Links on Chicks, Self-Image, and Books

Keep your opinions outta my boobs! Whatever, dude. Sure, people are free to make choices. If a woman wants implants, fine, she can do what she likes with her body. But one must consider the context of those choices. What if we were all raised in a culture that disdains the focus on physical appearance? Then nobody would be getting plastic surgery except under medical duress.

Harm in reading romance novels? (via Smart Bitches Who Love Trashy Novels) A more pertinent question: have these columnists even read a romance novel? (This reminds me of the case where people banned a book without even reading it. Part 1 | Part 2) I think what these people are really arguing about is less about romance novels and more about whether or not it's appropriate for women to even think about sex. And in the end, the argument probably says more about the columnists' hangups than convincing anybody that genre books rot people's brains.

Chick Lit Is Never a Compliment. This can be even more broad: if a critic labels a book "genre", it's not a compliment. But who cares what critics think? Most of them are just the vanguard of the hoity-toity.

When does looking become a leer? I have no idea since I have no experience with this. I'm not the sort of girl anyone would give a second glance at. Well, I take that back. Some people watch me like a hawk because they think I'm going to steal something from their store shelves.