoria poster

Reflections on Meeting Everyday Science Heroes and Being a Woman in Science

I recently attended the 58th Biophysical Society Meeting in San Francisco, and I can only describe the entire four-day experience as overwhelming. There were talks by scientists and scholars at the top of their fields, including the National Lecture given by Carlos Bustamante, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley and essentially the equivalent […]

Read more