Nikita Reboot: One Step Forward for Asian-Americans, Two Steps Back for Women

Thanks to the CW's fairly aggressive marketing campaign, its pretty hard to not be aware of new Nikita reboot airing this fall. While I will admit that the television network is to be applauded for casting Maggie Q., an Asian-American woman, as the title character, this show looks to be yet another edition of the objectification of women under the guise of empowerment. (I also would not get too excited about the racial casting of the show - of the seven other actors listed on wikipedia for the series, six are white).

The show is essentially about a thin, attractive woman that kicks butt while wearing tiny and/or tight clothing. I know there is an actual plot buried somewhere in the explosions and gratuitoous clevage shots, but as far as you can tell from the promo clips, it is clearly not that important for you to understand in order to enjoy the show.

I honestly should not critique this show so harshly; after all, I did enjoy watching such shows as Dollhouse and Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles, both of which sexually objectified the "strong female characters" in some manner or another (though I would argue that for the Sarah Connor Chronicles, the objectification landed solely on the character of Cameron, leaving Sarah Connor to portray a more realisticly strong and gritty woman, who wasn't going to wear tight leather pants to a shootout). That being said, the poster for this show is what really makes my blood boil:

Beyond simply being dressed in a sexually provocative manner, (and in an outfit that is certainly not the most practical for fighting, or the most comfortable), Maggie Q. is shown with a large tattoo of a phoenix on her hip. Admittedly, the tattoo is real and not just a photoshop job, however combined with the revealing leotard outfit and loose, fan blown hair, the tattoo leaves me with the impression that the CW is showing off a prized wild horse that has been branded, but not entirely tamed. If the CW had chosen to portray the actress in, say, loose cargo pants, and a tank (even if it showed significant cleavage), I might believe that this show was about an empowered woman. Instead, I cannot help but feel that I'm watch yet another version of the Fighting Fuck-Toy - a woman there to be aggressive, only so far as it is sexually pleasing to men and the male gaze of the camera.

Sorry Pretzel Crisps, at least one New Yorker Begs to Differ

In the last week or so, this advertisement has start to pop up around NYC, a classic case of a marketing department not -quite- thinking through the implications of theirs message. Maybe a cracker-type snack can never be too thin, (though I would beg to differ there), but human beings certainly can be; as one commenter over on Jezebel notes, this ad copy also is the slogan of many pro-anorexia groups.

One NYC resident decided this negative message needed a dose of reality. So, instead of just whining or blogging about the ad, (like I am doing), the man added some extra copy to the bus advertisement, pointing out to anyone waiting for the bus that actually, you can indeed be too thin, and that advertisements such as this one have a negative impact on how we view our bodies.

Sexy Nail Polish?

Naming nail polish can be a difficult task - how many ways can you come up with to say light pink? Nail polish company O.P.I is pretty good with coming up with some crazy, yet appropriate names, but fashion diary BleachBlack has taken it to a new level. Back in April, they released a new silvery cream shade. What did they call this color? Jizz. Yep. Now you can wear a nail color that reminds you of your latest illicit tryst. (The first color they released was also pretty amusing - a dark metallic green labeled Dickweed).

But just giving their nail polish a sensational label is not all that BleachBlack did. Last week the fashion diary released a video advertising their new polish. What is the problem? Well, the video borders on soft porn, with a basically nude woman rolling around on a bed. I'm not really sure what about this advertisement really works for the company (besides the fact that I'm talking about it of course). I would have thought the video was for a lingerie brand, or even an escort service. Also, with a label of Jizz? As far as I'm concerned, that should be a mostly nude man rolling around. But I suppose that -really- wouldn't sell polish to anyone but Adam Lambert, so what do I know.

You can check out the video here. Be warned, it is definitely not safe for work (hence why I'm not just embedding the video directly).