I’ve been considering getting a tablet. But I’ve held off. Not because of the price. Not because I don’t really need one. But because I, as a woman, don’t feel comfortable using any of the tablets currently on the market. They’re so scary-looking and not-pink. If only some brave company out there would make a tablet specifically for women so I could finally join the mens in the modern age of computing!

What’s that? You say a company has created a tablet specifically for females? Oh, happy day!

Yes, it exists. And it’s called the ePad Femme. I wish I were joking.

Ohhh, so this is why everyone is so scared of the “Fake Geek Girl.” I get it now. Totally legit problem we absolutely need to do something about. But seriously, Patrick Willems does a great job at poking fun at the controversy, and uses some real internet comments to do it. (We’ve seen a similar take on this before actually.)

(via Slate)

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Everyday items for “ladies” almost always rub us the wrong way. I mean, Lady-Pens, really? But now one company has decided those pesky desktops and laptops we already own should probably be replaced with something more suitable for women-folk. May we present, the Fujitsu Floral Kiss? 

I’ve often pondered on what the future might be like but if this is what we can expect, sign me up! Forget hover boards, never mind replicators, I want a hair-do fit for the cosmos. Have a look at this 1960s video, from what I’m sure was an up-and-coming salon in Britain, and see if you’d be interested in the services they offer. If you’ve got some time, the entire Vintage Fashions YouTube channel is a wealth of delightful/bizarre old videos. Certainly worth a look.

(via io9)

Birth control has been in the news as of late. President Barack Obama has compromised today by saying his administration will not require religious institutions to provide free contraception to their employees using their health insurance but that employees may still obtain it from their insurance directly. Of course, there have been debates, but something interesting ThinkProgress.org observed? Cable news has been talking to more men than women about the proposal. Which is weird, because I don’t know any men who take birth control to prevent conception… 

Every year, the Literary Review makes the decision to honor great moments in bad sex writing, because there is so darn much of that in literature, and it needs to be celebrated! This year’s most high-profile nominee is none other than Stephen King himself, for his horrible sex writing in his latest release, 11.22.63, which featured a passage about whispering jeans. What? And that’s why we have awards!

We’re going to assume that this segment appeared on Mystery Science Theater 3000 before TV’s Frank left the show and Pearl became the first significant female character, because it’s funnier that way.

I don’t think Gypsy actually counts, since her femininity is purely anthropomorphized on to her. So far as I know and please do not disabuse me of this notion.

Today in “How Do We Keep Our Children Off of Facebook Forever”: A message sent on Facebook to students in Ipswich, Massachusetts that listed female students without prom dates was followed by another message outlining the sexual experience of junior girls at the same school. This, naturally, upset many people besides the girls who were named, and police are investigating to see who wrote the original message. Sad possibility: this could have been written by boys or girls.

A popular trend in commercial advertising is the “dumb man” premise — men (or more specifically, husbands) who are unable to complete a simple household task that usually involves a form of cleaning or food preparation are saved by their domestic goddess wives. And as women, we are meant to watch these commercials and think, “Oh, those dumb oafs! They wouldn’t last a day without me!”

Here’s a news flash: they would and they do. There are quite a few single men who do not live with female significant others who can fend for themselves when faced with a pile of dirty clothes and dishes. Because men are not helpless idiots. (And by this logic, I suppose we’re left to assume that households with male same-sex couples are just toxic hazard wastelands. Yeah, probably not the case.) Why commercials for household cleaning products are not being targeted towards all humans desiring a clean toilet and dishes riles me on a daily basis. But here’s my beef: the “female empowerment” these advertisers are trying to convince us of? Bogus. Gee, thanks, ad men. Thanks for further establishing women’s center of power as the home. Not as a breadwinner, but as a maid. And that’s not the only reason we lose despite being “empowered.” It’s the comedy.

Escapist Magazine takes a look at how video game creators should be incorporating biological characteristics associated with women — such as dexterity and fertility — in order to develop characters who are strong, realistic, and distinctly female (in other words, less likely to be totally interchangeable with male characters). And if you hate Metroid: Other M, you will probably find even more common ground. (Note: This video is a fast 7 minutes.)

(Escapist Magazine via Sociological Images)