Erotic novelist Linda Jaivin chats with Agendered about China, sexuality and opera.

There appears to be an unwritten rule of women’s magazine journalism that states no matter how staggeringly, jaw-splittingly, super-humanly attractive a female interviewee is there must be at least one conversation between subject and journalist about the subject’s (imaginary) flaws.

Magazines like Closer, though, are ostensibly by and for women. Don’t they have a responsibility to consider whether their editorial content is endorsing something that is dangerous to women?

[ May 21, 2009; 17:30 to 18:30. 17:30 to 18:30. 17:30 to 18:30. 17:30 to 18:30. 17:30 to 18:30. ] As part of this year’s Ladyfest Oxford we will be celebrating women in literature by discussing Joyce Carol Oates’ short story ‘Faithless’.

[ May 19, 2009; 17:00 to 19:00. ] Ever wonder why images of ethnic minority women in film and media are often reduced to stereotypes or simply pushed into the background to the point of invisibility?

It is entirely possible to dress well without being a slave to fashion. Men manage. We should give it a try. I have a sneaking suspicion money in the bank is more empowering than an extra pair of Manolos.

[ March 6, 2009; 18:00 to 19:30. ] Gender and the Media, Friday 6th March, 6 to 7:30 PM, Wadham College

Women are only of value as sex objects. Anything we accomplish that suggests otherwise will immediately be recast as a discussion of how said accomplishment affects our potential shag-ability.

How dare women venture to assert or express something about themselves through their appearance! After all women’s bodies exist to please men, so they can bag themselves a hubby and then indenture their body to children. They have NO BUSINESS going around decorating it according to their own whims!

I’ve been thinking a lot about representation and cinema leading up to the Oscars this Sunday (details forthcoming!), especially the way that films like Brokeback Mountain and Milk are billed as gay blockbusters, or films like Sicko or An Inconvenient Truth are used for political leverage, or people endlessly debate whether Crash is racist or Million Dollar Baby endorses euthanasia or Slumdog Millionaire romanticizes poverty. It struck me that for all of the politicization of the Oscars, the question of whether films are or aren’t feminist is probably about fiftieth on the list.