tirsdag 30. mars 2010

Male feminist part 5: My Dad


Dad and I
Me and my dad in the car after he picked me up from the airport winter 2008.

Me: you know, I'm slightly disturbed by the fact that people can be so ignorant to think that Norway is completely equal.

Dad: m-m. but you have to understand that when they write in the news that there are 80% more female leaders than for 10 years ago or something, it sounds a lot. But people don't see that its still far from 50/50.

Me: I know! And when people ask me why I'm so into feminism, that its not the most important issue to combat today, I don't even know where to start. So many don't see the link between gender equality and poverty, hunger etc. And the worst part is, I'm so geeky about the subject now that I almost have forgotten how it was to talk about this to a person that would not call them self a feminist, like myself just a few years ago. I'm sooo glad I did not take up gender studies in university, I would be even worse! Lol.

Dad: and they think equality is going to happen on its own, The development of gender issues in Norway did not just occur. Its because some people worked for it.

Me: the strange part is that of all people I have asked, its mostly women who don't want to identify with the term feminist, most men I have asked say yes . Some have even said ;
”Of course every informed person is” But its not true..

Me: Are you a feminist?

Dad: Of course.

Me: cool! Hahah and I who thought I had to convince you, but of course your are, why wouldn't you be right?

Dad: I think most men are afraid to identify with the word because they are afraid to seem feminine. Its disturbing that femininity has such negative connotation to a mans self, but that's the way it is, but why women don't want to identify with it is very strange.

Me: I know! And I don't know how to get through to them, I just talk about it in an abstract level, like power structures lalala. No wonder it does not get through. I think I have been too pretentious too, like thinking I didn't want to stupefy my language by talking so simple about such a complex matter. Some just don't ”feel the inequality on their bodies ” so they believe its not there. Alot of people say: ” I'm not suppressed”, One does not have to be suppressed to have sympathy for other people who are right? Its not so much about identity as it is about compassion.

mandag 29. mars 2010

Puppy love: Hot androgynity




After all the plastic, fake, vulgar fashion photography that is out there, its refreshing to find photos that are able to capture the beauty in sex and sexuality; intimacy.

I had to come with an alteration after checking out the source, since there the total series is shown and I must sadly say I feel some of the photos contains the same old vulgarity. But this selections I think looks different, plus the models are a couple in real life, making the whole thing more realistic. I love how some photographers are able to create a mysterious aura around the subjects in a photo. When Its all out there, some of the excitement disappears since you end up with the feeling that there is not more to see or interpret ...

Ellen von Unwerth "Omahyra and Boyd"
source:http://home.frognet.net/~mcfadden/evu/Ellen_von_Unwerth_Omahyra_Boyd.htm

Nick Caves son is a model/// by Hedi Slimane













I really like this shoot of Jethro Cave. I like its play with androgynity and the irony of it.

lørdag 27. mars 2010

Art: Mark Wallinger (correction, my bad)






Yesterday I went to Kunstnerens hus to check out english artist Mark Wallinger (sorry wrong name last time, went to two exebitions, was misinformed by my friend and to retarded to double check) newst exebition. He used different types of media, but I thought the sleeping people portrays was the most interesting part.

Eye Candy







Men who are feminists part 4: Dalai Lama


Ok, so maybe Dalai Lama doesn't file under popular culture, but he is still pretty far up there on my cool list, If there ever was one:)


“I call myself a feminist. Isn’t that what you call someone who fights for women’s rights? We all come from the same mother. That creates the basis for compassion.”

—The Dalai Lama at the International Freedom Award ceremony.

Fashion: Du Juan by Quentin Shih | Vogue China April 2010







source | Aja Mok @ tfs

torsdag 25. mars 2010

Male feminists part 3: A whole website dedicated to pro feminist guys.







What do pro-feminist men believe?
Pro-feminist men are sympathetic to feminist understandings of society. "We believe that women as a group suffer inequalities and injustices in society, while men as a group receive various forms of power and institutional privilege. The current, dominant model of manhood or masculinity is oppressive to women, as well as limiting for men themselves. We also recognise the costs of masculinity: conformity to narrow definitions of manhood comes with the price tag of poor health, early death, overwork and emotionally shallow relationships".
read more about it on this website: www.xyonline.net

Dr Michael Flood is a Research Fellow at La Trobe University in Australia, funded by the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth). XY began life as a printed magazine, published in Canberra (Australia) four times a year from 1990 to 1998. The magazine was titled XY: Men, Sex, Politics, with an editorial collective coordinated by Michael Flood.

Men who are feminists Part 2: Kurt Cobain


Kurt Cobain wrote the song “Rape Me” — which appeared with their single “All Apologies” — and has apparently said he meant it to be an anti-rape song. Of course, Cobain also married Courtney Love, who has been nothing if not outspoken about being a female guitarist and a feminist throughout the years; both his band, Nirvana, and her band, Hole, played in Rock For Choice concerts of the early ‘90s to raise money for safe, legal abortions.
source:www.thefrisky.com/

onsdag 24. mars 2010

Documentary: I Am a Man: Docu about Black masculinity



Photo above: Hedi Slimane
I Am a Man, Documentary about Black Masculinity is a 60-minute, award-winning documentary video by Byron Hurt, that poignantly captures the thoughts and feelings of African-American men and women from more than 15 cities and towns across America. I Am A Man links everyday black men from various socioeconomic backgrounds with some of Black America's most progressive academics, social critics and authors to provide an engaging, candid dialogue on black masculine identity in American culture. I Am A Man features cultural critics bell hooks and Michael Eric Dyson; the late historian John Henrick Clarke; hip-hop writer, author and activist Kevin Powell; human rights activist and former mayor of Atlanta, Andrew Young; renown psychiatrist Dr. Alvin Poussaint; entertainer MC Hammer, and several African-American men and women from across the country.Watch it Here.

Male feminist part 1: John Lennon




John Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, are the authors of “Woman Is The N**ger Of The World,” a deeply feminist song if there ever was one. Just listen to these lyrics:

“We insult her everyday on TV / And wonder why she has no guts or confidence / When she’s young we kill her will to be free / While telling her not to be so smart we put her down for being so dumb.”

In an interview with the Dick Cavett show where he and Ono performed the song, Lennon explained, “I really believe women have it the worst. However badly [sic] or poor people are, it’s the woman that takes it when they get home from work.” [John-Lennon.com]

Inspiration: Puppy love




Some Puppy love to lighten you up!

tirsdag 23. mars 2010

Style Diary : Gestapo boy and Bookworm girl getting a coffee together

Me and my buddy Einar went to Stockfleths coffe shop that had a shelve full of fresh apple juice, you could choose from 6 different types of apples. from Ringi farm. The girl behind the counter recommended one that had "hint of sours but with richness", as she explained it. Almost like wine! Love it!
In addition to have good hair, Einar is a really talented photographer. you can see his stuff here.
Im going for the bookworm style anno 2010: Bag from Adax, cashmere scarf bought in India (Jaipur) shoes and coat is 2nd hand from Oslo. This coat is made of baby sheep skin. The way they rip the skin of is very inhumane. This is not allowed to be practicing any more thank God. You might wonder why on earth I would still wear it. My thoughts on it is that this coat might be over 50 years old, they don't make them like that anymore. The worst thing to do is to throw it away, and contribute to even more pollution. And if by wearing it makes other people buy one too, I think its a good thing as long as it is 2nd hand. Thats my idea of cradle to cradle, but you might disagree.

Einar looks like the sweetest Gestapo I have ever seen :) Jacket bought in NY, hat is his dad old hat from 1960s, Bag is self made -redesigned from an old jacket, shoes are from H by Hudson.
After the coffee I bought some watercolor sheets and went to the gym. This is my favorite gym bag . I got for free at the Bjarne Melgaard art exebition last month.
Me at the gym, joining the ranks of mobile phone - pics - in the mirror: Cardigan from vintage store in Copenhagen, skirt from FLINGA, Lacoste shirt from vintage marked in Paris.

I usually only buy 2nd hand and vintage stuff. But if Im buying new clothes I try to get young designer stuff and sometimes Designer stuff. I think its far more ethical to spend alot of money on f.ex a quality bag that will last and support a small scale production, then to buy heaps of cheap clothes from H&M etc.
But no matter how much 2nd hand clothes I buy, fair trade or wild caught salmon I eat, I wont be able to compensate for the amount of CO2 I have contributed to just by traveling . Since last year I have been round trips from Norway to India, USA x 2, Thailand x 2, Paris x 3, Sweden, Denmark and Spain. I don't even want to start calculating how much CO2 that is, but by trying to stick with a sustainable consumption, I'm at least not making it even worse than it already is.