Feminism and Femininity are NOT

I repeat NOT mutually exclusive!

Sorry dear blogsphere I have been very silent lately the power in the bombshell has had me traveling all over the country. I am back armed with new material. Let’s start with this latest article on the BUST magazine blog….

“Et tu Jessica? “BUST not feminist?” Really?” http://www.bust.com/blog/2009/11/16/et-tu-jessica-qbust-not-feministq-really.html

The gist of the article is that Jessica Valenti, editor of feministing.com, was asked what publication she compares herself with and she answered: “There’s Ms. Magazine and there’s Bitch. Bust used to be a feminist magazine, but now it’s more crafty and about making things out of yarn. I’m not a D.I.Y. feminist…..”

Is she for real? Clearly she has not picked up a bust magazine in a long time to notice the variety of content from the women empowering articles to the kick arse news. All that aside what does this say about Ms Valenti, she clearly is a feminist without the feminine! BUST magazine is a “girly” empowerment mag. In their about section they describe themselves as “With an attitude that is fierce, funny and proud to be female…” This is not a blogatorial for BUST mag, yes the magazine is one of my favorites. Instead let’s “BUST” the social statement that Ms Valenti is trying to say.

If you are a feminist you cannot be crafty…why not? Arts and crafts have given and are giving women all over the world for centuries a chance to work even if confined in their own home. The cottage industry is the reason so many women have had a chance to start careers without an education, and who are unwelcome in the male working environment.

Now I am not crafty at all, Paint By Numbers is even too much for me to accomplish. But I admire crafty women; they have a talent that should be embraced not staunched because they are feminists. Feminism has so many degrees and so many interpretations. We have evolved from the feminists of the 70s who used shock tactics to get their voices heard, and thank goodness for those ladies! Do not forget the feminists of the 80s who wore men’s suits to try and be equal in the work environment. In today’s world we are still fighting for the cause but we are also embracing what and who we are. WOMEN! Beautiful, talented, crafty and intelligent women! I am sure if Ms Valenti knew I adore aprons she would deny me the right to be a feminist….Now I love my aprons they are so fabulous to wear while serving decadent cocktails at parties! Ms Valenti would never know that I am a product of a male dominated home where my education was always considered less important and I was told to pick a career based on the potential to meet the right husband and start producing babies……well we all know that was a good reason to succeed in my career and marry an artist who cooks.

In honor of Ms Valenti’s comment may I suggest a holiday shopping idea: HandCrafting Justice a group that works with women struggling for economic justice and independence in the developing world by marketing and selling their handcrafts.......Now if that is not Feminism what is?

Manicured tips a must achieve...

As the joke goes:

"A manicurist glances at her client's nails and says my goodness have you been clawing your way to the top....."

One challenge we Power Bombshells are tasked with is looking impeccably beautiful at all times while working up the corporate ladder and juggling an over active social life!

I sit here in my office painting my nails! How cliché of a 1950s secretary! But I am not a secretary on the contrary I am a successful woman in an office with a view of Times Square. My door is closed as I would not want my reputation jeopardized. Nor to lose any respect from fellow male colleagues, who would jump at the opportunity to diminish me. This situation is rare and far between, but I find myself in a bit of a time crunch. A typical Power Bombshell crunch. I have to catch a 647 am train tomorrow morning to an event where I have been invited to talk by none other than the US government. I have had no time to get a mani at my local nail salon, as I am rarely home before closing. I really do not have a lunch hour to speak of to run down to Rockefeller Center for a power manicure. After work this evening I will be attending a swanky Macallan tasting and presentation, by the time I get home it would be too late for my nails to dry. The last thing I want is to have chipped nails, or sheet imprinted tips while I discuss export assistance to US business men. As we all know bare nails, or un-manicured nails are not in our vocabulary. So I sit here in my office typing email responses with my wet red nails pointed to the heavens hoping they dry in time before the phone rings or a meeting is called....

These are the moments when I sit back and smile at my accomplishments. Yes it is the small and sometimes frivolous actions that make you realize how good one has it. These moments when multitasking comes to the rescue so the stylish image that compliments the intellect is presented flawlessly to the outside world. The Power Bombshells that we are always manage to pull off the whole package without the rest of the world knowing our hurdles.

Operation Bombshell

is the world's only Burlesque school for military wives....How genius! Operation Bombshell is the brain child of Lily Burana, author of I Love A Man In Uniform, and a military wife herself. She came up with this idea after dealing with her own blues while her husband was deployed in Iraq. The aim is to provide much needed entertainment and amusement for women of deployed husbands.

Last may there was a fundraiser for Operation Bombshell at Trader Vic's in LA, where Diablo Cody (of Juno fame) introduced the beautiful selection of famous Burlesque dancers, while Burana was also signing copies of her recently released book. This event was a charming and stylish representation of true Power Bombshells united for a worthy cause.....bringing light to the trials and tribulations of the women behind the men on the front lines!

To Take His Name or To Not Take His Name....

Now that my friends is the real question. I just read this article in BUST magazine about a study that was recently done. The researches found that 71% of Americans think women should take their spouses name after marriage. Half of the respondents said the act should be a legal requirement......

http://www.bust.com/blog/2009/08/13/3169.html

A legal requirement is obserd, truly antiquated. In today's world the majority of these women getting married are successful business women who have professional reputations at stake. It is hard enough climbing the corporate ladder as a woman and trying to get recognized, to then go ahead and change ones name midway up.....might as well start at the bottom of that ladder ladies!

I am a married woman, I am also a very successful business woman prior to marriage. My solution was, partly inspired by my female boss, and finding the balance between my personal and professional lives. I love my name, my middle name and my last name, but I do love my husband. I know it is hard for men or at least it takes a special man to share the pants in the house. So to keep my professional reputation I kept my last name for business purposes. Legally and personally I changed my last name to my middle name and took his last name as my legal last name. I was able to retain my identity as a professional woman yet still make my husband feel loved. He would have accepted my choice either way, but I think this was an extra special treat for him. When ever I initial anything I use all initials…AMBJ Oh and for the record I refused to change my personal email address I still have my old last name in my email address…

DC Comic's Women of Power All Dolled Up!

December 2008 Tonner Doll Company released their Women of Power series where they dolled up (no pun intended) five of the most beautiful DC Comic female characters. These stunning yet deadly and dangerous DC Comic women are dressed up to go out and dazzle. All of their evening dresses are based on their comic character's costume and personality. They are stunning complete with all the necessary accessories. Black Canary, also know as the Blonde Bombshell of the comic world, is my personal favorite.

She was one of the first female heroines to hold her own with the male super heroes. She was seen as an equal and she was initially created as a tough and intelligent women in and out of costume. In the age of her creation most female characters were the damsels in distress or an excuse to include sexual innuendos.

I am not sure if it is because she is dressed all in black or if it is the diamond like earrings and black slingbacks she gets to wear. She is truly fabulous. Tonner did a fantastic job dressing her up to kill.....not that she would kill anyone in her evening gown.

Hello Blogsphere The Power Bombshell is here. This has been an idea in the making for many years now. It all started when I was in the dating scene in New York City. I could not understand why I was having such a tough time dating. I am smart, attractive, fun, outgoing, with a great sense of style and fascinated by life. This all sounds great, right? This is what most people put on their dating sites for the person they want to meet. The question kept irking me why did all the dates I went on completely fail? I looked around at the girls who kept getting in relationships, met nice guys and it suddenly dawned on me. We live in a society that labels everything so that it is easier to generalize and act according to the general rule. Labels are societies set of instructions. Women are labeled in two ways first the adorable sweet young thing that wants nothing more than to get married, be taken care of by a man and make a family. The second woman is the classic business suit wearing power woman of the eighties. Don’t you dare open doors for her as she will be insulted, or pay for her dinner as she makes her own money. Society does not know how to handle the modern hybrid. I like to call this woman the Power Bombshell. She is sassy, charming and loves being spoiled, but she has a brain and loves using it. She encourages challenging conversations and is on top of what is going on in the world today. She might dress in gorgeous 50s dress that simply oozes feminine ways of the past, but is firmly planted in today’s world with a career, success and recognition. This blog is a place to honor these women, and for fellow Power Bomshells to unite.