Summer’s Eve is trying to make your vagina cool with a new “hip” branding campaign called “Hail to the V.” But is it funky and new or sexist and racist? They’ve got a video for “white,” “black,” and “hispanic” ladies. Yeah, thanks for boxing us all up into nice little packages, Summer’s Eve.
Wow. I just saw a pubic fro and a “sassy” black hand telling me about clubbing cleanliness. This is so appreciated.
Quick thoughts from my romp around their ads and site:
“If you treat a V right, she’ll return the favor…” Wink, wink, nudge, nudge! How sexual is that?! Ugh.
A vagina owner’s manual? Because … of course. It even teaches you to wipe front to back!
“Vertical smile.” No, really. They said it.
What do you think of this campaign? Does it “empower” women by helping them accept their vaginas? Or by selling a cleansing cloth and wash that are supposed to keep things fresh and “smelling nice” does it actually keep us from embracing the natural bits we were born with? Why are we considered “dirty”?And what about those racial and feminine stereotypes? What are women supposed to act like? Is this just insulting?
Edited to add: Oh my goodness, I just found Stephen Colbert’s take on the commercials. Priceless!
Edited to add (Nov 08, 2011): Apparently Summers Eve can’t take the heat (or the joke) and removed these ridiculous ads from their marketing strategy (and their youtube channel). Good riddance!
Happy news! New York state passed a bill making gay marriage legal! And in the middle of all the twitter hubub and joyous shouts of happiness, I read this:
Best twitter status of my night! Congratulations to a twitter friend and one of my favorite youtubers, Mitch (ProfMTH)! This should never have been illegal. I am so glad for all the New Yorkers who can now enjoy the proper freedom they so rightly deserve.After 15 & 1/2 years, I asked my partner to marry me & he said yes. Thank you all for your support! Victory for equality is victory for all.
-@ProfMTH (Mitch), 25-6-2011 02:35:56
photo by Steve Rhodes
I read some shocking facts about rape in the United states from Ms. Magazine:
- The FBI’s definition of “forcible rape” in their Uniform Crime Report (UCR): “The carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will.” [PDF]
- What that definition leaves out: anal, oral and statutory rape; incest; rape with an object, finger or fist; rape of men
- Number of men raped in any year, according to the UCR: 0 [PDF]
- Estimated number of men actually raped each year, according to the Dept. of Justice: 93,000 [PDF]
Some of the most offensive facts:
Percentage of rape reports deemed “unfounded” by New Orleans police in 2008: 60 percent
Percentage of rape reports deemed “unfounded” by Baltimore police in 2009: 32 percent
Percentage of actual estimated false rape reports in any given year according to research studies: 2-8 percent
What a Philadelphia police officer once called his city’s sex crimes unit: “The lying bitches unit.”
Read more here.
There is a petition available asking the FBI to modernize the definition of rape. Sign it here.
I was a victim. I deserve to be counted.
Check out a previous post about preventing rape and one about rape in the Bible.
graphic by James Ellis
I follow the hashtag #atheism on twitter in order to keep abreast on what people are saying about religion and other controversial subjects. Often the content contains thoughtful discussion or bits of news that interests me, but much of it resembles typical “zinger” one-liner material: pithy 140-character messages that resemble confrontational bumper stickers instead of well-balanced arguments against religion. Yeah, I’ve done it too. I admit it! Twitter is the safe-haven of the verbal jab.
I spotted one such “zinger” today:
Without faith there could be no genocide, no racism, no bigotry; faith breeds evil. #christian #jesus #bible #god #atheism #islam #muslim
-@FlyingFree333 (Flying Free), 29-4-2011 13:30:22
I’ve certainly heard this hyperbolic argument before, and as an atheist I do not agree. I realize you cannot easily present a reasoned argument for an enormous claim like this on twitter, but even if there were paragraphs of explanation behind it I’m not sure I would ever be convinced that the sole reason for racism, bigotry, and genocide is faith. To avoid an argument about vocabulary; “faith,” could easily be replaced by “religion.”
I am far from being an expert, but I think there are sociological, psychological, and economic causes unrelated to religion that cause these problems in the world. Religion is certainly used to justify many horrible actions such as genocide (e.g. Deuteronomy 20:16-18) and slavery (e.g. the Curse of Ham). However, I do not think all religions or faiths bring about these results, nor do I think ruling out other causes for the evil in the world is wise.
I’d really like to have a discussion about this claim. Is faith the cause of genocide, racism, and bigotry?
And as a side question: What do you think about these kinds of pithy statements on twitter? Do you think they help anything or perhaps give atheists a bad name?
Meghan on 
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