Sexism in SuperWhoLock-- Supernatural

Before I get into anything, I'd just like to add a disclaimer: 

I love all three of these shows. In fact, they're three of my all-time favorites. However, sometimes when I'm watching them I notice that there are lots of things about them that I don't agree with. I feel like in order to be a good fan of something you have to be able to criticize it and accept that it has flaws. 

Also, please note that this series isn't only about sexism. It's about many forms of prejudice-- I only named it "Sexism in SuperWhoLock" because that title is hella catchy.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, it's time for the real juicy part. I'll be making three posts on this topic, one for each show. Supernatural, Doctor Who, and Sherlock are super rad shows, but none of them are very inclusive or positive when it comes to anyone who isn't an abled, cisgendered, heterosexual, white man. 

Let's start with Supernatural:
Okay. Let's be honest here. Is there really any way you can argue that this show ISN'T sexist?? I mean, one of Dean's main character traits is the fact that he objectifies women so much. There are countless female characters who have only shown up for a few seconds just to be a distraction to Dean, and most of the bigger parts women that appear in the show are just there to be another love interest for him or Sam. There are only four episodes so far this season out of thirteen (that I can think of) that have passed the Bechdel Test, there are ZERO female main characters, and only like four female recurring characters (Charlie, Jodie, and Rowena--I'm not including Hannah or Donna because I'm assuming that we probably won't be seeing any more of them). How many main characters are there? Four: Dean, Sam, Cas, and Crowley. And they're all white men. All of the women who aren't evil are stereotypical "tomboys," which is a problem because that perpetuates the idea that feminine qualities can't go with heroism. All of the more feminine characters are either love interests for the boys or villains. Does anyone remember Ellen and Jo? Because I sure do, and I miss them like heck. They were strong, female characters with big parts in the show and Jo was always calling Dean out on his sexist crap. But of course, they got killed off, and that was partly the fault of the fanbase. The majority of the fans hated Ellen and Jo, so the writers decided to make their fans happy and kill them off. Thanks a lot, guys.

jo is judging all the misogynists in the world
image courtesy of fun_like_that

Supernatural is also a major culprit of queerbaiting, usually done with Dean and Castiel. Some examples of this are Balthazar saying to Dean, "where's the angel in a trenchcoat who's in love with you?" (or something like that), Dean telling Cas how to fix his clothes for his date in that one car scene, and many more "gay jokes" that have come up. I find this disgusting, not because the writers are hinting at the characters being gay, but because they're not CANONICALLY gay or bisexual. There have been a total of eight gay characters in 209 episodes of the show, and five of them have only showed up for one. Charlie is the only one who's been in more than one, and she's totally rad, but she's kind of a lesbian stereotype and one of the only women who hasn't been a love interest for the boys ("Oh, I know! Let's make her gay so she can't fall in love with Dean!!" -Robert Singer probably). There were also the two girls in the 200th episode "Fan Fiction" (which, btw, is like my favorite episode because it passed the Bechdel test pretty well and Dean quOTED RENT), there were two girls who were said to be dating, but they weren't in it for very long. There were also those dudes in the episode "Slash Fiction" who came out as gay at the end, which was cool, but they quite obviously made Dean uncomfortable. One really good character was the gay woman in "All Hell Breaks loose-- Part 1!!" She had a developed story and a pretty big part And then there was the intern in the Ghostfacers episode, whose character was nothing but a disappointing joke ("You gotta go be gay for that poor dead intern!") and a fail at representation.

There have never been any canonically transgender or disabled characters in Supernatural. Ever. And Sam and Dean make fun of mentally disabled people all the freakin time. The extremely low number of non-white characters (who are almost all African-American besides Kevin and his mom) are almost all dead. In multiple episodes of the show, Sam and Dean kill gods and beings from other cultures, despite it being a very Christian-centric show.

I'm sure there are lots of other things that can be pointed out about this show, but that's all I'll talk about now. Just make sure that when talking about Supernatural you don't defend it mercilessly, because it, like everything else, has flaws.

I hope you all have a lovely day!! <3

Everyone Should Aspire to be Like Peggy Carter

Agent Carter is Marvel’s first female-led cinematic piece, and it certainly hasn’t disappointed so far. With at least five instances in Tuesday’s episodes that have shattered the Bechdel Test, I’m going to start expecting more from Marvel. None of their other TV/Movie productions that I remember besides Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D has passed it.

courtesy of Screenrant

Shortly after Captain America is frozen in the ice, Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) is working for Strategic Science Research (SSR) which is under the alias of a phone company. Although she is officially an agent, her all-male group of coworkers is extremely sexist to her and they harass her when she tries to defend Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper), who is wanted for treason. Later that day, Peggy gets lunch and leaves into an alleyway where she meets a man (it’s Jarvis omg) whose driver turns out to be Howard. He tells her some fun scary stuff that’s going down and the rest of the show is basically Peggy beating down the patriarchy of 1940s America while simultaneously saving the world.

One of my favorite things about this show so far is Peggy’s fighting style. While other Marvel women like Natasha Romanoff fight by punching and kicking and doing backflips, Peggy pretty much just whacks the dude with whatever she has on her until either he’s unconscious or she can pin him down. She also doesn’t do that completely overused superhero woman thing where they seduce some guy and then kill him while he’s not paying attention. Rather, she either storms in and demands stuff or just puts on a disguise to be trusted.

According to my grandma, the historical accuracy was on point. The clothing, hair, makeup, decoration styles, music, and basically everything else (I totes want Peggy’s red hat and lipstick now) were perfectly comparable to the actual post-World-War-Two era.

The plot was interesting and made you want to keep watching, and you’ll love it especially if you’re a long-time Marvel fan. I mean, Jarvis??? In the flesh??? Hanging out with Peggy Carter??? How fricking rad is that?? It also doesn’t rely too much on violence or romancey-type stuff to make it interesting; I think there’s a perfect amount of each.

Besides being about a super progressive 1940s woman, it also has more supporting disabled characters than most media you see nowadays. The only actually nice guy in Strategic Science research walks with a crutch, and another supporting character is mute. The only criticism I’ll give about this show is how overwhelmingly white the cast is. There was only one supporting person of color, and a few people of color in the background, so I hope to see more representation in future episodes.

Basically, everyone should aim to be as cool as Peggy Carter. Marvel, my standards have been raised. Don’t let me down in the future. 

10 Useful Links for a Newbie Lolita

So you’ve just discovered Japanese Lolita Fashion, and now you totes want to start wearing it, but you might be a bit confused about how exactly to go about that. Most Lolitas agree that everyone who’s first starting out should research the fashion a lot before getting into it. If you’ve gotten this far, you probably already know the basic components of a Lolita outfit, where it originated, the fact that it’s not a fetish, etc., but I’ve put together a list of links to further your knowledge beyond the basics.

courtesy of Imai Kira

Lolita Handbook

This site is pretty old and a bit outdated, but it gives very detailed explanations of all the basics of Lolita Fashion. 

Hello Lace

Hello Lace is designed especially for beginners and is very easy to navigate, but the extent of the information on this site is a bit limited.

Lolita Fashion

This is also kind of an outdated site and isn’t used very much anymore, but the guides and explanations on it are useful for beginners.  

What is Lolita? by F Yeah Lolita

F Yeah Lolita is pretty much the most popular Lolita blog ever, and the author very sweetly compiled a list of links to her posts that she thinks would be most useful to beginners. 

Lolita Tips

The girl who runs this Tumblr blog answers every single one of her questions (if they’re not in the FAQ) so if you ever have a question concerning Lolita you can go to her for it! The “Useful Links” and “Guides for Beginners” sections are really good for beginners to do some poking around in. It can also be fun to read through answers to other people’s questions. 

Lolibrary

This website is super rad because it has nearly every piece that a Lolita brand has ever released so you can look for a specific piece for details on it or just browse through for inspiration. 

Lolita Tutorials by F Yeah Lolita

Here’s another list of links by the same blog that consists various sewing/crafting tutorials for Lolita from around the internet. If you like this kind of thing then you could use this to possibly make your own unique Lolita wardrobe! 

The EGL Community

This is a ginormous English-speaking livejournal community for everyone interested in Elegant Gothic and Lolita Fashion. You can scroll through here to read posts from more experienced Lolitas or you could even ask your own question on it!

Lovely Lor

Lor is the sweetest Lolita youtuber ever with a wonderful wardrobe and she’s super nice to everyone who asks her questions and sends her mail. She also has really useful instructional videos as well as comedy, PSAs, and vlogs. Basically the whole package. 

Parfait Doll

Parfait Doll is another popular Lolita blog, but while the author of F Yeah Lolita is mainly a gothic Lolita, the author of Parfait Doll is a sweet Lolita. Along with posts about Lolita fashion, she also posts a lot on the Lolita lifestyle. 

Let me know if any links stop working!

What to Wear to a Nerd Convention

As a nerd, sooner or later you'll probably want to go to some sort of convention. That’s awesome! Conventions are a fun way to find other people who are interested in the same things as you and to learn more about those things.

Once you’ve saved up money and bought your tickets to the convention, now it’s time to decide what to wear. Depending on the specific type of nerd convention (anime, fantasy, horror, or just a general Comic-Con), you may want to match your outfit to the theme, but to be honest it doesn’t really matter. Here’s a list of ideas if you’re not quite sure:

1) Easy-But-Recognisable Cosplay

This would be any character that has some sort of signature look made up of everyday clothes. Think Rose Tyler’s union jack shirt outfit or Dean Winchester’s signature plaid shirt, cargo jacket, and samulet. This could also be a hipster, modern, etc version or a more fantasy-like character, but make sure it’s recognizable. These types of costumes take no skill and (usually) very little money to put together, so this is a good choice if the convention is soon and you’re on a budget. 

a super cute fem!dean cosplay
courtesy Cosplay Island

2) Bought Cosplay

If you have a little extra money but you’re not very crafty, it’s perfectly acceptable to buy a cosplay from a website like fanplusfriend or one of many etsy shops that sell cosplay. Just don’t go around telling people you made it!

3)  Hardcore DIY Cosplay

You’ve got a decent amount of money to spare, time before the convention, and sewing skills? Nothing’s more impressive than making a costume from scratch! Check to see if the convention you’re going to has a cosplay contest that you want to enter. You could also dream up your own character or add your own twist to your favorite one.

4)  Decked Out in Fandom Merch

I’m guessing that you already have a ton, so if you don’t feel like dressing up, kyou could always just go wearing the nerdiest nerd gear you have in your closet. If you don’t have any, buy some the first day and wear it the next!

5)  Period Clothing/Other General Costumes

If you’ve got a passion for historical clothing, steampunk, or any other cool kinds of costumes, you can buy or make your own to wear to the convention! Since this type of thing isn’t really practical for everyday wear, a convention gives you another chance besides renaissance fairs to wear those rad things you love. 

6)  Alternative Fashion

You don’t have to wear a costume to stand out a nerd convention! If you’re into lolita, gothic, punk, fairy-kei, or any other alternative fashion, put together your best over-the-top outfits to wear. This is a great time to wear these things especially if you’re not quite confident enough to wear them on an everyday basis, since there will lots of other people dressed in clothes that are different from the norm. 

You could also wear a different one of these things on each day of the convention or try to mix two of them! Of course, you don’t have to dress like this. If you’d rather wear what you wear on a normal basis, go right ahead! I just find that these are the most fun things for me, and what’s important is that you have fun at the convention :)

Musical Theatre Actors with Twitter Accounts (Alphabetical)

Hey guys! I’m really sorry I haven’t been on in a long time, I just can’t seem to get motivation to write. But I’ve been on Twitter a bunch, so I decided to put together a super long list of all the musical theatre people that I know have a twitter. They’re in alphabetical order (mostly I think) so that if you have any particular favorites you can find them easily. Go follow every single one of them because they are my baes and deserve more followers. If you know of any that I haven’t included, or if one of the links is wrong/won't work, just let me know in the comments and I’ll add/fix them right away. Also, if you want a list of any other group of people with twitter accounts, comment about that too and I'll get working on it.

Image courtesy of Google
I need a picture on every post so here ya go

Here’s the list:

Aaron J Albano: @aaronjalbano

Mark Aldrich: @MarktheGinger

Michael Arden: @michaelarden

Colin Anderson: @colinmanderson

Annaleigh Ashford: @TheAAshford

Josh Assor: @joshassor

Skylar Astin: @SkylarAstin

Samantha Barks: @SamanthaBarks

Kristen Bell: @IMKristenBell

George Blagden: @gblagden

Tommy Bracco: @TommyBracco

Ethan Bradshaw: @ethan_bradshaw

Alistair Brammer: @alistairbrammer

Ryan Breslin: @Uncle_Bres

Melanie Bright: @melanie_bright

Josie Brightwell: @JosieBrightwell

James Brown III: @TheJBill

Sierra Boggess: @sierraboggess

Dyllon Burnside: @4merlyknownasD

Joshua Burrage: @JoshuaBurrage3

Dougie Carter: @Dougie_Carter

Pierce Cassedy: @piercecassedy

Darren Criss: @DarrenCriss

Michael Colbourne: @MikeColbourne

Ben Cook: @bentylercook

DeMarius R. Copes: @DeMariusR_Copes

Corey Cott: @NapOnACott

Gavin Creel: @gavincreel

Jade Davies: @Jadedavies_4

Julian DeGuzman: @julianOfGuzman

Nico DeJesus: @Nicodj3

Dan DeLuca: @DDeLuca15

Taye Diggs: @TayeDiggs

Lee Dillon-Stewart: @LeeDillonStu

Delius Doherty: @dellyd17

Killian Donnelly: @killiandonnelly

Samantha Dorsey: @_SamanthaDorsey

Matt Doyle: @MattfDoyle

Natalie Charle Ellis: @Natalieeinnyc

Jake Emmerling: @JakieJake88

Ben Fankhauser: @PlznFankU

Michael Fatica: @michaelfatica

Fra Fee: @frafee

Wendy Ferguson: @WendyMFerguson

JP Ferreri: @JPFerreri

Sky Flaherty: @sky_flaherty

Santino Fontana: @SantinoFontana

Sutton Foster: @sfosternyc

Hadley Fraser: @hadleyfraser

John Gallagher, Jr: @JohnGallagherJr

James Gant: @jamesgant

Eric Giancola: @MEATSQUAWKER

Jason Gotay: @jasongotay

John Arthur Greene: @JohnArthurG

David Guzman: @D_Guzz

Jacob Guzman: @J_Dawg86

Jarrad Biron Green: @BironGreen

MaryJoanna Grisso: @MJGrisso

Katy Hanna: @kadyshorten

Garett Hawe: @GHawe

F Michael Haynie: @fmichaelhaynie

Jeff Heimbrock: @jheimbrock

Samantha Hill: @samjeannehill

Dayle Hodge: @DayleJamesHodge

Chris Holland: @loonyholland

Rob Houchen: @robhouchen

Eric Huffman: @ehuffs

Corey Hummerston: @Rycors

Adam Jacobs: @AdamJacobsNYC

Evan James: @EvanJames

Nikki M James: @nikkimjames

Thayne Jasperson: @thaynejasperson

Tyson Jennette: @tysonjennette

NaYoung Jeon: @Jeon_NaYoung

Jeremy Jordan: @JeremyMJordan

Tyler Jones: @TylerMacJones

Ramin Karimloo: @raminkarimloo

Adam Kaplan: @AdamSKaplan

Andrew Keenan-Bolger: @KeenanBlogger

Celia Keenan-Bolger: @celiakb

Dominique Kelley: @DomKelley

Jacob Kemp: @mrjacobkemp

Andrew Kober: @andrewkober

Daniel Koek: @dankoek

Sarah Lark: @MissSarahLark

David Larsen: @dlarsen22

Nick Laughlin: @NickLaughs

Marty Lawson: @LawsonMarty1

Antyon LeMonte: @AntyonLeMonte

Jess LeProtto: @D8Jess

Zachary Levi: @ZacharyLevi

Iwan Lewis: @IwyLewis

Kara Lindsay: @KaraLindsay1

Peter Lockyer: @Peter_Lockyer

GinnaClaire Mason: @GinnaClaire

Kyle Dean Massey: @kyledeanmassey

Chris McCarrell: @ChrisMzCarrell

Idina Menzel: @idinamenzel

Lea Michele: @msleamichele

Michael Munday: @MichaelLMunday

Tam Mutu: @tammutu

Alexandra Ncube: @alexandralove12

Jenny O’Leary: @Jennyoleary90

Rory O’Malley: @RoryOMalley

Weston Wells Olson: @westowells

Laura Osnes: @LauraOsnes

Luca Padovan: @MoreOrLesLuca

Michael Park: @park24hrs

John Pinto Jr: @JohnPintoJr

Andrew Pirozzi: @AndrewPirozzi

Ben Platt: @BenSPLATT

Jonny Purchase: @jonnypurchase

Daniel Quadrino: @dannyquad91

Andrew Rannells: @AndrewRannells

Anthony Rapp: @albinokid

Chris Rice: @ChrisRiceNY

Andy Richardson: @AMRicharson3

Alice Ripley: @RIPLEYTHEBAND

Leo Roberts: @leoroberts1

Matt Rosell: @mattrosell

Nic Rouleau: @nicrouleau

Michael Ryan: @MichaelRyan90

Jordan Samuels: @JordanSamFTW

Alanna Saunders: @alannasaunders3

Oliver Saville: @oliversaville

Zachary Sayle: @ZSayle

Kyle Scatliffe: @KyleScatliffe

Jack Scott: @JackJackScott

Brian Sears: @BrahSears

Niall Sheehy: @niallsheehy

Simon Shorten: @SiShorten

Jack Sippel: @JackJSippel

Jason Michael Snow: @JMSPinafore

Melissa SteadmanHart: @melissasteadman

Ryan Steele: @RySteele

Brendon Stimson: @BrenStims

Cody Jamison Strand: @CodyCobbler

Stephanie Styles: @StefunnyStyles

Will Swenson: @thewillswenson

Nicky Swift: @nickyswifto

Clay Thomson: @ClayThomson

Aaron Tveit (not actually him, just an official news account): @aarontveitnet

Patrick Wilson: @patrickwilson73

Chaz Wolcott: @dancinchaz

Alex Wong: @AlexdWong

Anton Zetterholm: @antonzetterholm

A Short Review of Every Musical I've Seen Live

I really really really like Broadway musicals and I try to see them live every chance I get (but not necessarily on Broadway), so here's a review on each of the fourteen I've been to.

Image courtesy of Mashable

Into the Woods:
This was the first musical I ever saw live, so I was pretty little when I saw it and I don't really remember it that much. However, I do remember loving it and being starstruck when the actors came out into the lobby after the show (I saw it at Hale Centre Theatre--West Valley). I can't wait for the movie adaptation and I'm really excited to see Anna Kendrick and Chris Pine together!

A Christmas Carol:
Again, this was a long time ago, so I don't remember it very much. I remember liking it, but not loving it, and this one I saw at Hale, too.

Phantom of the Opera (2): 
I saw this one at Hale Centre Theatre quite a few years ago and, even though I don't remember much about it, I remember thinking it was pretty dang sweet. I saw it again on Broadway last April with Samantha Hill and Hugh Panaro who have some of the best voices ever and it was so incredibly powerful. Not quite as wonderful as the 25th anniversary cast, but still really rad.

She Loves Me:
She Loves Me is the most recent live musical I've seen. I saw this one at Hale as well and it was really cute, but somewhat dated and sexist. Fun, but not one of my favorites.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat:
Ok now I thought this one really sucked. It could have just been that the performers weren't very good singers or actors (I saw it at local Centerpoint Theatre which had just barely opened so it didn't attract very many people), but I wasn't crazy about the music or the execution of the story, either, even though it's composed by the brilliant Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Man of La Mancha:
Don Quixote is a little bit cray cray, but the music from this musical is beautiful. "The Impossible Dream" is undoubtedly one of my favorite songs from a musical ever. I saw this one at Centerpoint Theatre too but by then it had become more well-known and the performers were much better. One point that I must make, however, is that in both of the musicals I've seen there, the costumes have looked like they came out of a dress-up box. In Joseph, you could clearly see t-shirts layered under badly-constructred dresses, and in Man of La Mancha, the corsets were ill-fitting and ugly.

Les Misérables (2):
I'm pretty sure Les Mis will always be my favorite musical. Seeing the movie adaptation was what really got me into musical theatre. I saw it at Pioneer Theatre last year and this made me realize how much the movie cast sucked. The performers at this one had great voices and played very convincing characters, while most of the main actors in the movie were just picked for their fame and can't really sing (Éponine and the Barricade Boys were really awesome though). After finding out that Carrie Hope Fletcher would be playing Éponine on the West End, I begged my mom and finally got the opportunity to go see her (along with the drool-worthy Rob Houchen) in April. The West End of 2013-2014 is the best ever cast of Les Mis and I will argue that to the death. The only things that could have made my experience better would have been: a) Enjolras being played by Anton Zetterholm instead of first cover Oliver Savile, b) my sister not complaining the entire time, and c) more actors than just Rob showing up at stagedoor for autographs.

West Side Story:
I've loved the movie with Natalie Wood for a long time, so I saw it on the national tour in SLC with my grandparents. It was just as good, if not better, than the movie and we had really awesome seats so it was a pretty fun time.

A Chorus Line: 
While I was watching this at the Egyptian Theatre in Park City this summer I just wanted to be dancing in the story with the characters. It was SO. FREAKING. GOOD. Paul is my bae, and no one else can have him. I expected it to be dated, considering it premiered in the 1970s, but it's just as relevant today as it was then and I understood almost every single reference.

Annie Get Your Gun:
The music was cute, the story was cute, the performers' voices at the Sundance Theatre were great, and I enjoyed it. It just wasn't, like, THAT spectacular.

The Lion King:
During "Circle of Life" when all the animals are walking through the audience and onto the stage is the best part of the whole thing. It's sO COOL and pretty much everyone would enjoy seeing it. The costumes and the music are amazing and I love the fact that Rafiki is played by a woman.

Wicked:
It deserves all the hype it's been getting for the past 10 years. 'Nuff said.