By Diana Martinez When I first saw Thelma and Louise, I was just still a young girl. At this point I had been exposed to feminism as a child, but I had never seen any women as brazen and kick-ass as these two characters. Before I knew what patriarchy was, I understood it through this…
by Diana Martinez My first encounter with the video game Grand Theft Auto took place in my middle school years. I went to a friend’s house and her younger brother of about 10-years old was playing the game in the basement. In the game, he was driving through the city picking up prostitutes and engaging…
by Diana Martinez Baby Fever. Do you find yourself envious of pregnant women you see in the stores? Or swooning over babies you may meet in public? Continuously looking at family members’ photos of their newborns on Facebook? Not me. I have been noticing a lot of pregnant acquaintances from my hometown lately. Am I…
by Diana Martinez Because of my busy, chaotic life as a college student, I love to read Simple, a magazine aimed at the workingwoman, designed for making life more manageable. I love its tips for organization, money managing and whatnot. One night, as I flipped through its pages, I realized that almost every single ad…
by Diana Martinez My two favorite television shows of all time center around women’s roles in two huge parts of the media, television and politics. 30 Rock, created by, written by, and starring Tina Fey, is about television networks. Parks and Recreation, created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, starring Amy Poehler, focuses on government. …
by Diana Martinez This may be a touchy subject for many of our SPARK readers, since Glee is a popular favorite amongst many of us. I, too, am a fan of Glee. I love musicals, I love drama, and above all, I LOVE Jane Lynch. But after the recent episode featuring alcohol use and abuse,…
by Diana Martinez The news is an incredible source of the media. The public depends on it for information regarding issues in the United States and the occurrences outside of the country. And many believe their favorite news programs’ words and opinions to be absolute fact. The coverage of a sexual assault of CBS News…
By Diana Martinez Amongst the stereotyping Superbowl commercials and the hetero-normative advertisements for Valentine’s Day, February can be a tough month for some of us SPARKladies, especially in terms of the media. For me, the most exciting occasion–apart from Mount Holyoke’s annual Drag Ball party–is the Academy Awards. Movies account for a huge part of…