in a world of britney spears' and paris hilton's, it appears that young girls aspire for sexual provocativeness, rather than the intellectual kind. amelia hill of the observer, writes that "today's girls prefer to look sexy rather than be clever". citing numerous examples within popular culture, hill's argument rests upon the findings from a new book by carol platt liebau, prude: how the sex-obsessed culture damages girls, in which liebau says that " 'popular culture is undermining girls' sense of worth in their most vulnerable, formative years'" thereby destroying any remnants of a feminism. from scant pieces of clothing to audacious music videos, female sexuality is glorified and sensationalized. liebau's book attempts to put into perspective this hyper-sexualization of young girls, where she explains that " 'today there exists a status quo in which almost everything seems focused on what's going on 'below the waist'." this concept of exploiting female sexuality is not a new one, but perhaps this is the first time that girls themselves are willing participants. because of the glorification of female sexuality, young girls feel a sense of empowerment when they respond to and in turn become sex icons. in light of the alarming issues delineated in both hill's article and liebau's book, it appears that it is now paramount that we redirect young girls’ misguided concepts about sexuality and refocus their aspirations to become realized rather than sexualized.
12 December, 2007
girl power
courtesy of goawayparis.com
in a world of britney spears' and paris hilton's, it appears that young girls aspire for sexual provocativeness, rather than the intellectual kind. amelia hill of the observer, writes that "today's girls prefer to look sexy rather than be clever". citing numerous examples within popular culture, hill's argument rests upon the findings from a new book by carol platt liebau, prude: how the sex-obsessed culture damages girls, in which liebau says that " 'popular culture is undermining girls' sense of worth in their most vulnerable, formative years'" thereby destroying any remnants of a feminism. from scant pieces of clothing to audacious music videos, female sexuality is glorified and sensationalized. liebau's book attempts to put into perspective this hyper-sexualization of young girls, where she explains that " 'today there exists a status quo in which almost everything seems focused on what's going on 'below the waist'." this concept of exploiting female sexuality is not a new one, but perhaps this is the first time that girls themselves are willing participants. because of the glorification of female sexuality, young girls feel a sense of empowerment when they respond to and in turn become sex icons. in light of the alarming issues delineated in both hill's article and liebau's book, it appears that it is now paramount that we redirect young girls’ misguided concepts about sexuality and refocus their aspirations to become realized rather than sexualized.
in a world of britney spears' and paris hilton's, it appears that young girls aspire for sexual provocativeness, rather than the intellectual kind. amelia hill of the observer, writes that "today's girls prefer to look sexy rather than be clever". citing numerous examples within popular culture, hill's argument rests upon the findings from a new book by carol platt liebau, prude: how the sex-obsessed culture damages girls, in which liebau says that " 'popular culture is undermining girls' sense of worth in their most vulnerable, formative years'" thereby destroying any remnants of a feminism. from scant pieces of clothing to audacious music videos, female sexuality is glorified and sensationalized. liebau's book attempts to put into perspective this hyper-sexualization of young girls, where she explains that " 'today there exists a status quo in which almost everything seems focused on what's going on 'below the waist'." this concept of exploiting female sexuality is not a new one, but perhaps this is the first time that girls themselves are willing participants. because of the glorification of female sexuality, young girls feel a sense of empowerment when they respond to and in turn become sex icons. in light of the alarming issues delineated in both hill's article and liebau's book, it appears that it is now paramount that we redirect young girls’ misguided concepts about sexuality and refocus their aspirations to become realized rather than sexualized.
11 December, 2007
10 December, 2007
sweet escape
on days when i want to be somewhere else -
barbados is my dream destination.
gorgeous st.joseph parish rebuilt in 1839 at the foot of hackleton's cliff on the east coast
barbados is my dream destination.
gorgeous st.joseph parish rebuilt in 1839 at the foot of hackleton's cliff on the east coast
05 December, 2007
03 December, 2007
cut-out cookies
i'm not much of a baker (precision is not my thing), but i love making cut-out cookies; they are easy baking and remind me of my mother. olivia loves pressing the shapes, mixing colours and spreading the goo on each cookie. all of these are her creation - not too shabby!
Here's the recipe courtesy of Nigella Feast.Cookies: 6 tablespoons soft unsalted butter 1/2 cup sugar 1 large egg 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt
Icing: 2 to 3 tablespoons just-boiled water 1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted Food coloring, preferably pastes
Special equipment: cookie cutters
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and moving towards moussiness, then beat in the egg and vanilla. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter and eggs, and mix gently but surely. If you think the finished mixture is too sticky to be rolled out, add more flour, but do so sparingly as too much will make the dough tough. Form into a fat disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and let rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
Sprinkle a suitable surface with flour, place disk of dough on it, and sprinkle a little more flour on top of that. Then roll it out to a thickness of about 1/4-inch. Cut into shapes, dipping the cutter into flour as you go, and place the cookies a little apart on 2 parchment or silpat lined baking sheets.
Bake for 8 to 12 minutes; obviously it depends on the shape you're using and whether they are on the upper or lower shelf, though you can swap them around after about 5 minutes. When they're ready expect them to be tinged a pronounced gold around the edges; they'll be softish still in the middle, but set while they cool.
Remove the cookies with a flat, preferably flexible, spatula to a wire rack. When they are fully cooled, you can get on with the icing. Put a couple of tablespoons of not-quite-boiling water into a large bowl, add the sieved confectioners sugar and mix together, adding more water as you need to form a thick paste. Color,as desired. I think pastes are much better than liquid, not just because the range of colors is better but because they don't dilute the icing as they tint. Ice cooled cookies, as desired.
Icing: 2 to 3 tablespoons just-boiled water 1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted Food coloring, preferably pastes
Special equipment: cookie cutters
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and moving towards moussiness, then beat in the egg and vanilla. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter and eggs, and mix gently but surely. If you think the finished mixture is too sticky to be rolled out, add more flour, but do so sparingly as too much will make the dough tough. Form into a fat disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and let rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
Sprinkle a suitable surface with flour, place disk of dough on it, and sprinkle a little more flour on top of that. Then roll it out to a thickness of about 1/4-inch. Cut into shapes, dipping the cutter into flour as you go, and place the cookies a little apart on 2 parchment or silpat lined baking sheets.
Bake for 8 to 12 minutes; obviously it depends on the shape you're using and whether they are on the upper or lower shelf, though you can swap them around after about 5 minutes. When they're ready expect them to be tinged a pronounced gold around the edges; they'll be softish still in the middle, but set while they cool.
Remove the cookies with a flat, preferably flexible, spatula to a wire rack. When they are fully cooled, you can get on with the icing. Put a couple of tablespoons of not-quite-boiling water into a large bowl, add the sieved confectioners sugar and mix together, adding more water as you need to form a thick paste. Color,as desired. I think pastes are much better than liquid, not just because the range of colors is better but because they don't dilute the icing as they tint. Ice cooled cookies, as desired.
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