Sunday, August 23, 2009

Girl Power Sunday


This is Toph, she is a blind tom-boy character from the Avatar cartoon series. Toph is an earthbender and is the master of her ability. She isn't concerned with her appearance, she is blind so why should she. Her ability on the cartoon allows her to see with her feet and her hands through vibrations in the earth. She is smart and witty, but the anti-feminine. She is the opposite of the girly (yet equally powerful and intelligent) Katara. I like how this show provides a vehicle for girls to see positive characters who are not limited in their potential just because they are or are not "stereotypically" attractive.

Toph brings me to an article on German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Chancellor Merkel is a physicist by trade and is in many opinions the anti-feminine. This article is from the UK and the title describes her as a "Frau Frump". Well I would rather have a competent leader who wears low-grade pantsuits and isn't on the page of Vogue, than one that just appears on magazine covers for the sake of vanity and has no real leadership ability. Oh, did I just say that? I don't always agree with this article's author (especially when they describe my favorite US political figure, Hillary Clinton) but it is interesting to see how popular she is and what decisions she is making for the benefit of her country.

Toodles!

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