Stuff Mom Never Told You

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What happens after America elects its first female President? With history as their guide, Cristen and Caroline forecast to what extent a gender revolution in the Oval Office will affect long-term equality at large. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer has been hailed as one of the most feminist shows in TV history. Cristen, Caroline and HowStuffWorks galpal Lauren Vogelbaum dive into the Hellmouth to assess how effectively Buffy and the Scooby gang slayed the patriarchy. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Evil women and villainesses are the spice of pop culture life. Cristen and Caroline mine the dark side for what Ursula, Catwoman, Cersei and other mavens of immorality can tell us about real-world women. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Until recently, invention and patenting have been guy things, though not for women's lack of innovation. Cristen and Caroline discover the American history of women inventors and why the patent gender gap has been so challenging to close. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shirley Chisholm didn't want to be known solely as the first African-American woman in U.S. Congress and to run for the Democratic nomination for president. Cristen and Caroline detail the life and legacy of this Brooklyn educator ahead of her time. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ads selling empowerment might depict women in a better light than sexist ads of yore, but do they actually contribute to equality? Cristen and Caroline look at the history of using feminism to sell products and whether advertisers' intentions matter. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yogurt is one of the most gendered foods in the grocery store -- but why? Cristen and Caroline cook up the uncanny marketing history of how the soured dairy product sweetened up to women. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Uber, AirBnb and others are reshaping how we work, but they leave loopholes to discrimination and abuse. Cristen and Caroline look at sharing economy privilege and why collaborative consumption leaves out the people who most need its services. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As commercial airlines took off, so did the fetishizing of the white, eligible stewardesses on board. Cristen and Caroline discuss the original stewardesses, how sex sold airline tickets and flight attendants' fight for professional recognition. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are more than 40,000 period apps, some of which claim to help you get pregnant or prevent pregnancy. Cristen and Caroline explore the apps' effectiveness and dig into one developer's claim that infertility is just an "information problem." Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From suffragists to Grace Jones to Hillary Clinton, the pantsuit has been a symbol bucking feminine norms. Cristen and Caroline trace the power suit's history and ask why such a seemingly simple fashion has the power to embolden and enrage. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A century ago, lunch ladies were on the front lines of giving kids the nutrition they needed. Today, many are rewarded with poverty-level wages. Cristen and Caroline trace lunch ladies' history in the nutrition, labor and Civil Rights movements. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Custodians keep our schools, work places and public spaces clean, but they're often treated downright dirty. Cristen and Caroline cover the distinct gendering of janitorial work, why it's harder on women and how janitors organized for justice. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ronald Reagan made "welfare queens" a household epithet during his unsuccessful 1976 presidential campaign. Considering the 20th anniversary of so-called welfare reform, Cristen and Caroline examine the deeper origins and implications of the racist, classist welfare queen stereotype as well as the surprising history of how welfare was originally for white ladies. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cristen and Caroline trace why heroin is more popular among suburban, white women than ever before. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Women work nearly half of all ad jobs, but the industry remains rife with sexism. Cristen and Caroline spotlight the discrimination, harassment and culture that continue to complicate the ad business' relationship with women and people of color. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the early advertising industry, career-minded white women were copywriters, department heads and even agency owners. But their very mission of selling products to women helped erect the industry's glass ceiling. Cristen and Caroline talk trailblazers, monetizing femininity and the whiteness of early ad industry in part one of Mad Women. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The associations between unicorns and all things feminine is nothing new, but where did it come from? Cristen and Caroline dive into unicorns' history as goddesses' pets, symbols for Christ and the stars of Lisa Frank trapper keepers. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lisa Frank is a real person, and she has a stable of sad unicorns and wilted rainbows hidden away in her closet. Cristen and Caroline explore Lisa Frank's rise to girlhood fame and descent into corporate chaos. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Studies have found that breasts have a significant impact of if and how girls and women exercise. Cristen and Caroline work out how breast variety, bounce embarrassment and sports bra technology impact female fitness. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Breast ptosis -- the fancy name for sag -- has way more to do with aging and genetics than gravitiy. Cristen and Caroline explore what's "normal" in in the boob realm to get to the bottom of how and why boob sag happens. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the 2016 Summer Olympics women's boxing event, all eyes are on U.S.A. phenom Claressa Shields. Cristen and Caroline share Shields' inspiring backstory and women's boxing's long road to Olympic glory. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

American Simone Biles is possibly the most talented gymnast in history. Cristen and Caroline somersault across the history of the OIympic event from its iconic hair and leotards to gendered and ethnic coding as well as the women like Simone Biles who have vaulted to worldwide attention. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Betty Friedan's homophobia has haunted the National Organization for Women. In the second part of their up-close look at the early years of NOW, Cristen and Caroline talk to Terry O'Neill about how the group moved forward from its lesbian schism and their crucial activism that continues today. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For 50 years, the National Organization for Women (NOW) has been championed feminist initiatives and gender equalizing political policy. But much of its early developments and intersectionality have been oversimplified by the media and overshadowed by Betty Friedan's controversial legacy. Cristen and Caroline talk to NOW president Terry O'Neill about past pitfalls and immediate progress that got the organization and Women's Liberation marching toward the glass ceiling. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When is it cheating if there's no sex or physical contact? Welcome to the murky world of emotional cheating. Cristen and Caroline confront its warning signs, hallmarks and social media minefield. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over our working lives, we encounter plenty of pals, acqaintances and even enemies, but the beloved work spouse is rarer -- and, it turns out, more productivity-enhancing. Cristen and Caroline look at what makes our work wives and husbands so special, how gender influences our relationships and how to prevent your IRL spouse from getting jealous. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Women tattoo artists were a rare sight until recently. Cristen and Caroline uncover the history of these ink lovers, stylistic gender stereotyping and female tattoo industry trailblazers. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More American women have tattoos than men as of 2012. Cristen and Caroline retrace the body art history from spiritual Native American women to sideshow attractions to modern feminists. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The term "lesbian bed death" has become a persistent negative stereotype about the allegedly passionless sex lives of women in relationships with women. Cristen and Caroline revisit the phrase's origin, do some sexytimes mythbusting and call for a broader definition of sex. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Women's sex drives and expression shift in response to a wide range of factors. So when libido dips, why are we so quick to pathologize it? Cristen and Caroline talk with filmmaker Maria Finitzo about her latest project, a look into female desire and women having agency over their own bodies. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Almost as soon as public libraries began flourishing, librarian quickly became one of the most female-dominated jobs in the country. Cristen and Caroline break down was being a librarian was really like back in the day and the badass women who've shaped these community centers of learning and culture. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Being a librarian was originally a man's job. Then Melvil Dewey and his book-loving bros came along and changed all that. But while the feminization of librarianship offered new a new occupation for women, it was built on old ideas about female nature and its proper place. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Anne-Marie Slaughter left the U.S. State Department to spend more time with her family and declared, "Women can't have it all," she faced both resentment and gratitude. In a conversation with the foreign-policy analyst, Cristen and Caroline explore the important role of supporting paid and unpaid caregivers as part of the work toward equality. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

According to the romantic comedy canon, only straight people fall in love. In the final installment of their rom com podcast series, Cristen and Caroline examine how mainstream titles treat LGBTQ characters and how queer rom coms subvert expected tropes. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In June 2016, the White House Council on Women & Girls brought together 5,000 changemakers from all over the country for the first-ever United State of Women summit. But it wasn't the first gathering of its kind. Cristen and Caroline discuss the inspirational highlights of the summit and trace its origins to the 1977 National Women's Conference that put long overdue human rights front and center. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Romantic comedies remain one of Hollywood's most segregated film genres. In part four of their rom com podcast series, Cristen and Caroline compare the development, tropes and racial tensions within monochromatic rom com worlds. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The feminist movement has sold its activist soul to bodywash companies, maxi pad providers, pop stars and a host of other commodities hoping to cash in on its millennial appeal. In a live conversation, Cristen and Caroline talk to Bitch Media cofounder Andi Zeisler about marketplace feminism and her new book, "We Were Feminists Once." Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sidekicks are an integral part of any romantic comedy. In part three of their rom com series, Cristen and Caroline examine the ways these sometimes neurotic, sometimes wise secondary characters trade on stereotypes to shape the protagonists' world. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Women have been slaying waves ever since surfing was invented. Cristen and Caroline coast the history of Hawaii's sport of queens, its colonialist demise and Gidget-inspired revival. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Women's careers have been central romantic comedy conflicts since the 1940s. In this second installment of their rom com series, Cristen and Caroline unpack the genre trope of independent working girls who sacrifice love for professional success. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Women's romantic friendships and lifelong partnerships were common -- and acceptable -- in the Victorian era. Cristen and Caroline discuss how and why these so-called "Boston marriages" flourished and what was behind their early 20th-century demise. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rom coms were invented thanks to Hollywood censorship. In this introduction to a five-episode series exploring the vintage screwballs to the modern screwups, Cristen and Caroline spotlight the hallmarks, hijinks and heteronormativity of the romantic comedy movie genre. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For many LGBTQ folks, the personal takes on an element of the political when it's time to get dressed. Caroline chats with designer Leon Wu, style expert Sonny Oram and beauty editor Aja Aguirre about the growing queer-fashion landscape and the importance of social media in helping shape communities and identities. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Prince died April 21, the tributes came pouring out, centering especially on his genderbending fashion that gave plenty of kids someone to look up to and emulate. Cristen and Caroline look at the origins and evolution of queer and androgynous fashion to pinpoint Prince's purple place in the timeline. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.