FEMINIST FRIDAY: Comedy Duo ‘Pure And Weary’ Tackle The Amendments At A Dinner Party

Welcome to another edition of Feminist Friday, that time of the week where we take a break from our regular programming and share a handful of our favorite videos of the moment. While ANY day is a good day to celebrate feminism, since there is still so much misconception and fear around the word, we like to use our platform to remind our readers that the movement encompasses so much diversity. This week is a mixed bag of delights, with some female empowerment music, a sports campaign, and some comedy.

There has been a lot of focus on the Constitution, and one Amendment in particular of late (hint: the 2nd) due to the outrage and sadness over the recent Parkland, Florida shooting (not to mention so many other mass shootings that happened before it which we cannot forget). Every time we see a mass shooting grab news headlines, and depressingly we see far too many of them here in the United States, there are endless discussions about the 2nd Amendment, the “right to bear arms”, and gun-related policies.

It can be very tough to navigate social media conversations around this divisive issue, but our friends Katherine Biskupic & Leah Frires, also known as the comedy duo Pure & Weary, have come up with a novel and very civilized way of discussing the Constitution. Their latest video shows characters Kit Kat and Luellen getting organized for an “Amendment” Party, Southern style.

In the clever yet funny video below, we get a quick rundown of a handful of what the Amendments are, and a unique way of seeing the complex conversation about guns, rights, and news headlines mixed together. For a light-hearted approach at a serious topic, we present to you ‘Kit Kat & Luellen’s Amendment Party’:

 

We love a good female empowerment campaign, and the new Roxy #MakeWavesMoveMountains campaign featuring a group of badass female surfers does not disappoint. With so many female athletes voicing their disdain and disappointment about the way surf and sport brands sexualize women in their advertising in the way they don’t with male athletes, Roxy are showing they are listening to those voices.

As Alexander Haro at TheInertia.com explained, back in 2013 Roxy came under fire for releasing a trailer for a women’s surf comp, focusing mostly on women’s bodies as opposed to their actual surfing talent.

“Roxy launched a new global campaign today. Much better than peddling sex disguised as surfing on the sides of surf shops and on billboards. You may remember when, all the way back in 2013, Roxy pulled their pants down and jumped ass first into a pile of angry hornets. They released a trailer for the Biarritz Pro that was 1:45 of tits and ass with no surfing,” he writes.

While celebrating women who own their sexuality should never be shamed or slighted, when that comes at the expense of any other attributes a woman has, especially when it comes to playing off the blatant sexist double standards we so often see in advertising and the sporting industry, any semblance of empowerment goes out the window.

Roxy’s Global Director of Marketing explained the mantra behind the new campaign.

“ROXY exists to empower women. From the day Lisa Andersen, the first female competitive surfer, ripped in her boardshorts, we have stood with pioneers who challenged the status quo. Today, more than ever, we must demonstrate our ability to push boundaries across all arenas. Make Waves Move Mountains is ROXY’s bold invitation to accomplish just that,” she said in a press statement.

While there is no specific mention as to whether the backlash to their 2013 promo was the reason for this very obvious change in direction, we sure are glad the brand is paying attention to the culture shift around the representation, especially in the era of #MeToo and #TimesUp. Watch below:

And finally, we end this Feminist Friday-fest with an empowering anthem from British singer/songwriter Jessica Sweetman. Her single ‘Get Out Of My Way’ is exactly the kind of song that exemplifies the wave of women’s voices speaking louder than ever, influencing society and changing the gender balance equilibrium.

The singer posted a message on her Facebook page, outlining exactly who this song is for, and what the lyrics are all about:

I wrote ‘Get out of My Way’ for all the women out there who have ever experienced feeling so small or insignificant that they forgot their worth. Abuse of power is real, it is happening every day and it has to stop right now.

I wrote this song also as a personal statement to all those who ever got in my way and I ask them now kindly to step aside so I can do my thing and start business. In other words, “Get out of my way.”

I have invested so much of my time and energy in fighting for what I set out to do and it should have never been this difficult. I invite every woman out there to take this song, make it yours and own it. We are fierce, we are mighty and we are a force to be reckoned with.


 

 

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