Week beginning 15 November 2023

Kim Hong Nguyen, Mean Girl Feminism How White Feminists Gaslight, Gatekeep, and Girlboss, University of Illionois Press, Jan 2024.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this uncorrected proof for review.  

I was drawn to this book because I have always been aware of the shortcomings of feminism in action because of its strong relationship to white, middle-class women, historically and even now. As Kim Hong Nguyen has pointed out, women who are part of our feminist history have been racist and classist: we recognise that. However, these shortcomings are not everything about them. Hong Nguyen is also critical of modern feminist theorists and theory, seeking to redress the lack of interest in intersectional issues (most importantly race) that she believes has been endemic in feminist behaviour and theory. Wedded as I am to the need to thoughtfully  analyse  the faults of the past and present with a view to finding answers to where we have failed I read with interest.

The arguments that feminism has not done enough, and has often been destructive rather than supportive, particularly as it applies to race are made in a detailed Introduction, five chapters and conclusion  –  Feminist Civility and the Right to Be Mean; Bitch Feminism and Blackfaced Girlboss in Feminist Performative/Performativity Politics; Mean Girl Feminism : Gatekeeping as Illegible Rage; Power Couple Feminism: Gaslighting and Re-Empowering Hetronormative Aggression; Global Mother Feminism: Gatekeeping Biopower and Sovereignty; and  Abolishing Mean Girl Feminism.  As can be seen from these titles Hong Nguyen’s approach is academic, employs language that may not be universally understood and covers negative aspects of political practice, that are familiar, such as gaslighting and gatekeeping. See Books: Reviews for the complete review.

After the Covid update: Mean girls at the London Theatre; 10 Important Lessons learned from Mean Girls; Whitechapel Gallery exhibition; Bob McMullan – The real possibility of a return for Trump; eating near Liverpool Station.

Covid update for Canberra

Mean Girls at the London Theatre

Mean Girls, the play, is to be shown at the London Theatre. Unfortunately, I shall not be there to see it. However, I shall endeavour to follow up the reviews when it opens. Perhaps some critics will adopt Hong Nguyen’s concerns, and this will continue this valuable discussion of one approach to the depiction of feminism.

That’s so fetch! See the UK premiere of Mean Girls at the Savoy Theatre. Book Mean Girls the musical on London Theatre today.

Watch as Cady Heron steps into the chaotic jungle of North Shore High, ruled by the legendary Plastics. As she navigates the treacherous terrain of teen queen bees and burn books, Cady gets tangled in a web of secrets, gossip, and some seriously “fetch” fashion.

With the help of her new friends Janis and Damian, Cady embarks on a mission to infiltrate the Plastics and bring them down from within. But as she goes undercover, Cady starts losing herself to the dark side of popularity. Will Cady take down the Plastics, or will she become one of them? Find out in this toe-tapping, pink-wearing, laugh-out-loud show that proves, in high school, survival of the fittest isn’t just for the animal kingdom!

The 2004 hit movie, written by Tina Fey, starred Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, and Amanda Seyfried and was adapted into a musical debuting on Broadway in 2018. Mean Girls is now set to be adapted back into film as the musical, starring Reneé Rapp as Regina George, reprising her role from Broadway.

The stage adaptation, led by an award-winning team, includes director Casey Nicholaw (Aladdin, The Book of Mormon), composer Jeff Richmond (30 Rock, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), lyricist Nell Benjamin (Legally Blonde), and book writer Tina Fey (30 Rock, Bossypants).

An early response to the concept of mean girls as a feminist issue is made by Hazel Cills. She promoted a rather different aspect and understanding of Mean Girls as a feminist concept in 2014.

10 Important Feminist Lessons We Learned From ‘Mean Girls’

BY HAZEL CILLS FEB. 11, 2014

It’s been 10 years since the classic teen movie Mean Girls hit the silver screen and a generation of young women started quoting the movie’s dialogue line-by-line. The film has become iconic for its golden comedic screenplay, written by the talented Tina Fey, and its realistic take on high school drama. From backstabbing popular girls to the art-nerd revenge, Mean Girls‘ characters taught female movie-watchers more serious life lessons about high school, Girl World and womanhood than might immediately meet the eye.

1. Obsessing over your “flaws” is unhealthy.

“I used to think there was just fat and skinny,” Cady Heron says, “But apparently there’s lots of things that can be wrong on your body.” In a world where we girls are constantly scrutinized for our bodies, it makes sense that we can get down on ourselves for the shape they’re in. But, there’s a between difference between airing out one’s insecurities and obsessing over them. Cady’s confusion over the Plastics bemoaning their physical state in the mirror shined a light on how ridiculous and overblown self-scrutiny can become, especially when its about how “weird” your hairline is.

2. Never pretend to be less intelligent than a boy just to get his attention.

Cady’s con artist math-class act with Aaron Samuels taught girls that they definitely should not pretend to be less intelligent than boys just to get attention. Boys out number girls four to one in scientific fields, and the last thing the world needs are girls who feel afraid to be in these fields because of that. If men are intimidated by women who dominate where they’re used to ruling, that’s their problem.

3. Girls need to stop calling each other “whores.”

One of the most brilliant quotes from Mean Girls, and the most applicable to real Girl World, is Ms. Norbury’s insistence the girls quit the slut and whore talk. Girls have it hard enough in a world where men shame them for their sexuality, so why add to the girl hate? When girls make their peers feel bad for having sex, boys will take note and think its okay to do the same. 

4. Everyone feels like a victim sometimes.

No matter what you’ve been through, somebody else has been through it too. Whether it’s bullying in the high school halls or a more permanent life-altering event, you share more experiences with your fellow women than you may realize. 

5. Don’t let your friends control your life.

Friendship is based on trust and compromise, but sometimes controlling people masquerade as “friends” when they really want to boss people around for their own personal gain. One look at Mean Girls tells us that power structures can fall at the drop of a prom queen’s crown. So no matter how powerful someone may seem, especially in high school, if that person is taking advantage of you or making you feel weird for simply being yourself, kick her to the curb. 

6. Feeling beautiful isn’t something to be ashamed of.

It’s OK if your answer to the question, “So, you think you’re really pretty?” is a “Yes!” Society does not like women who are confident in their looks. These days, women get called narcissists and ridiculed for just posting selfies. But there’s absolutely nothing wrong with loving the way you look. 

7. Do you, and stop comparing yourself to other people.

Whether you wish you had someone’s job, clothes, life, whatever, don’t let those desires distract you and make you jealous. Telling yourself a person is “less than” you in any regard doesn’t make you a bigger or better person. When you stop comparing yourself to other people, you can start focusing on you and your goals.

8. A friend who doesn’t respect you isn’t a friend at all.

True friends don’t verbally abuse each other, call one another stupid or bitches. It can be hard to make friends, but don’t get stuck with “friends” who don’t talk to you like a true friend should. 

9. Your sex life is your business.

Whether it’s your disturbingly incompetent health class gym teacher, or your over-bearing helicopter “cool” mom, or your nosey friends, your sex life is your business. And if you want to share your sex life with the world, that’s cool, and if you don’t, that’s cool too! But don’t let people invade your personal space and make you feel uncomfortable for your sex life or your body. 

10. Girl World should be a place of support, not fighting.

Girls are taught to hate each other. They’re taught to be competitive with one another and to constantly compare their bodies, their clothes and their intelligence. Typical girl compliments include, “she isn’t like the other girls” or “she’s one of the boys” because young women often don’t want to align themselves with how the media may portrays them: catty, self-centered, spoiled. But if Mean Girls taught us girls one thing, it’s that we need each other’s support more than anything. (Oh, and maybe a cake filled with rainbows and smiles wouldn’t hurt either!)

Whitechapel Gallery

Explore thread as a method and metaphor for connection, collaboration and conversation in this exhibition by ten students on the MA degree in Curating Art and Public Programmes jointly run by Whitechapel Gallery and London South Bank University.

In the aftermath of the global pandemic and successive collective anxieties, there is an evident need for new forms of communication and embodiment. Digital fatigue and radical changes to pace of life have led many artists to seek more tactile, slow and mindful ways of working. Focusing on thread as material and method, this exhibition reflects the collective desire for comfort, embodiment and connection both in process and in content.

Selected works by emerging artists weave together the personal and collective, exploring themes around social fabric, repair and togetherness. Raisa Kabir’s House Made of Tin (a socially distanced weaving performance) (2020) is created, by, for, and from BIPOC, disabled, and queer participants. The produced weaving is a sculptural visualisation of interrelationships and an allegory for support networks. Fikayo Adebajo’s String Figures (2022) explores issues of reparative justice, and what repair can look like at the institutional level. Bella Howard’s The Chain (2022) is a tender conversation with the artist’s inner child, a private moment of healing. Additional artworks on display include Julia Dèng Hànzú’s Con-Current: Tuning Intervals (2022), Katarzyna Perlak’s Bated Breaths (2020 – ongoing), Tilda Scarlett’s The Weaving Room (2022) and Lu Williams’ curated zine library.

It All Starts With a Thread centres collaboration and process. In addition to the listed works on display are the products of several workshops held over the summer. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Collective held a session of collaborative knitting for wellbeing; starting with a single shape, the group knitted outwards, creating a work titled Safety Blanket. Gut Feeling ran a writer’s workshop, producing a quilt as an alternative take on a ‘publication.’

Visitors to the exhibition are invited to rest and relax in an open and accessible space, spend time reading zines from an artist-curated library, finger knitting with companions, explore the artworks through audio interpretation and pick up an interactive activity sheet to delve deeper into the subject matter of the show.

The Chain by Bella Howard 2022

The following phrases appear on some of the graphics, while others are without any words:

…that girl that wrote those words …who is designed herself to be luckless in the hands of a man…I think she understood that while therapy is good and all that, … and began to count the stitches …that never reached the light of day…as there is no love lost on the daughter of a victim…the kindling of a life struck with the flame of departure…

Bob McMullan

The real possibility of a return for Trump

In twelve months time Americans will go to the polls to elect the next President.

It is almost impossible to imagine a second election victory for such a manifestly unsuitable candidate for President of the United States as Donald Trump.

I still think, on the balance of probabilities that it won’t happen. But it is a possibility which it is becoming impossible to ignore. Too much of the polling gives Trump a lead over Biden or shows him trailing very narrowly despite
Trump’s legal and policy challenges for the prospect of him winning to be considered impossible.

Trump is the overwhelming leader in the Republican primaries. He leads by at least 30 points nationally and in the early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. At the moment it is hard to see how he will not become the Republican nominee. Optimists keep expecting the bubble to burst. But so far it shows no sign of doing so.

In my assessment the person seen as the main challenger, Ron de Santis, has no chance of beating Trump. He cannot decide if he is a younger, more polished Trump or a challenger. He is almost certain to fall between those two stools.
Should a number of the candidates with no chance of winning, of whom there are many, withdraw such a consolidation of the opposition to Trump within the Republican Party would give Nikki Haley a chance of beating Trump. But there are too many ifs, buts and maybes in the way of that possibility for it to be other than a long-shot. Therefore, at the moment, it is reasonable to assume that Trump will be the Republican nominee.

The question then becomes: “How will he go against Biden?”, because there is no doubt that Biden will be the Democratic Party candidate unless some health issue intervenes. Current Real Clear Politics polling averages have Trump ahead of Biden by 0.5%. This is so close as to be a virtual tie. However, the vagaries of the Electoral College system of electing the President mean
that a Democrat candidate needs a substantial overall national lead to win. After all, Trump lost the national vote against Hillary Clinton in 2016 but won the Electoral College easily.

Polling in the various states suggest a similarly tight picture. The data is not as comprehensive at a state level, but what there is suggests that Biden has reasonable prospects of all the states he won in 2020 except Arizona and Georgia. Such a result would leave the electoral College at Biden 276 and
Trump 262.

Balancing this is the fact that across various jurisdictions, history tells us that incumbents tend to improve their position during an election campaign.
For instance, Barack Obama led by only 0.2% in May 2012 but went on to win in November by 3.9%. Although there is no guarantee that this will occur again it is the most likely trend over the next twelve months.

It seems unlikely that the flurry of court cases against Donald Trump over the next twelve months will incline any uncommitted voter to swing towards Trump.

Eating near Liverpool Street Station

There is an elegant restaurant, Andass, close to the station, and we have been there in the past. This time we were after something cheap and cheerful, and we found two options, both of which we tried while we were staying in Whitechapel – a short tube or bus ride away.

Eataly is a large building opposite the station, with cheap eats on the ground floor and restaurants on the upper level. On the ground level is a huge, sweet pastry area, serving pastries and coffees; a pizza place where large pizzas are cooked and cut in slices for serving; a panini area, and various shops serving specialist grocery items. It is a fun place, where people in groups eat heartily and noisily, and others who munch slowly while working on their laptops. We did the latter while perusing our phones and chatting.

Patty & Bun is also fun place to eat – ultra casual, with friendly staff, and delicious malt milk shakes. The patties and buns are also fine, without being special. They arrive with cutlery, but most people ate from the paper wrapping. Patty & Bun was a lively, well patronised place to eat.