Hello! Welcome to Return to Stars Hollow - a spoiler-free, retrospective podcast about Gilmore Girls! This is the podcast for Season 3, Episode 1 - Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days.
You can direct download the episode here: S3E1 - Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days
Comment on this post to leave your feedback for the next podcast!
You can also send feedback and voice clips to returntostarshollow@yahoo.com.
Or you can tweet us at SeriouslySwatch (Cordia) or CelesteFohl!
The next podcast will post on Monday, August 17, 2015 for S3E2 - Haunted Leg.
I'm shocked and disappointed that Celeste referred to the character of Shane (kissing Jess) as "some skank." For a woman who claims to be a feminist, that is some very significant shaming to a character who simply kissed a boy she liked. What will Celeste label the women as next when they become sexually active?
ReplyDeleteJust to clarify, I don't "claim" to be a feminist; I am a feminist. I used the word "skank" in jest. What I meant to convey was that, since we are all invested in Rory/Jess, it's easy to see this girl as "some skank." Obviously I don't think there's anything wrong with kissing or sleeping with someone.
DeleteThe defense here is weak. Using gendered terms to tear down another woman, even in jest, is a disservice to women and gives permission to men to do the same. You may as well have called her "some dumb ho" and it would have had the same effect. You could have made many other word choices that were not gendered. It's the same for previous podcasts when characters are referred to as "bitches." Disappointed.
DeleteNeither bitch not slut is a gendered term in this day and age. I don't have time to argue about this anymore. There will continue to be humor and candid conversations on this podcast and those conversations will sometimes involve words that you may not choose to use yourself. Your didappointment has been heard, but my vocabulary remains unchanged. Men of the world, take note, words of any kind are never permission to tear down women anymore than short skirts are permission to holler at us.
DeleteCite your sources when stating the words bitch and slut are not gendered--it's your opinion and one that's not shared by the feminist community. They are rooted as such and will remain gendered even as they become more included in every day vernacular. No, I don't choose to use those words myself. A woman who believes they aren't gendered words and then uses them to insult others doesn't get to call herself a feminist, nor an ally to other women.
DeleteI don't believe that you as a single person can speak for the entire "feminist community." Nor can I, nor can anyone. The only thing all feminists agree on is that women should have equal rights. There are a million ways to be a feminist, each of them imperfect, and Roxanne Gay explores in her 2014 book Bad Feminist, which I highly recommend. These words are clearly complex and different people have different ideas about them. That's clear by the fact that I used the term with barely a second thought and you were so offended by it that you took to your computer to alert me of your disappointment. Different people, different interpretations. As Rhiannan Payne quotes Tricia Gilbride in this piece on Feminspire: “I think for now, intention is really key. Using it negatively towards a woman or a man, especially to imply something negative about traditional femininity, isn’t helping anyone.” Now, I think I’ve addressed this as thoroughly as can be expected, given that this blog is meant to discuss Gilmore Girls. I’d like if we could limit the amount of comments we spend on tangents here, especially since poor Cordia gets an email every time someone comments. So, if you do have more to say to me about this topic, you know where to find me on Twitter. If you post again here, I won’t respond.
DeleteThe lack of ownership you're displaying here is disheartening. This is a clear example of a woman using feminism to her advantage when it's convenient for her. In the quote you use above, you prove my point--"using negativity to imply something negative about traditional femininity, isn't helping anyone." Therefore, the character of Shane, albeit written intentionally from a 1-dimensional lens, deserves better than to be called "some skank" by a podcast host in the 21st century.
DeleteThis is not a tangential discussion to Gilmore Girls, it is a discussion of your podcast on the show and the analysis used to describe characters, both women and men. This example is just one of several throughout your podcast. And while I was, "so offended" that I took to my keyboard, please be aware that this particular comment string is much more a culmination of the attitude I've heard from you throughout the podcast.
Celeste can choose to respond or not, but I won't apologize to "poor" Cordia for filling her in-box with 4 comments. I'm commenting critically on a podcast that actively requests community participation on these forums and other feedback.
Gilmore Girls is so good at emotionally resonant storylines, so when they keep trying to make the cliché mean girls plotlines happen, I feel like I’m getting ripped off. There’s nothing about the threat of Francie that I haven’t seen done better elsewhere, and I’m not even interested in the stakes. I don’t want the threat of Paris turning against Rory; we’ve been through that, and now that we’ve paid our dues in order to see their weird friendship blossom I don’t want to see it taken away.
ReplyDeleteI have to tell you guys, this Buzzfeed quiz says that Kirk is my Gilmore Girls soulmate: http://www.buzzfeed.com/mackenziekruvant/which-gilmore-girls-guy-is-your-soulmate#.xrDZ8NW45 (If you both want to take it and reveal your results on-air sometime, that just might be the best thing ever.) I would date him at least once. He cares about potential tuna allergies! I was struck by Lorelai’s genuine kindness in turning him down. For all that she makes fun of people, it’s not malicious and at the end of the day she does love them.
Christopher really showed his true colors as a petulant man-child this episode. Lauren Graham is the best at those confrontation scenes, and making me understand that Lorelai is doing the best she can with the crap situation she was handed. I love that Emily came to her rescue, even though she isn’t happy with Lorelai right now. For all that Emily wants them to be together, I appreciate when her love for her daughter comes first.
I don’t think Rory believes she was in the wrong by not writing Jess over the summer. I imagine it was one of those things that she decided was best to discuss in person, but of course from Jess’ perspective that looks like she didn’t care at all. But she can’t have it both ways. Time to pick a lane, sister. The slightly shorter, well-read, crooked-lip lane. There, I said it.
I just watched this episode and loved it. I loved the Buffy rewatch and thought I would just check to see if this existed and boom it did so I will listen to this in the morning and will do an actual discussion of this episode and will catch up with you guys soon I think
ReplyDeleteThanks for listening, Matt! I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the Buffy Rewatch and are joining us for Gilmore Girls! We look forward to hearing from you in the future!
DeleteLoved readding this thanks
ReplyDelete