The Ranting Teenager is sorry for having been away so long

Ok, I had no better idea for a title. However, I am sorry. I've known about my inconstance since first grade, but unfortunately I am still ignoring it with all my might, thus starting things like blogs even though I should know that it is absolutely not what I should do.
Well, at least I'm trying.

And from today I will be constant. For real. I've used my sister's book of fairy spells and she says it works, so I am now absolutely super-constant!

And I have written a book! Ok, so it sucks. It doesn't have a plot, the characters are under-developed, and it contains nothing but a bunch of teen angst, but hey, it's a first novel, it isn't supposed to be good! (Or is it?)

So, posting is resumed!

Quote of the day

"Yes I am. I am a feminist. I reject wholeheartedly the way we are taught to perceive women. The beauty of women, how a woman should act or behave. Women are strong and fragile. Women are beautiful and ugly. We are soft spoken and loud, all at once. There is something min-controlling about the way we're taught to view women. My work, both visually and musically, is a rejection of all those things. And most importantly a quest. It's exciting because all of the avant-garde clothing, and musical style and lyrics that at one time was considered shocking or unacceptable are now trendy. Perhaps we can make women's rights trendy. Strength, feminism, security, the wisdom of the woman. Let' make that trendy."       -Lady Gaga.

From the Showstudio interview. Go Gaga!

Such beautiful eyes!

I have no idea why everyone on facebook is filling my wall with images of black kids with blue eyes, commenting on the children's beauty.

Anyway, while of couse I think the babies are beautiful, I can't help wondering why almost everyone's comments where centered on the beauty of the blue eyes. Not one comment on the skin or the hair; what makes this kid beautiful is the white characteristic, the light blue eyes.

These photos are usually posted in places saying how racism is bad- but really, the way they are viewed just perpetuates the idealization of ther white beauty model. Just paired with brown skin.

We see this in the fashion industry too, where almost all black models have white characteristics.

.

On Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga has recently declared in the Times interview that she is, in fact, a feminist.

I was surprised to see no buzz about this in the blogosphere, as there was a lot of it when she said that she wasn't. But bad is always noticed before good...or maybe not. No, most likely not, I would think.

Anyway, the textual quote is this:

“Do you know what that girl at the bar said to me?” she says, sipping her Scotch, and taking a single drag off a fag before handing it back. “She said, ‘You’re a feminist. People think it means man-hating, but it doesn’t.’ Isn’t that funny?”



Earlier in the day, conversation had turned to whether Gaga would describe herself as feminist or not. As the very best conversations about feminism often will, it had segued from robust declarations of emancipation and sisterhood (“I am a feminist because I believe in women’s rights, and protecting who we are, down to the core”) to musing on who she fancied. (“In the video to Telephone, the girl I kiss, Heather, lives as a man. And as someone who does like women, something about a more masculine woman makes me feel more… feminine. When we kissed, I got that fuzzy butterfly feeling.”)



We had concluded that it was odd most women “shy away” from declaring themselves feminists, because “it really doesn’t mean ‘man-hating’ ”.

I was really about to give a party after hearing this. I mean, I have always believed that Gaga is a feminist just by existing as Gaga, but hearing her say it gives me a warm sensation. After all, it's to her that half the conversations with my friends turn (all obsessed little monsters...) , so it's nice to see her taking strong stands. Just like when she spoke for gay rights and other such episodes. Most of her fans will follow.

Some would argue that Gaga's feminism is actually inexistent. She is a thin, hairless, blonde, white woman after all- and she acts sexy most of the time. She doesn't do much to defy traditional beauty standards.
Yet, the sexiness has to be there. It has been an essential part of pop music for far too much time to be completely eliminated. But it's not the only thing that's present.

This is just sexy for the sake of it.

This is something weird and subversive.

And, still in the Times interview, she said:

“ It’s not what straight men masturbate over when they’re at home watching pornography, it’s not for them. It’s for… us.”

And her music, her videos- even her twitter, all have pretty liberating meanings. Liberating for anyone who feels freaky, outcast or inadequate. Thus, pretty much for everyone.

Gaga is not really a person. Stefani was a person. Gaga is an image, and as such, she can be interpreted in countless ways.

But it's really hard to see her as just another pop star who will disappear in a couple of years. Probably it's just her genius marketing tecniques (giving fans a name can't hurt), or maybe something else that you can't really identify, an aura that she has created around herself  through everything she does. So intensely human yet strangely mithologic.

Or maybe it's just me, I don't know.

She inspires me, she gives me strength, so whatever I say about her can't be objective- not even a little bit.

Thus I will just shut up for the moment, since I guess that if I continue liking her so obsessively she will turn up casually in many other posts. xD

P.S. I don't know what to think about her comment on feeling more feminine with a masculine woman...?

The Ranting Teenager Randomly Muses.

Ok. The Ranting Teenager is going through an identity crisis and can't think clearly about anything.
Thus, she will talk in third person about herself because it feels very Gaga, and she will link you to a rant she read through a link on Feministing that reflects some of her thoughts:

Dear Eighth Grade Boys

So. Ranting Teenager doesn't quiet know what to think about casual touching. That is, when a guy goes up to a girl and grabs her ass/boobs, and laughs if she dares get offended about it. And says she's a slut when she doesn't.
That is obviously really unrespectful of the girl, of her body and her personal space. It is also normalized behavior that happens continuosly, every day, everywhere, and which everyone seems to think is nice & cute.

A classmate of  the Ranting Teenager's got mad at a guy who grabbed her butt. So she told the teacher about it, and he just said that she and the guy should keep quiet and listen.
Which is not the appropriate response to sexual harassing. A light form of sexual harassing, yes, but still.

On the other side, the Ranting Teenager funnily finds herself wanting a certain guy to touch her this way. This guy, let's call him B, has in fact bothered her very much with his previous touching around. So she had a couple of "talks" with him and he eventually stopped.
At which point Ranting Teenager regretted him stopping, but not really wanted him to start again.
So she got mad at herself for thinking in such weird ways, then found that being angry at oneself doesn't help at all. So she tried to explain her feelings.

But she couldn't.
She wondered if it could be love, then concluded it couldn't, because B didn't have one redeeming trait that could make her appreciate him. And besides, he was already classified as jerk because of his previous behavior.
She wondered if it could be simple physical attraction, but concluded it couldn't be that either, since B really really didn't fit her image of beauty.

Seeing as there was neither inner nor outer attraction, yet there was still desire to be touched, Ranting Teenager was left feeling very very confused.
Then she decided to dedicate herself to studying history, which was something she needed to do.
But since history was boring, and besides everyone has the same names in ancient Rome, she decided to go back to her blog, which she hadn't updated for a long time due to drought of ideas and inability to write, not to mention slow internet connection.

Thus she wrote this post which she is now contemplating cancelling, but which she will probably not cancel.
Also, she has discovered the greatness of Lady Gaga, who has stolen her soul. So The Ranting Teenager doesn't really exist now, she is just a Gagafied walking zombie who doen't know what to do.

Brava Giovanna!

So, this is supposed to be an ad for some paint. Evidently there's no way you can convince someone to buy some paint except by telling him "Hey, look, pretty girls! Painting! Buy the paint and you will get pretty girls painting! Wondering how? Never mind, just remember: paint = pretty girls, paint = pretty girls, paint = pretty girls...