Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
In both the book “Memoirs of a Geisha” and its film adaptation, women fall into two categories: sexy geisha and conniving dragon ladies, two stereotypes about Asian women that linger today. Already some members of the Asian-American community are worried that the film, which opens locally Friday, may reinforce unflattering images of Asian women as being submissive, sexual objects.
Every woman in a relationship should watch at least one episode of “Laguna Beach,” MTV’s reality series about a group of young, beautiful and rich kids from Orange County, Calif. This suggestion isn’t being made for the eye candy elements of the show — though there’s plenty. Rather, the male-female dynamics are something familiar to most women in their 20s, 30s and, yes, even 40s. And sometimes just turning on the TV can give you the dating pointers that your friends aren’t.
We live in a time when the media tell us who we are. What “Lost” has done is tell the world what Asians aren’t. We aren’t all martial arts experts. We aren’t all college educated and over-employed. We’re not always the model minority. We don’t all own dry-cleaning businesses. And just as importantly, we’re not all nice.
“I am your No. 1 fan.” And so began Paul Sheldon’s terrifying encounter with Annie Wilkes, the obsessed character in Stephen King’s Misery who chopped off her idol’s feet so he couldn’t escape. (In the film version, she merely broke his ankles.) In real life, celebrities such as Sheryl Crow, Mel Gibson and Catherine Zeta-Jones are dealing with their own slew of “No. 1 fans.” Some go to prison for their obsessive behavior. But others don’t.
This forum isn’t questioning whether William Kennedy Smith or Kobe Bryant are rapists. It’s about why people have been so hesitant to believe their accusers might be telling the truth. Audra Soulias says Smith raped her five years ago — and then had a consensual sexual relationship with her. Bryant — whose criminal case was dropped Wednesday because the accuser no longer wanted to participate in the proceedings — admitted to having sex with the young woman in Colorado, but insisted it was consensual.
Jet Li. Jackie Chan. Donnie Yen. Quick. Which one of these action film stars grew up in the United States? Or, more appropriately, which one of these stars had to leave the United States before he could make a name for himself in Hollywood? That would be Yen. Sure, while he’s not as famous in the United States as either Li or Chan, he has a loyal following worldwide and an impressive resume of films — the best of which were made in Hong Kong.
Back in my day, a trip to Europe was considered a nice graduation gift. Having your parents pay for your college education was even better. But these days, a growing number of parents are giving girls the gift of the breast augmentation for their Sweet 16 or high school graduation. In 2003, almost 4,000 girls 18 years old and younger had their breasts done. I don’t think this is exactly what feminists had in mind when they encouraged young women to aim higher.
One hour isn’t what it used to be. Back in the day, one hour equaled 60 minutes. But take your film to be processed at one of those one-hour film developing shops and you’ll find that one hour often translates into 120 minutes. Or more. I realize the amount of time it takes to develop film depends on how many photo processing machines are available as well as on the number of customers already there before you.
Sharon Skonie and Tom Martin dated for three years and were engaged for 18 months prior to their wedding almost a decade ago. By all accounts, they knew each other very well. But as devout Catholics, they also knew they would have to take part in pre-Cana, where they would meet with an already married couple and then later their priest to discuss marriage issues. “Pre-Cana was a requirement for us to get married in the Catholic church, so the idea of getting [pre-marital counseling] didn’t come as a surprise to us,” says Sharon Skonie Martin of Bolingbrook. “I was actually really looking forward to it because I wanted to get to know Tom better.
Mention women’s studies and you’re likely to get a mixed reaction. One group may talk about why it’s so important for students of both sexes to learn about women’s historical impact on society. Another may roll their eyes and argue that a men’s studies program would be considered sexist — so why the need for women’s studies in the 21st century?
At age 4, Mary Bryk began to suspect there was something seriously wrong with her mother. As Bryk recalls, her mother would meticulously tie Bryk’s hands together and bind her leg to a high chair. Then, she would strike the child’s foot with a hammer. “My mom was a nurse and would constantly tell me she was doing treatments and that the doctor knew what she was doing,” says Bryk, now 44. “But even at that age I knew something wasn’t right. When she fractured my hip while I was hospitalized, that’s when it hit me that what she was doing wasn’t normal.”
Preaching about how difficult it is to earn money is one thing. Actually putting yourself in the situation to experience it is another.
The average hetero man would say, “Hell, no!” if his wife asked him to go to Chippendales with her. But everyone from Naomi Campbell to Courtney Love to pensive Robin Wright Penn has been to strip clubs like Scores. Oh, wait, I believe they’re referred to as gentlemen’s clubs these days. I keep forgetting how classy these joints are now.
Mark Ruffalo appears nude in “In the Cut.” Sean Penn bares all in “21 Grams.” And Ewan McGregor — Obi-Wan Kenobi himself — shows off his lightsaber in “Young Adam.” “It’s about time that men are stripping down,” Neve Campbell says in the current issue of In Style. “If we have to take it off, they should too.” Hallejuah, sister.
You got reamed at the office. The baby spit up on you. And you just spent the last two hours doing the kids’ chores. All you want to do is go to bed, but your husband wants to do more than sleep. If this situation could be rectified by an herbal supplement, would you snap it up? That’s what the makers of Avlimil are hoping with a flashy ad campaign that has some experts wondering whether there’s any substance to back up the glitz.
If you want to know why it takes a woman so long to get dressed, try going shopping with her. Aesthetics aside, women have to deal with sizes that make no sense. Welcome to the wacky world of women’s clothes, where more has become less when it comes to sizes.
I recently saw a display of vintage mannequins from the turn of the century that shocked me. They were life-size and wearing dresses equivalent to a Size 10 or 12. Fast-forward to a shopping trip to a downtown Chicago department store where the mannequins were roughly the shape of your 12-year-old nephew.
Roman Polanski may never be able to escape the stigma of sexual molestation, even though most grant he is a talented director. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions regarding the infamous case.
“Without a question, Bruce Lee was the uncontested idol for a lot of little black boys growing up in the ’70s. We absolutely accepted him as Soul Brother No. 1.”
Exactly how do you sell a tragedy? A handful of entrepreneurs already has figured it out. The Australian fashion chain Quick Brown Fox carries a line of beaded handbags depicting planes crashing into the World Trade Center. One can be yours for about $87.