Monday, March 21, 2011

College & Same-Sex Experimentation

The New York Times has a short article exploring a finding that more educated women are less likely to have had lesbian experiences:
But according to the new study, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, based on 13,500 responses, almost 10 percent of women ages 22 to 44 with a bachelor’s degree said they had had a same-sex experience, compared with 15 percent of those with no high school diploma. Women with a high school diploma or some college, but no degree, fell in between.
Fascinating, right? And the article has a wide variety of comments on why this may have been the result. Among them are people who say bullshit like this:
the new findings may reflect class dynamics, with high school dropouts living in surroundings with few desirable and available male partners.(1)
And this:
A lot of data shows that women's sexuality is more hetero-flexible, more influenced by what they see around them.(2)
I have an urge to call those oh-so-wise professors up and ask if they had a clue what they were saying....

On the other hand, this comment is love:
the results of the federal survey underscored how poor, minority and working-class lesbians had been overshadowed by the mainstream cultural image of lesbians as white professionals.
I just wish that comment weren't so buried in the article. *pulls out highlighter* <3

* * *

(1) What the fuck? An extra 5% of women start having sex with women because they are .... incredibly horny but lack the men they'd otherwise prefer? Whatever, dude. My bet is that there is some licensing going on in the lower socioeconomic status groups, and/or extra stifling in the higher ones.

(2) Dunno why this line is even in the article, but in any event, the discussion is about lesbians and women with lesbian experiences. So fuck that harkening back to "hetero" shit. It rubs me the wrong way.

Shape-ups for girls are here!!!!1!!eleventy!1!!

This is not the commercial I saw on TV just now, but it's close enough:



What the hell?

I swear the one I saw on TV was worse (but maybe that's just because I spent the entire 30 seconds in the thralls of "bzuuuuuuuuuuh?"). The TV version didn't even do any of the "it'll let you bounce!" handwaving to justify marketing butt-toning shoes to elementary schoolers.

There are some insightful comments to be made here about girls, gender roles, body image, health, childhood activity, and how these all tie into television (television!) commercials, but I am not sure I'm in the mood to tease them all out. There is just so much wrong with this, right down to the Velcro shoe they show at second 12 and the gross = food = boys at second 18. And, sticking with the name "Shape-Ups"? Really? It just echoes of Pull-Ups.... which these kids are no more than 5 years past wearing.


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Overview of video:
Skinny professional cartoon lady at news desk of pink and grey: Breaking news from Sketchers!
Other skinny lady jumps on news desk: Shape-ups for girls are here! Let's go!

(cut to stage with skinny cartoon rock band ladies and lots of pink, with massive Shape-Ups logo in background)
Singer sings:
Heidi's got new Shape-Ups!
(a series of shoes display, spinning slowly in circles like crowns)
Got everything a *girl* wants!
She's got the height, got the bounce, yeah, she's looking good and having fun!
(boys dressed in junk food appear for half a second, looking disgusted)
Cuz Heidi's got new Shape-Ups!
(boys dressed in junk food can't keep up with skinny happy beaming girl)
Heidi's got new Shape-Ups!

Voiceover:
Shape-ups for girls by Sketchers!

The master: *falls over ded*