WHO'S THAT GIRL: CEEDLING

This lovely lady needs no introduction- Celia Edell, the face behind the blog Ceedling has tens of thousands of followers on tumblr, 5,000+ subscribers on youtube, a successful blogspot, a bachelor's degree in philosophy and she's just barely 22. Known for her eloquence and knowledge when it comes to intersectional feminism, sense of style, kick ass hair and general bad bitch material, she is a familiar face in the world of the web. I asked Celia the... simple questions. Just read the interview, for gods sake.

Howdy, Celia! Tell us a bit about yourself?

Hi I'm Celia! I'm 22, and just finished my undergraduate degree in philosophy. I blog about fashion, feminism, and anxiety, mostly! 

How were you introduced to feminism?

I was introduced to the core beliefs of feminism from my mother, although she hardly pushed it on me. I didn't identify with feminism until first year university...it took a lot of unlearning of internalized notions and I am so much happier as a result.

Have you faced adversity or been criticized for your beliefs or personal choices (being so open, body hair, etc.)?

Yeah, I have. I've been criticized, but most of the criticism comes from ignorance or naivety. And, considering my privilege, I have it considerably easier than many - I can take the heat.

How did you respond to the negativity and what did you learn from the situations?

I learned that I'm stronger than I thought; that voicing my opinion will make people uncomfortable but that discomfort is a step toward change. I've also learned that sometimes the best response is no response (like in the case of nasty Youtube comments)

What inspired you to start blogging?

I started blogging in first year university too! I think that was a significant time for me, I was free from everything I tried to be in high school and started fresh as who I wanted to be from then on. I started blogging partially as a way to express my new sense of self, and partially to escape boring lectures I had to sit through..

If you were a dessert, what kind of dessert would you be?

I would be something ridiculously sweet like fudge. Basically just butter and sugar. I have the biggest sweet-tooth of anyone I know and I also think I'm not trying to be anything I'm not - I'm just sugar and butter, y'all. Nothin' nutritious about it.

Who are your style icons?

I am and always have been inspired by the fashion on the streets of Japan! But otherwise, my style icons include M.I.A, Rihanna, Julia Sarr-Jamois...

What are you favorite movies?

I love so many movies, it's always hard to pick favorites but I will never tired of The Shining, Lolita (the original), Blue Velvet, Taxi Driver, Fargo and Totoro.

What was the most embarrassing moment of your life (so far, that is)?

Oh god...That's hard because I think some of the things I thought were the most embarrassing at the time probably pale in comparison to some of the stuff I let slide of my back now-a-days. In grade 9 I shaved half of my eyebrows off by accident. It wasn't a cool look, either, it was the middle of my eyebrows...I was trying to shape them. That was pretty bad.

Any advice for people? Final words? Etc?

I think I'm better at giving advice to friends in a context than broad advice for everyone! But I guess my advice is to not take anything for granted. Don't take yourself or your friends for granted - treasure them - and don't take what you're taught for granted - question it, deconstruct it, and you'll be much better for it.

All photos and videos were taken from Celia's blog, ceedling.tumblr.com.

ROBIN ICK: WHY 'BLURRED LINES' IS SO PROBLEMATIC

If you have a radio, or two ears for that matter, you've probably heard 'Blurred Lines' by Robin Thicke. When I first heard it, it was in June. My 12-year-old cousin was playing it in her room at our lake house, and as I passed by, I couldn't help but listen in. The beat was very catchy and felt very funky, very 1970s. Although I didn't know the lyrics, I found myself humming it the next few days. It was then I decided to look up a lyric video... That's when my opinion of the song changed. 

You're a good girl

Can't let it get past me

You're far from plastic

Talk about getting blasted

I hate these blurred lines

I know you want it

I know you want it

I was instantly disgusted. 

This song, which has been topping the charts for 12 weeks straight, is basically justifying rape simply because the girl is so "good", she's blurring the lines of consent. Can I repeat that? The "blurred lines" that Thicke speaks of are the blurred lines of consent. This song and it's popularity spreads the horrible message that even if you are not clear on someone's consent, you should still pressure them for sex. The lyrics are frightfully misogynistic, appallingly sexist and propagate rape culture to the extreme... Robin Thicke, this is 2013, not 1913. 

Now onto the video.

I don't even know where to begin.

There are many beautiful girls in this video. Now, beautiful girls and music videos go hand in hand. However, not many music videos blatantly objectify their female stars like Mr. Thicke's.

If you haven't seen the video yet, here's a basic idea of what the entire video consists of.

Now don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with the female body- Absolutely nothing wrong with it. However, these girls were objects of desire and nothing more. They were simply there to dance around topless and in nude g-strings. The video could have been perfectly fine as the original version, which had the girls wearing white ensembles, but no... They had to dehumanize the models for the commodification of breasts.

Don't even get me started on the whole "#thicke" campaign. 

This song, while being dubbed the "song of the summer", should really be called "The borderline rape anthem of the century". 

It's a shame that such a catchy beat had to be turned into something so damaging.

What are your opinions on 'Blurred Lines' and Robin Thicke?