Strollerderby : misogyny

MySpace, Naked Photos, and a Dumped Teenager: A Cautionary Tale

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Thu, 22 May 2008 20:36:00 GMT

The plight of Alex Phillips offers a good lesson in how NOT to respond to a break-up. The 17-year-old Wisconsin teen (pictured) faces up to 16 years in prison for publishing naked photos of his ex-girlfriend on his MySpace page. If this sounds like the doings of a puritanical, punishment-happy society, wait till you learn a bit more about this lovely Alex character.

After Alex “dated” (which is probably a very tame way to put it) a 16-year-old girl for a while, they broke up and she started seeing someone else. Alex decided to teach his ex a little lesson about who she was dealing with—and about being a bit more cautious when she emailed photos in the future. He allegedly pasted on his MySpace page two nude photos that the girl had emailed to him during happier times. Suffice it to say that, according to the police report, one of the photos was a close-up that was not of the girl’s face.

Under this photo, Alex eloquently described his broken heart this way: “Yo tell me this bitch desurves this!!!!!....TF gets my leftovers….” I’ve included the ellipses to indicate references to the girl’s anatomy (or, more specifically, to what Alex did to said anatomy) that are best left to the imagination.

Unfortunately for Al, he took a similarly aggressive stance when police phoned him and asked him to remove the photos. “Fuck that,” he reportedly said. “I’m keeping them up.” Once he was brought in to custody and charged with child porn, defamation, and sexual exploitation of a minor, Alex conceded that he was simply “venting,” but he “probably should not have done this.” The girl told police she was “very upset.”

In a best case scenario, boys such as Alex Phillips would have some really good therapy for years before they were allowed any more contact with women. And 16-year-old girls would not email photos of their anatomy to boys like Alex. And teenage boys would not call girls bitches, and would know how to spell the word “deserve.” Considering that this is clearly not a “best-case scenario” world, what do you think of Alex Phillips: vicious pervert deserving of criminal prosecution or confused teenager who simply took these things a bit too far?

Photo: The Smoking Gun

Your Girls Can Be "Bimbos" Online!

Kelly Mills — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:02:00 GMT

Sometimes you see stuff and think, "Is this fer real?" When I read about the Miss Bimbo game, I kept thinking, "Oh, in a minute they'll say the game is for adults." But no, in fact the majority of the 200,000 players are between the ages of 7 and 17. But let me back up: There's a virtual "fashion" game for girls where they get a "Bimbo" and have to navigate her through boob jobs and diets and so on to make her the coolest bimbo of all. Girls can dress their dolls in sexy outfits for clubbing, and are encouraged to keep them waif thin through diet pills and plastic surgery. Niiiice.

Most of the accounts I read focused on the weight and cosmetic horrors of the game, but I personally was more disturbed by the fact that the bimbos are supposed to find a rich boyfriend so they don't have to work. Like, it's one of the goals of the game. Now that is just creepy. For god's sake, we don't even read "Cinderella" without some irritable commentary about how Cinderella ought to stand up for herself instead of waiting to be rescued. So the idea of having girls finding a sugar daddy through the game is icky. It simultaneously asks them to identify with and look down on the bimbos, and frankly, it seems strangely angry to me.

Here's the best quote from the game's creator: "It is not a bad influence for young children. They learn to take care of their bimbos. The missions and goals are morally sound and teach children about the real world." Frigging excuse me? But it goes on: "The breast operations are just one part of the game and we are not encouraging young girls to have them, just reflecting real life." Well, that's a relief. For a minute there I was worried. Yeah, these are totally the lessons I want my kids to learn. Why does it smell so strongly of misogyny in here?

If You Thought the Pink Ladies Were Tough...

Kelly Mills — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 00:05:00 GMT

I saw this story a couple days ago in a few places, and I just love it. A group of women in India--wives and mothers mostly--call themselves the "gulabi gang," or pink gang. They have uncovered corruption in grain distribution to the poor, and beat down men who attacked or abandoned their wives. And when I say "beat down," I mean it. Like, with sticks. First they try talking, and if that fails, it's gulabi gang kicking ass. In an area rampant with discrimination against the poor and women, the gulabi gang get things done.

The leader, Sampat Pal Devi, is a mother of five. She was a child bride, married off at 12, who fought for the right to attend school against the will of her parents. She says, "Nobody comes to our help in these parts. The officials and the police are corrupt and anti-poor. So sometimes we have to take the law in our hands. At other times, we prefer to shame the wrongdoers." Awww yeah. She adds, "Mind you, we are not a gang in the usual sense of the term. We are a gang for justice." Look, I often find vigilantism creepy, but this case is different, and this story just makes me get all fired up. Now the gang is continuing to work on crime and corruption, and Sampat Devi would like to see changes in education for girls and the ages girls can be married. I'm telling you, don't mess with the gulabi gang.

Photo: BBC