Not THAT kind of feminist!

I'm always excited to get the newest BUST magazine. The summer 2012 issue has Anna Paquin on the cover. I know BUST sometimes has women on the cover that I wouldn't necessarily think of immediately when I think of feminist performers or artists; Paquin kind of falls into that category. I think she's ok; I don't watch True Blood though.

Then I read this: 

I like the disclaimer she gives. I guess we all know those horrible hairy armpitted, Birkenstock, bare faced feminists that, unfortunately everyone associates with the word 'feminist'. Well, Paquin isn't like, she has a more 'enlightened' view of what it really means to be a feminist--equality! 

I hate this kind of thing. I also hate that bumper (or bike) sticker you see sometimes "This is what a feminist looks like"--like, wow! You're not a big butch at all! I guess feminists are, kinda regular, after all! 

I do like BUST a lot, I always have and probably always will. I don't know if this was just letting the subject define her own terms no matter how stupid, or what. It's funny too because the whole piece is about her busting stereotypes, of what a 'blonde' can do (she dyed her hair for the role of Sookie); or how she refuses to be defined by her sexuality (bisexual if you're wondering!).....

Maybe it's more that women in the public eye still have to distance themselves from the word? What a bummer. I'm not trying to censor anyone, everyone can choose their own political identity, obviously. I just hate when a woman in the public eye has to make such a bone headed disclaimer on something that should just be an immediate 'YEAH!'. BUST asks all their cover subjects if they are feminist; I guess I just make inferences based on the responses. 

This one is just my favourite now. Oh, SOOKIE!!

Having maligned dear Sookie now I should add that after visiting Louisiana last weekend (ok, just New Orleans), I picked up FOUR of the Charlene Harris books that the series True Blood is based on. I had tried to read the first one a couple years ago, and had to abort the mission because the writing was abysmal. Well, I'ma gonna try again, with all new diminished expectations! I do love a good series and sometimes if I KNOW a book is going to be poorly written I can cut it some more slack. But I was excited to pick up not only these 4 trashy novels but also the first 2 Anne Rice vampire books. Somehow I couldn't get through them either when I tried them a few years ago. I guess I'm illiterate after all.