Patriarchy Check

I was noticing over at I Blame The Patriarchy where Twisty Googled "women" and posted what came up.


Right now the 4 sites that come up at the top are:

"Local Sex"

"99 Most Desirable Women"

"See Photos of Hot Women"

"Information for Women, Including Women's Health Issues, from iVillage"

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While the top 4 sites if you google "men" are:

"Men's Health"

"Men's Fitness"

"Men's Wearhouse"

"Men.com Magazine"

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This is mostly because under "women" - Google has sponsored links that are leading the main links - while for men - all of the sponsored links (like "Look Sexy Naked") are over at the side. I suppose people pay more to have their listings at the top of the main listing. And money is what makes the difference - and whether people think about it or not - things like that set the tone of a culture.

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But beyond that - there are mostly positive links to women such as:

Biographies of Women Mathematicians

Women's Biographies

Internet Women's History Sourcebook

National Organization for Women (NOW)

Women's Health - Health - The New York Times

WWWomen.com! Search Directory for Women Online!

WomenWatch (UN)

The National Women's Health Information Center - NWHIC

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in other news:

In Spain, thin is so yesterday

Organizers of Spain's top annual fashion show yesterday rejected five models as being too thin to appear in this year's event. The show, the Pasarela Cibeles, decided this month not to allow women below a predetermined body mass index to parade down the catwalk.

Five of the 68 models who showed up for appraisal failed the test, said doctors called on to medically assess the models. The models were taller than 5-foot-7 and weighed less than 121.25 pounds, said Dr. Susana Monereo.

"They had a body mass index below, well below, that which is considered normal — not just by the Spanish endocrinology society, whom we represent, but also by the limits set by the World Health Organization," she said.

The show, which starts tomorrow, wanted to project an image of beauty, elegance and health, and also banned makeup that makes models appear sickly, organizer Cuca Solana said...

and:

Skinny Model Ban To Go International

It started when organizers of Spain's top annual fashion show, the Pasarela Cibeles, decided to place a limit on how thin the participating models could be based on their body mass index.

Now the trend appears to have moved across the Mediterranean Sea to Italy, after mayor Letizia Moratti indicated that a similar ban may be imposed for Milan’s fashion week, which starts September 23rd....

With that sort of warped fantasy of what a woman and men should look like and what is attractive in society, it is no wonder that there are 5 year olds out there who are afraid of getting fat and are at risk for developing depression or an eating disorder in the future.
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This sounds like a good trend - it will be interesting to see if this is taken seriously in the US. Super-skinny models who wear makeup to make them look even more sick seems like one of ultimate images of noxious patriarchalness. To stay sane is to reject the ideals, the models of society - though that may be part of insanity as well - or at least alienation. The trick is to find positive models - the "Biographies of Women Mathematicians" - for example.
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