WIRED has a real honest-to-goodness woman engineer on the cover, and she isn’t just a couple of breasts.
She is, however, striking the Rosie the Riveter pose. It was her idea, and while I get that the idea is that “women are the workforce” and “we can do it,” it’s also worth remembering that “Rosie” and her fellow female workers were let go after the war-—their services were no longer required. It’s difficult for me to separate that part of the story from the Rosie icon, and I’m not sure I want to. It’s important to remember that history because we’re not so far removed from it that it can’t be repeated.
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer used the Riveter pose in her 2010 campaign, which I found offensive at the time in large part because of the irony of her use of the “We Can Do It” tagline while she repeatedly takes orders from Arizona Senate President Russell Pearce. She has recently broken ranks with him, but I’m sure that’s just to keep up appearances. Pearce almost always gets his way, and when he doesn’t, it usually isn’t because of Brewer.
It’s not like it’s special that Arizona has a woman governor. She’s the third consecutive (Jane Hull and Janet Napolitano are her immediate predecessors), and she’s the fourth overall. It’s also not like she did anything special to win her first gubernatorial election, except sign the notorious SB1070 and take a few cheap shots at President Obama. Arizona has had its share of good governors and more than its share of bad governors, and Brewer is on the wrong side of that divide. Her adoption of Rosie seeks to capitalize on girl-power iconography for cheap political gain while her administration more accurately reflects the post-WWII reality of women making way for men.
A new geek website aimed at women, The Mary Sue, uses several comic Rosies as its identifying icon(s). While I have some issues with some of their reasoning for using “The Mary Sue” as their name, I’m left wondering why they couldn’t come up with something new and original for both the name and icon. Isn’t it time we let Rosie rest? Isn’t it time for a new icon? Isn’t it time for a name and an image that aren’t already hobbled with baggage that belonged to our mothers and grandmothers? Don’t we deserve it?
23 March 2011
This Is As Far As We’ve Come? Really?
In a story that is too disgusting and despicable for words like “disgusting” and “despicable” to adequately convey how horrible it is, 18 “men” allegedly gang-raped an eleven-year-old girl. The New York Times had a public relations nightmare when the first article it first ran on the story appeared to blame the victim (sorry, “alleged victim”) or at least sympathize with the alleged rapists. More recently, a female Republican lawmaker in Florida made statements that all but exonerated the rapists. Because an eleven-year-old girl who dresses provocatively (according to the rapists and their allies) and acts older than she is (whatever that means—the lack of precise and verifiable accounts of this apparently slutty behavior on the part of a child leaves it to readers’ imaginations) obviously had it coming to her. She was asking for it. When it comes to rape, apparently, men should never be held accountable for their actions if it is remotely possible to blame the victim.
There are times when I think it would be nice to be a believer, because then I could believe that anyone who thinks that an eleven-year-old child (or anyone else, for that matter) provoked a gang-rape would spend eternity in the vilest pits of hell. On the other hand, being an atheist means I can’t pretend that there will ever be any real justice for this girl, and I can’t pretend that promises and threats of an afterlife make the crime any less heinous than it actually is. Pretending only helps the rapists.
There are times when I think it would be nice to be a believer, because then I could believe that anyone who thinks that an eleven-year-old child (or anyone else, for that matter) provoked a gang-rape would spend eternity in the vilest pits of hell. On the other hand, being an atheist means I can’t pretend that there will ever be any real justice for this girl, and I can’t pretend that promises and threats of an afterlife make the crime any less heinous than it actually is. Pretending only helps the rapists.
14 March 2011
Easier than pi
In honor of March 14, known in silly circles as “pi day,” I bring you pie. Well, photos of pie. (Of course, 3.14 is a simplistic approximation of pi, so it makes sense that the pie is such a simple recipe that it’s practically cheating.)
Preheat the oven to 350ยบ F. Start with a crumb crust. I used vanilla wafers, but graham crackers or ginger snaps or any number of plain cookies unencumbered by chips or nuts or fruit (etc.) will do. You’ll need at least 1 ½ cups of crumbs, but no more than 2 cups. To the crumbs add 3 tablespoons of sugar. Melt 4 tablespoons of butter or margarine (more if you need it, less if the crumbs have a lot of fat in them). Slowly add the melted butter to the crumbs and mix (use a fork or your hands). When the crumbs are fairly evenly coated with the melted butter, pat the mixture into a 9-inch pie plate. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool completely.
At this point, you’re going to melt a large chocolate bar (or its equivalent; I used a bittersweet chocolate from Trader Joe’s, and I used too much of it, if it can be said that there is such a thing as too much chocolate). Use a glass mixing bowl as the top of a double boiler for melting the chocolate. When the chocolate is completely melted, allow it to cool for about 20 minutes. Add whipped cream (whip at least ½ pint real whipping cream yourself, or use one regular tub of whipped cream or whipped topping—this kind of cheating is allowed in this recipe) to the cooled chocolate by folding it in. Once the cream is thoroughly (but gently) mixed into the chocolate, distribute the chocolate into the crust. Chill until set.
You can adjust the density or richness of the pie by adding more whipped cream and/or using less chocolate.
This is a ridiculously easy recipe, and it’s good even when the ingredients aren’t anything special. So if you use real whipping cream and a good quality chocolate, it’s fantastic. And still easy.
Preheat the oven to 350ยบ F. Start with a crumb crust. I used vanilla wafers, but graham crackers or ginger snaps or any number of plain cookies unencumbered by chips or nuts or fruit (etc.) will do. You’ll need at least 1 ½ cups of crumbs, but no more than 2 cups. To the crumbs add 3 tablespoons of sugar. Melt 4 tablespoons of butter or margarine (more if you need it, less if the crumbs have a lot of fat in them). Slowly add the melted butter to the crumbs and mix (use a fork or your hands). When the crumbs are fairly evenly coated with the melted butter, pat the mixture into a 9-inch pie plate. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool completely.
At this point, you’re going to melt a large chocolate bar (or its equivalent; I used a bittersweet chocolate from Trader Joe’s, and I used too much of it, if it can be said that there is such a thing as too much chocolate). Use a glass mixing bowl as the top of a double boiler for melting the chocolate. When the chocolate is completely melted, allow it to cool for about 20 minutes. Add whipped cream (whip at least ½ pint real whipping cream yourself, or use one regular tub of whipped cream or whipped topping—this kind of cheating is allowed in this recipe) to the cooled chocolate by folding it in. Once the cream is thoroughly (but gently) mixed into the chocolate, distribute the chocolate into the crust. Chill until set.
You can adjust the density or richness of the pie by adding more whipped cream and/or using less chocolate.
This is a ridiculously easy recipe, and it’s good even when the ingredients aren’t anything special. So if you use real whipping cream and a good quality chocolate, it’s fantastic. And still easy.
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