Sundance Channel

The slow but (hopefully) steady erosion of our gender stereotypes

Em and Lo — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:00:22 +0000

For our book club, we're reading the 2003 novel "We Need to Talk About Kevin" by Lionel Shriver.* I, Lo, knowing nothing about the book or its author, began reading and was amazed that a male author could create a female narrator that sounded so authentic and convincing, especially regarding childbirth and motherhood. That is, until halfway through the book when I happened to catch a glimpse of the author photo on the inside back flap: turns out Lionel is a woman.

First covers of famous magazines

Matthew Rodriguez — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 13:49:34 +0000

From The Atlantic Monthly in 1857 to Wired in 1993, here's a fascinating look at the covers of the first issue s of famous magazines, including, I'm sure, at least one of your favorites. It's kind of amazing to see how these magazines have evolved over the years. Some are radically different in terms of design, focus and content, while others - most notably The New Yorker, whose first issue stars Eustace Tilley, or New York Magazine, with its breathtaking photo of the most beautiful skyline in the world - look as timeless and instantly familiar then as they do today...

How different are girls’ and boys’ brains?

Em and Lo — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 18:00:54 +0000

It's a favorite question of ours...okay, of mine (i.e. Lo's), and my personal answer is that yes, there are differences, but not as many or as great as our culture presumes. The bias we have as a society actually influences the development of boys' and girls' brains (which are elastic) so significantly as they grow that by the time they're adults there's much more difference than there would be if we lived in a more egalitarian, less Men-Are-From-Mars world. In other words, it's a self-fullfilling prophecy. So while there are differences, we would do better to celebrate our similarities, or at least our potential for overlapping skills and desires and tendencies, so that both sexes don't feel limited by narrow gender roles...

The media’s pornification of women

Em and Lo — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 17:00:36 +0000

Here's a fascinating, but not all that surprising study from the University of Buffalo: they recently analyzed more than 1,000 images of men and women on Rolling Stone covers over the course of 43 years (they chose Rolling Stone since it's a well-established, pop culture media outlet) and found the following:

“New York Magazine” peeks into the lives of others/ourselves

Perrin Drumm — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:52:09 +0000

New York Magazine's latest feature gives readers the full REAR WINDOW treatment

To celebrate its 43rd birthday, New York Magazine ran a nearly cover-spanning story on the one topic that New Yorkers never seem to tire of: their apartments. From tales of the city's most notorious starving artists to those living comfortably on the other end of economic spectrum, I heartily salute "The New York Apartment: A Biography" for its breadth of scope, surprising anecdotes and collection of historical photographs.

Loving hating Gwyneth

Em and Lo — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 18:00:48 +0000

We always knew Gwyneth Paltrow was kind of annoying, but we didn’t realize it was “official” until we read the recent Time magazine review of her new movie “Country Strong,” which wasn’t so much a movie review as it was an account of how much people love to hate this privileged daughter of Hollywood elite [...]

To be young, gifted and black…

Em and Lo — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 17:00:41 +0000

…apparently means to be photoshopped by Elle magazine. Or at least, that’s the rumor that’s got ladies mag readers all abuzz. For their 25th anniversary issue, Elle just released 4 different covers featuring 4 different 25-year olds, “young women changing the world” they said, though they forgot to add “in Hollywood.” Let’s be clear, these [...]

The raw sex scenes of “Blue Valentine”

Em and Lo — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 17:00:56 +0000

One of the films we're most excited to see in the next few months is the indie-flick 12 years in the making, "Blue Valentine," starring Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling and out December 31st. It's an intimate portrait -- almost documentary style -- of a relationship/marriage over the course of several years, cross-cutting between different time periods. There was very little rehearsing, lots of time spent together in character before shooting, picking fights on the days they were filming fights. The two actors are on the cover of W magazine this month, with an interview by Lynn Hirschberg inside, in which they discuss, among other things, the very intense sex scenes:

New wedding mag for same-sex couples

Em and Lo — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 20:00:23 +0000

“Equally Wed” is the new online magazine for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender couples who are tying the knot (legally or not). Launched this past March with their Spring Issue, they plan to publish one issue each season (their Summer Issue is up now). It’s got the typical bridal magazine stuff that just feeds the [...]

The new abortion providers

Em and Lo — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:00:28 +0000

Dr. Emily Godfrey is our new hero: she had the courage to be featured on the cover of the NYTimes Sunday Magazine last weekend as a doctor willing to provide abortions, not in an abortion clinic but at her practice where she sees all sorts of patients. In case you missed it last weekend, the article titled "The New Abortion Providers" took a fascinating look at the movement to bring this safe, common and legal medical procedure back into hospitals where it's less vulnerable to attack by anti-choice zealots:

New Yorker covers via iPhone art

Matthew Rodriguez — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 13:57:43 +0000

Artist Jorge Colombo now has four New Yorker covers under his belt, which may or may not be his preferred method of carrying his iPhone, which also happens to be the tool that he uses to create and paint the art for these covers. As the iPhone and the apps have built quite a active [...]

A pre-Kinsey Victorian sex survey

Em and Lo — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 20:00:48 +0000

photo of Clelia Mosher from the Stanford University Archives

The March/April edition of Stanford Magazine has a fascinating article on Dr. Clelia Mosher, a Victorian-Era scientist, researcher and Stanford professor who conducted the first known sex surveys of women, decades before Kinsey (who's considered the pioneer of sex research). Even though the sample size is small and represents mostly white, middle-class, educated women, it still goes far in revealing that Victorian repression was an ideology that was pushed on women rather than a reflection of actual views or practices of the time. Below are some highlights from the piece, but the whole thing is worth a read if you've got the time.

The GQ interview with Rielle Hunter

Em and Lo — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:00:25 +0000

Have you read the no-holds-barred GQ interview with Rielle Hunter, John Edwards’ mistress during his presidential campaign and father of her only child? It’s required reading. Not necessarily for the intimate behind-the-scene details you learn about Edwards’ relationships, both with Hunter and his wife Elizabeth, but for the voyeuristic door it opens into the mind [...]

We always knew modern design was bad for your love life

Em and Lo — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:00:16 +0000

The things that once so defined him -- shag carpeting, Room & Board sofas, monogamy -- now suffocated him. -- via UnhappyHipsters.com If you've ever browsed the pages of, say, Dwell magazine and wondered how the hell anyone could even fart in such an antiseptic environment, let alone have an orgasm, then you'll love UnhappyHipsters.com as much as we do. The site is genius in its simplicity: photos from the pages of Dwell magazine and, okay, mostly just Dwell, with one-liner captions guessing at the inner life of the dwellers in question. Sure, we've always been proponents of clearing clutter -- especially in your bedroom -- in order to focus on the task at hand, whether that task is dinner, email, romance, or an orgasm. But there's lack of clutter and then there's austere design and architecture that seems to scream, "I DARE you to have fun in here!" A sampling from a world in which "wet spot" is a dirty word after the jump.

The first gay superhero comic

Em and Lo — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:00:51 +0000

If you suspected a few members of the Justice League of America were gay (hello, Aquaman?) and always wished they'd come out of the closet, there's now a new ALL-gay superhero comic just for you. It's called Spandex. What it lacks in artistic skill (visually speaking, this ain't no DC Comic), it makes up for in fabulous gay pride. There's "Liberty (glamorous transvestite superhero), Diva (a lesbian Wonder Woman), Prowler (absorbs the abilities of gay people), Glitter (male Dazzler), Indigo (beautiful French teleporter), and Mr Muscles & Butch (strong twins)" (see above). We would have thought there'd be at least one big buff or bearded super dude and one super butch without cleavage, but that's just us (and we're neither gay nor comic-book readers, so what do we know?). It's available from the U.K. but you can download a pdf of the first 40-page comic in the series via Paypal here. More excerpts after the jump.

A Feminist in Fox’s Clothing? Megan Fox in the NYTimes Magazine

Em and Lo — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:00:52 +0000

We weren't sure how or why the sex symbol with diarrhea of the mouth, Megan Fox, got an entire cover article dedicated to her in the New York Times Sunday magazine. Is she really such a cultural force? She's been in like a whopping two movies (we're counting TRANSFORMERS I and II as one)! Well, we guess a billion Google searches can't be wrong. We weren't expecting to be riveted by the article, but surprisingly there was a ton of fascinating stuff on sex and gender roles -- and not just out of skilled profiler Lynn Hirschberg's mouth. Here are some of the best bits (in case you just can't bring yourself to read a prettied up version of an US Weekly article):

How Consumer Reports tests condoms

Em and Lo — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:00:03 +0000

Consumer Reports recently tested a whopping 15,000 condoms (bought by one dude!) representing 20 models. Alas, there was no actual-use testing done in the lab on the slab, just the boring scientific stuff: packaging examination, stretching, measuring, filling them with liquid to check for leaks, and inflating them with air to the size of 5-gallon [...]

Rihanna’s domestic abuse sells albums — so what?

Em and Lo — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:00:00 +0000

Some people have been questioning Rihanna's choice to wait to talk about her domestic abuse right until the release of her new album. But that's just the way the magazine-TV-PR-celebrity-promotional circle jerk works: celebrities don't tend to chat to magazine writers or TV presenters just because they feel like it, they do it because they are contractually required to promote something. And magazines, TV shows, et al are more than happy to comply, because celebrity cover stories sell like hotcakes.

The last days of Gourmet

Bradford Shellhammer — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:00:15 +0000

When Condé Nast decided to cease publication of Gourmet Magazine my heart sunk a little bit. Though I rarely used a recipe from the book I often times found myself perusing the pages for inspiration. It was a quality magazine. As the publishing world changes at a drastic pace it is interesting to watch what [...]

Time Freaking Magazine covers green sex accessories

Em and Lo — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:00:09 +0000

Earth Angel Hand-Powered Vibe featured in Time’s eco sex piece Damn it! Why, or why, didn’t we get off our asses and pitch Time the “Sex and the Eco City” piece in this week’s issue? It’s all stuff we’ve covered before! [Shameless self-promotion alert:] Vegan condoms? Check. Hand-powered vibrators? Check. JimmyJane products? Check. Phthalates? Check? [...]

MRI sex

Em and Lo — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:00:54 +0000

Improbable Research is an organization which collects (and sometimes conducts) improbable research (i.e. “research that makes people laugh and then think”), publishes a magazine called the Annals of Improbable Research, and administers the Ig Nobel Prizes. These mock Nobels are held once a year in a fun, goofy ceremony to honor the most unusual recent [...]

Erections still just a bit too hard

Em and Lo — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:00:40 +0000

photo via Filament magazine

The brand new Filament magazine in the U.K. calls bullshit on the so-called common knowledge that women don't like to look. The real problem, they figure, is that women have just never had anything decent to look at. According to their "Female Gaze" mission statement: "From research we’ve learnt that what most women find erotic does not at all match what is typically thought of as an erotic image of a man designed for women. For example, on average, women prefer: men who are not muscle-bound; men with more feminine face shapes; men with attractive faces; images that show the subject’s character and the environment he is in." Oh yeah, and sometimes women like to see erections, too. And there's the, er, rub.

Casual sex confessions in 5 seconds flat

Em and Lo — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:00:09 +0000

In their hook up issue (Jul 2-8, 2009), Time Out New York launched a new sex and dating section. One fun feature you can access online is called “One-Night-Stand Confessions” where New Yorkers reveal one thing they’ve always wanted to tell a past fling. This being the age of Twitter, these revelations aren’t eloquent personal [...]

Don’t be caught dead reading that

Em and Lo — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:00:59 +0000

photo: Clever Covers You read the New York Times weekend edition cover to cover; you spice up cocktail party conversation by quoting Proust and Kant; you adore obscure indie shorts on SundanceChannel.com. You’re an intellectual who never shies away from metaphysical debates or multi-syllabic words. BUT…you’ve got a deep dark secret: you’re addicted to trashy [...]