Feminism in your face.

For the last two days, I've been watching Miss Representation. 

I've had to watch it in small bits and pieces, simply because the truth is so very painful - that with the proliferation of new media, the representation of women and girls has gotten even worse. And it had been bad enough when I was younger.

I railed against a system that refused to teach girls how to resolve conflict or how to call out injustice. In college, I studied history - a male dominated field - where I was told there were no great women historians.

When I was a young girl, I often expressed frustration at the society that judged women on their looks. I distinctly remember my father, a serious advocate for women in the sciences, calling my mother over from making dinner to, "Look at this beautiful PhD!"

Being a literal sort, I assumed Dad meant that this particular diploma had been hand painted with calligraphy and gold leaf illumination; a document that looked like something from the Book of Hours.

Unfortunately, no. It was about the way she looked, not what her dissertation was about, or her research advances.


And I now see that the system has gotten worse.

This is for all those out there who judge a female on her looks alone, who write advertisements, books, movies, and web content that minimize a woman's talents - I'm watching. And I'm going to let you know when you diminish me and other women.

It's scary, but it has to be done.