My Dream Loot Crate: Nasty Women

Have you looked longingly at subscription boxes like I have? These have boomed in popularity in recent months, and I love looking at unboxings yet haven't been able to justify shelling out the money to subscribe to one yet. One subscription service that I've heard about, namely through Kristina Horner, is Loot Crate Loot Crate, which sounds awesome for geeks and nerds like me. So when they approached me about creating my own "dream crate" I knew I had to jump aboard.

Almost right away I knew I wanted to center my box around awesome female characters, and with the crazy election, my dream box is the NASTY WOMEN box.

Nasty Women Dream Loot Crate

My first choice is this Orphan Black t-shirt because this fabulous array of female characters were the first ones that came to mind. It was hard deciding on a product that could encompass Orphan Black (and there's surprisingly little merch), but this shirt is perfect and lists most of the major kick-ass female clones (portrayed by the equally kick-ass Tatiana Maslany), as well as a few other important characters.

My second choice was another easy one. This Rey print is stunning and also shows BB-8, another favorite. I loved Rey from the moment she appeared on screen in the new Star Wars movie. She's an amazing addition to the SW universe, and Daisy Ridley is perfection. Another easy choice.

Of course no list is complete without some Harry Potter reference. I actually have two different choices because they're possibly my two favorite HP characters, and I couldn't choose which one I wanted to feature more. This is Hermione's wand. Do I even need to explain this choice? Hermione meant so much to me when I was reading Harry Potter for the first time, and she still remains close to my heart. (Also, Emma Watson is perfection.)

The other amazing female character I love in Harry Potter is none other than Luna Lovegood! Her Spectrespecs are so unique to her and everyone who knows the movies will recognize it right away. Luna stays true to herself, regardless of what others will think. She's kind and creative.

Another easy choice is Annabeth from the Percy Jackson series. She, like Hermione, is the brains of the trio. She's such a solid heroine and similarly inspiring as Hermione. I found these books in middle school and am just now realizing how great of a transition it was to find it a few years after the last Harry Potter book. It's no wonder I loved Annabeth! This is an Annabeth Chase candle. 

This one is a less obvious choice, but this Everyone Deserves Tea mug represents the ladies of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries (and of Pride and Prejudice). Not only do I love tea, but this is also a reminder of sisterly bond that is so strong in the Lizzie Bennet Diaries. And I love all three sisters, the actresses who portray them, as well as the supporting female cast (Charlotte, Gigi).

I'm not sure if the image is hard to see, but this Belle shirt caught my attention right away. Belle has long been one of my favorite Disney princesses (alongside Mulan). Ever since I was a little girl, I've loved Belle. She was one of the first females I saw on screen who loved to read and comforted the bookworm in me. 

This was a bit of a late addition, but I've included it for a few reasons. For one, while I personally don't like Katniss, many people do, and this pullover partially represents her. But the other reason I included it is that it represents the thousands/millions of female ballerinas out there. Ballet has sort of been brought back to popular culture thanks to people such as Misty Copeland. As a dancer/ballet dancer myself, I had to throw something in there. Ballerinas (and all dancers) work so hard yet also work to make what they do effortless. They're often not given nearly enough credit and aren't seen as on-par with other athletes, when in many ways, we're more athletic. So I had to include this in my dream box.

I apologize that this Captain Marvel/Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan pillow isn't included in the overall graphic, but I added this after I made it. As I wrote my honorable mentions/extras below I realized I didn't have any non-white women above, which is a huge and real problem (and also why we need more diversity in popular culture). So Kamala Khan popped into my head. I wanted to pick an item that's different from the others, and this pillow fits that bill. 

Another last minute addition not included in the graphic is this Schuyler Sisters sticker. I had them in mind since the beginning, but it slipped my mind as I was finishing up this post. This is such a given. Does it even need explaining?

Extras/Honorable Mentions

There were a few items that don't fit into the popular culture category, so I've listed them here instead.

 

I absolutely love this image and think a tote would be fabulous. If we're going to talk about feminism, it should be intersectional. Unfortunately, basically all of the women above are white women, and it's important to acknowledge all types of women.

Michelle Obama is all kinds of goals, and I've fallen in love with the recent Strand merch including this quote. This is the magnet, and after the election, this is just so inspiring and lovely. I love Michelle Obama and think she's an amazing figure for all of us to look up to.

And last but not least, I had to include Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's We Should All Be Feminists. To me, Adichie is one of the ultimate feminists, and while there are plenty of others whom I love, she speaks so eloquently and rawly and openly about transnational and intersectional feminism. She supports other women, even if she disagrees with them (see her comments on her feminism vs. Beyonce's feminism). She has been so integral in the recent pushes/fights for feminism, and she is such an important part of educating others on inclusional feminism. I just love her, and I think this (or her TED talk) should be required reading (viewing). 

~~~

Ladies, let us continue to be "nasty women." Let's continue to fight for inclusion and diversity, for equality, for respect. Let's continue to support one another and critically discuss issues important to all of us.

Be sure to check out Loot Crate Loot Crate

if you're interested in their subscription boxes!

And let me know below or on Twitter what you would include in your dream crate!

Talk About It Thursday (#1.5): The Recent JK Rowling (Supposed) Revelation on Romione

Every other Thursday I will make a post that's meant to bring about some conversation, discussion, and perhaps even a debate.

So this is #1.5 because I already have discussions up to #5 ready and this just popper up, but I really want to write a post about it. If you don't know what I'm talking about, this is a good post about it. I want to make it clear that there may be other things that will come up when the full article comes out, but I'm writing this as of 2/2/14, so.

Again, I shall start by stating that I'm a huge Potterhead and will always be. I will also state that I've been a Romione shipper for a VERY long time, and nothing anyone says will ever change my mind (most likely). I would also like to point out that J.K. Rowling didn't explicitly say that if Hermione weren't with Ron, she' be with Harry. Additionally, can we all not forget that Hermione (and all the other characters) are not defined by their romantic relationships and partners? Of course I root for Romione, but if Hermione hadn't been with Ron OR Harry, then so what? 

I'm going to point out that Jo says that she regrets it ending up that way, but the truth of the matter is that she wrote it with the intention of having Hermione and Ron be together in the end. This means that it doesn't change how the book was written. You're not going to find that in the books, all of a sudden, you won't read it the same way again because IT WAS WRITTEN WITH THE INTENTION OF ROMIONE. So no, you can't say for sure that from now on, you'll never read Harry Potter in the same way again. All the clues and foreshadowing and events and all of that will still be geared toward Romione. It's written that way. If you want to continue to use to the text to support Harmony, fine.

I also want to discuss why I personally still think Romione is better than Harmony. I don't mean to put anyone's opinion down. If I say something that you feel is attacking you, please let me know, and please know that it isn't intentional and that I can see and understand some of the arguments for Harmony.

The thing is, Ron and Hermione balance one another out much more than Harry and Hermione do. Yes, they have a WONDERFUL platonic relationship, which I whole-heartedly support, but I think they're both too...similar in some aspects to have a good romantic relationship. The thing is, they're too...nice to one another. They have many of the same qualities, and while that may work for some people in real life, I feel like it doesn't work based on how it was portrayed in the books. Some may argue that Ron and Hermione argue too much, but the truth is that I think that's what would make them work so well. Hermione is sensible, oftentimes serious, thinks through everything. Ron is more relaxed. He usually reacts more quickly, not always thinking through ever possible scenario, and he doesn't always realize how his actions may affect others. Ron loosens up Hermione a bit. Hermione helps Ron to be more rational and gives him the chance to think things through. They're different, yet the same. They are both loyal, brave, smart (perhaps in different ways), etc. But Ron has the qualities that Hermione doesn't necessarily have and vice versa. Yeah, they might fight, but it's clear that they really love one another. Yeah, they might fight, but it also helps them to gain a different perspective. I'm not explaining this correctly, BUT THEY BALANCE ONE ANOTHER OUT SO MUCH MORE. 

And look, the fact of the matter is that it's written down and printed as Romione. Yeah, there are other relationships that aren't canon that I think should be canon, but as much as J.K. Rowling regrets what she wrote, it's what she wrote. Can we not minimize the legitimacy of Ron and Hermione's relationship? And besides, so what if they might need counseling? Who's to say they wouldn't come out as an even better couple? Jo can't take back what she wrote. You can ship whatever you want to ship. I really don't care (as long as you don't insult me). But many people are using this to delegitimize their relationship when it just doesn't work that way.

On a similar note, though Jo states that she wishes she could take back putting Ron and Hermione together, nothing she said indicates that she'd put Hermione with Harry instead. Maybe she wanted it to be like Luna's situation. Maybe she didn't want Hermione to marry at all. Maybe she didn't want... The point is, supposedly delegitimizing one doesn't automatically legitimize the other. As the author, Jo can regret anything she's written. She can say it if she'd like, but it doesn't change what she did write. As she said, time and distance has made her see this way, and that's fine. But I do think that it's out there now, and it is what it is. 

Lastly, can I just say that despite also voicing my opinion on this matter and joining in on the whole Romione vs. Harmony debate, in the end, I think many people are failing to realize that the most important aspect that Rowling promoted and wanted to get at was the strong friendship between all three of them. People get so caught up in these shipping wars that they forget what should be the most important aspect of the books. Shouldn't the Golden Trio be put above these debates? Hasn't it always been, first and foremost, the Golden Trio? That is all.

(So, this post didn't come out nearly the way I wanted it to. I wasn't able to clearly articulate my points, but I hope you know what I was getting at. I have so much more to say on this topic, but it's late, and my brain feels like mush, so that's not happening. If you'd like me to react to another aspect that I didn't mention above or if you'd like me expand on one of my points, let me know in the comments below.)

EDIT: Let it be known that I wrote this the day of the "revelation"/the day when everyone was freaking out about it. Since then I've kinda taken a slightly different view on it. People will do with her work and writing as they wish in terms of shipping. Sure, Jo's opinion matters because she's the writer, but the book is in our hands now. We can decide for ourselves, regardless of what Jo believes. And in the end, who cares? As I mentioned, it was always about the Golden Trio before anything else, right? So let's keep it that way. We don't need shipping wars, especially in this fandom.

EDIT 2: The full article/interview has now been released, and I have slightly different opinions compared to the majority of this post, though I hold fast to what I said in the previous edit. I was going to write another post, but you know, this is out there now. I'm not going to take it back. I have my own thoughts. You can have yours. I've learned from this, and I hope others will too.

What are your thoughts on the revelation? Thoughts on my thoughts? Do you even care?