Tag: femininity

Biblically Feminine Life Hack: Don’t Marry A Dishwasher

Solid advice given dishwashers can’t talk. Oh wait, it’s dish washer. My bad.

Try as I might, I was hard pressed to find any Bible verses forbidding men from washing dishes, vacuuming, or generally taking care of his own house. (?) I mean, why would you not want to take care of your own house? I find the entire concept of refusing to clean because of your gender baffling, like that’s nasty. Besides, modern appliances make cleaning super easy – you can even get a robot vacuum cleaner, for goodness sakes. Doing laundry literally just means dumping stuff into a machine that cleans it for you.

The Bible even talks about men cleaning dishes,
“And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down.” (2 Kings 21:13, KJV)

Not sure where Lori is even getting this idea that men should not be expected to help out with house work from when even the Bible expects men at some point to be wiping dishes aka cleaning. Really, if one’s partner is overwhelmed with some aspect of life, it seems natural the other partner would just step in and help however they can but I digress. Lori seems to view marriage as a never-ending battlefield in which husbands and wives are constantly fighting over who does what, rather than a reflection of God’s relationship with us, or even like a mirror of how Christians in general are to act.

Anyway, Paul of the Morgan and Paul Show posted something semi-related to Lori’s nonsense the other month.

This is hilarious because Paul doesn’t have a job and has on multiple occasions demonstrated he can’t even do something basic like watch a YouTube video to figure out how to put together furniture for his pregnant wife (same wife who also had to pack and move everything whilst heavily pregnant. Like I’m not trying to brag or anything but my non-pregnant self convinced several men and women, who I was not dating, to help me move – how selfish is Paul to make his own wife pack up everything. It’s not about being a feminist or capable, it’s about being a decent human being and more so, following the example of Christ who served without expecting anything in return. Christians are told to serve one another in love, and that’s not limited to a specific gender.

Lastly, one can’t both be traditionally masculine and into conservative gender roles, while fulfilling none of those roles. It Paul isn’t really interested in traditional gender roles, or even Biblical marriage. Needless to say, a.) his “job” is in conjunction with his much more interesting wife, Morgan, of whom if she were not part of his ministry, no one would be checking for him and b.) Morgan is the one getting sponsorships, not him, so again… idk but it doesn’t sound like he’s even the breadwinner here.

Dudes like Paul who claim to be about Biblical marriage are not even capable of, or willing, to hold up their end of the Biblical marriage deal, and I don’t get why Christian women put up with this. Even the Bible calls a man who is unwilling to provide for his own family worst than an unbeliever, which is pretty harsh. Like God is basically saying even Godless heathens will, at minimum, take care of their own family. Provision isn’t solely financial either, sometimes it can be spiritual, menial, house-work related, or whatever depending on your individual calling. There’s no shame in taking care of kids or doing housework – that’s not lesser than working a 9 to 5 everyday. Furthermore, there’s no Biblical commandment that prevents women from working, nor any commandment that forbids men from cleaning their own homes and raising their own children.

Anyway, this post has no point other than my blog somehow continues to get a decent amount of traffic despite me not posting anything for like months and I needed to post something that was both low-effort and not related to manga.

TL;DR: don’t marry a dishwasher, or a jobless man. Instead, marry your maid. You won’t have to vacuum or clean dishes, and neither does your husband because you won’t have one. Win-win for everyone.

Rating Girl Defined’s Conference Session Titles

Girl Defined are having a conference…

While I should blog about something of substance, I’m going to rate Girl Defined’s conference session titles and determine whether I’d go to them (or not) based on title alone.

Disclaimer: ratings are based 100% on my personal, irrelevant opinions.

  • Who is Liza Proch? What makes her an authority on social media? Does she work in social media?
  • Why Christian Girls and not Christian Women?
  • Why not just Christians in general?
  • Why Christian at all? That’s a given since it’s a Christian conference…
  • She looks confident
  • Name sounds like a worship leader
  • Flowers in the background are pretty
  • Relevant topic as there are different struggles for women on social media, particularly girls

Would I go? Maybe.

Rating: 6.2/10

  • Again, no clue who this lady is and what makes her think she can tell me how to date. The Bible barely mentions romantic relationships, so anything on this topic is going to be purely subjective
  • Her hat is cute tho
  • Her hair is fabulous
  • Her pose is oddly similar to the first lady’s
  • The “in a Christ-centered way” is redundant. It’s literally a Christian conference hosted by Christians. By it’s very definition, everything is going to be Christ-centered there

Would I go? No.

Rating: 4.8/10

  • W h a t?
  • Why only 5?
  • Dempsey Warren is an awesome name
  • I really like her top
  • Nice, nature-ish background
  • Doesn’t have the word “Christian” in it
  • Why the emphasis on being single? Isn’t hospitality something all Christians should display?
  • How is being hospitable as a married woman any different from being hospitable as a single? The Bible instructs us to all serve one another in love and makes no mention of marital status, or gender, so like… there’s the entire session right there

Would I go? No.

Rating: 3.5/10

  • Finally some diversity
  • She has a morning person smile
  • Topic’s not about dating or how to serve others
  • Doesn’t include the word “Christian”, “Christ-centered,” or “God-honoring,”
  • Not sure what gives her any authority on friendships though – does she have a lot of friends?
  • “Deep” and “Meaningful” seems wordy; one or the other would suffice

Would I go? Probably not. I’m trying to avoid making friends at the moment.

Rating: 8/10

  • It’s Bethany!
  • I like the color of her top
  • Includes the word Christian. Sis, it’s a Christian conference led by Christians, everything is from a Christian pov
  • Lust and sexual desire – I have trouble seeing how she can address both in a single session, given that sexual desire is perfectly natural and healthy; it’s lust that’s sinful and I don’t vibe with how they’re lumped together as it sends girls/young women the wrong message
  • Good topic, since the church loves pretending women have no sex drive and don’t struggle with lust
  • I want to come at her for not being an authority, but I know neither her, nor her personal struggles with lust, and this is pretty subjective.

Would I go? Yeah, sure.

Rating: 7.5/10

  • It’s Kristen!
  • She wearing mustard yellow, which is one of my favorite colors
  • Not about marriage, sexuality, or relationships in general
  • Doesn’t include “Christian, God-honoring, Christ-like, etc.”
  • Doesn’t include “girl” or “women”
  • Good topic for Christians in general
  • Why only 3?
  • The wording is funky – I’d have written, “3 truths to overcome fear, anxiety, and worry”

Would I go? Ya.

Rating: 9.8/10

  • Some more melanin
  • Her make-up is on point
  • Appreciate that it says God’s good design as the church often acts like women were created as an afterthought to men, which isn’t true
  • Probably revolves around marriage and motherhood though
  • Also I’d have just written “Biblical Womanhood 101: God’s Good Design”

Would I go? Nope!

Rating: 8.1/10

  • Why girl and not woman? The goal is to grow up
  • Her hair is nice
  • She has a nice smile
  • She looks like a morning person
  • This seems like a no brainer though; if your faith isn’t changing you, something is wrong

Would I go? Eh…. no.

Rating: 8.7/10

  • If by practical steps, she means learning how to cook, manage a budget, and household duties. Yes. Everyone, women and men, should live on their own (whether with roommates or solo) for at least one year before getting married because essentially all the skills one needs for marriage will be learned in that year. And everyone should know how to cook, clean, budget, etc. These are basic life skills any adults should be able to do.
  • If by practical steps, she means wasting away for years waiting on some man. No.
  • Single girl? So single women just don’t exist?
  • Is she related to Kristen (or her husband)
  • Great hair
  • Title is a bit vague
  • Doesn’t mention Christian

Would I go? No. Believe it or not, some of us single gals are content to stay that way.

Rating: 6.5/10

  • It’s my girl Portia, again
  • Guess they couldn’t find a third, POC to speak on this topic
  • Genuinely shocked they’re even going to address anything race-related so kudos???
  • I’d actually be interested in this. Ultimately, in Christ there is unity. At the same time, Jesus was all about social justice, and uplifting and defending those who were oppressed, so ignoring racial inequality isn’t a good look for Christians. God in general is all about social justice and taking care of the poor/oppressed.
  • Not about romantic relationships, serving others, or sexuality

Would I go. Absolutely. Even if it’s a mess, I’m all about that schadenfreude.

Rating: 10/10

  • Did she go to seminary? Get a doctorate in theological studies? What education does she have that allows her to teach anyone how to study the Bible
  • Her scarf is nice
  • Her last name seems cool but I literally can’t read it because of this font – Marciag?
  • She looks old enough to have some actual knowledge
  • It’s a good topic
  • Love that it’s encouraging women to enjoy the Bible

Would I go. No. Look, I’m all about the Holy Spirit and whatnot but given how insistent a lot of particularly conservative Christians are that the KJV is the most accurate version of the Bible (lol!!!), I don’t want anyone who hasn’t had some sort of formal education on this topic to teach me or anyone else how to study the Bible.

Rating: 2/10

  • A good topic
  • Not about marriage or relationships
  • Nice glasses
  • Nothing dumb like “Christian” worship
  • Hope it focuses on something besides music though, because you can worship God doing anything
  • She looks old enough to have some actual experience in what she’s talking about

Would I go? Probably.

Rating: 9/10

Would I go to Girl Defined’s conference based on these titles (as a young, Christian woman)?

Nope!

These topics are somewhat shallow and easy for anyone to give their personal “convictions” on, which isn’t something that interests me (if it can’t be backed by Scripture, in context, it’s nonsense). Much of the discourse surrounding Biblical womanhood and femininity is somehow still rooted in culture (which is largely based off the pagan, ancient Greek society most of the NT challenged), not Scripture.

Where’s a session or two on awesome women in the Bible, like Esther, Miriam, Deborah, and Ruth, and what they teach us about Biblical womanhood? Why not tackle some hard topics, such as does God allow women to preach to/teach men, do women literally have to be silent in the church, or what Paul meant when he said women will be saved by childbirth. Even in terms of marriage, what about not settling for Mr. Good Enough because you’re in a rush to have God-honoring sex. Or having higher expectations for husbands than wives (since they’re the ones leading)?

Nevertheless, the topics are very on-point for their target audience (Christian girls wanting to be get married).

Rating the Female Characters in Lookism

Lookism has a plethora of great characters, some of them are female. Therefore, I will rate them.

**Spoilers ahoy**

All ratings are based 100% on my personal opinions.

My criteria essentially is:

  1. Their removal would affect the plot
  2. They undergo some change/character development, good or bad
  3. We see different sides of their personality
  4. They have a plot of their own that doesn’t revolve entirely around a male character. OR
  5. They are well-developed within the confines of the role they are written to play 
  6. They don’t toss away every traditionally feminine trait in an attempt to be a strong, independent womyn

Johan Seong In a Dress

Zoe Park  (Ha Nuel)

An image of a Korean Teen in a red jacket leaning against a wall.

Zoe is probably my favorite character in Lookism, mostly due to her fantastic character development. She starts off as a vain, self-obsessed annoyance, nearly gets assaulted by an old gremlin after hoeing herself out for balloons, is saved by Fat Daniel from said gremlin, and has a slow but realistic heel-face-turn where she realizes looks really aren’t everything.  It’s the heart that matters. Also, she:

  • calls Little Daniel piggy
  • actually likes Little Daniel more than Big Daniel
  • is good at math
  • regularly harasses Little Daniel at work
  • is actually nice (giving creepy stalker girl a hand warmer thing, among other things)
  • is generally annoyed by Crystal’s very existence
  • is willing to put herself in actual danger by dating Logan so Little Daniel doesn’t get the snot beaten out of him for the 1000th time.

Zoe is one cool cat.

Zoe Park’s Rating: 8.5/10

Mira Kim (Mijin)

An image of a young, cartoon woman in a pinksweater seated n holding a babt

Mira is the underrated baddie of Lookism, putting Zack in his place, and despite being a general creep magnet who’s had several traumatizing experiences, she doesn’t let that color her perception of the world. 

  • She’s genuinely a good person, probably one of the few, attractive characters who’ve been nice since their first appearance.
  • She refused to date a bullying Zack.
  • She’s the main reason Zack stopped bullying (and generally became a better person)
  • She not physically strong, but on multiple occasions she’s proven she has grit and will stand up for herself (putting herself between Zack and Logan, biting pedo cult leader’s foot, doesn’t put up with Zack’s bullying, fought those girls in the bathroom).
  • She’s a good friend, visiting Johan’s mom and generally being amazing.

Not much is known about Mira’s life outside of Zack, though they’ve been childhood friends for years. Despite her primary role as a love interest, she manages to be neither annoying, nor in the way and is in fact quite helpful at times. All hail Queen Mira, Zack Slayer, Creep Fighter, and General Cinnamon Roll.

Mira’s Rating 9/10

Crystal Choi (Soo Jung)

Ice Queen Crystal, like Daniel, has a Little and Big version of herself. Like Daniel, Crystal also realizes she has a bad worldview and attempts to change herself. Crystal had certain preconceived biases about attractive people, assuming most good-looking people are jerks (and to be fair in Lookism, 88% are) and that all men only care about looks (also, not entirely off base here). Then she gains a slew of True Companions, meets Big Daniel (who prefers her Little Crystal body – so does Eli Jang), all of which challenges that worldview. 

Also Crystal:

  • can fight for real in both her Little and Big bodies
  • beats down Daniel’s stalker girl
  • was willing to save Big Daniel even though she thought he was trash
  • is rich

Crystal’s Rating: 8/10

Joy Hong (Jae Hye)

Joy’s another character who goes against the stereotype that good-looking people are mean as Joy is kind to everyone, all the time, from the moment she first appears and maintains that niceness despite becoming an idol. She’s also Jay’s little sister and their competition for Daniels’ affection makes them quite a hilarious pair. We also know her dad is kinda of sus, so the fact she’s still nice says a lot about her character.

Joy is one of the characters for whom it’s impossible to dislike even if you don’t ship her with Daniel. Her only flaw is that she’s quite one-dimensional.

Joy’s Rating: 6.5/10

Yui Kim

Yui is the HBIC of Paprika TV, pimping herself out for the bag. But Yui goes through a good amount of character development in that she realizes she was going down the wrong path (dating her garbage, abusive boyfriend and hoeing herself out for balloons) and sort of changes. Big sort of. Yui is still vain and kinda mean, and still getting money from simps on Paprika, but she’s chilled out quite a bit thanks to savior Zack, she helped Crystal infiltrate Workers, and she doesn’t seem to be dating gangsters any longer.

Yui Rating: 7.5/10

Jasmine Huh

The girl who cried wolf. Or did she? It’s implied Jasmine wasn’t actually lying about her trash, abusive father (and the fact she chose to stay with James and raise a gaggle of kids rather than go home says a lot).

Jasmine is actually pretty cool.

  • She gets along with genuinely insane James and tries to start a family with him.
  • She got Zack and Daniel to almost kill each other, inadvertently awakening Daniel’s Gun mode.
  • She played a light hand in bringing down Olly’s Hostel.
  • She not only lies, but embellishes her lies with more lies, creating a wall of impenetrable lies.

Jasmine’s Rating: 7/10

Stalker Lady

This chick is crazy. However, Daniel’s Stalker is an interesting look at celeb stalkers in general, but also the central idea of Lookism itself. The girl is called ugly her entire life and shunned for it despite seemingly being nice; in jail she gets a makeover and boom, all the dudes that ignored her are falling over themselves to compliment her hideous ring. Stalker girl didn’t change, but her physical appearance did.

Yet despite being conventionally unattractive herself, Stalker Lady is clearly shooting for men that are out of her league (GD and Daniel). Goes to show even those who are harmed by lookism will happily play into it when it benefits them.

Stalker Lady’s Rating: 8/10

Daniel’s Mom

Fittingly only known as Daniel’s mom as her biggest achievement thus far is birthing Daniel. Daniel’s mom is not even given a name. She gets one point for being hard working and one point because she has a bf, and two pity points for fighting Logan.

Daniel’s Mom Rating: 4/10

Sally Park

Hostel’s Mother. Lover of Cats. Mother of Dragons. General HBIC. Sally is interesting as her life was all about appearances. Sally was pretty, presumably smart, and presumed to be well-off in owning her own building, but she was alone. Then she met Eli and gained her True Companions. The rest is tragic history.

Sally is also genuinely nice in that she let a bunch of strange, orphaned boys live in her building and fed them, was generally understanding of Eli’s wildness, and helped keep Hostel running after Eli dipped.

A true queen.

Sally Park’s Rating: 7.5/10

Heather

Tragic figure. Her love was turning Eli into a more chill person. Sadly, Olly wasn’t having any of that.

Heather’s Rating: 3.5/10

Johan’s Mom

Johan’s mom fittingly is also only known as Johan’s Mom as other than being blind, being Johan’s mother is the only memorable thing about her.

Where’s Johan’s father? Why did she never remarry while she had her eyesight?  Where are her parents at? Does she have any siblings?

Alas, we shall never know. But at least she can cut hair.

Johan’s Mom’s Rating: 2/10

Aru

Error 404: change of heart not found. 

IU Aru is introduced as a mega you-know-what and nothing that happens after that introduction changes our opinion of her. She single-handedly prevented Oliver from debuting, was generally mean, dated an actual gangster and then cheated on him with several other dudes.

A lot of Lookism centers around various, attractive characters somewhat realizing the error of their former ways after being humbled in some form (usually a beat down by Daniel, Vasco, Zack or all three) and consequently changing. Aru is certainly humbled after almost being blackmailed into taking nude pictures and forced into a slave contract, but like a dog goes back to its own vomit, Aru goes right back to her shady ways after being rescued.

Aru is, if nothing else, a realistic look at what it takes to rise to the top and stay there.

Aru’s Rating: 9/10

Ghost Lady

Scared the fear of God into Zack.

Ghost Lady Rating: 10/10

Mary Kim

All Hail the Queen of Two Seconds, Mary Kim. Mary is amazing as she:

  • generally puts Vin Jin in his place
  • seems to be the only person Vin Jin actually likes besides himself
  • was a Judo genius in middle school
  • is a reformed thug basically
  • could probably kill most of the characters in Lookism with her bare hands
  • likes to caress Jace’s ears
  • generally doesn’t go around beating people up for no reason

Mary’s mere presence instills fear in the hearts of others, sending them fleeing across the beach. While we don’t know much about her, it seems like with 77% of characters in Lookism, we’ll eventually get a 20 chapter back-story on her.

Mary Kim’s Rating: 8/10

Leon Lee (the Only Female in Burn Knuckles)

Leon being generally petty while Vasco was on a date is amazing.

  • her short hair is cool
  • she can go from Burn Knuckles bro to hot girl summer

Leon’s Rating: 6.5/10

Yenna

A cute kid born out of tragedy. Also, thanks to her Eli abandoned Hostel, thus setting into motion a slew of events that ended with Olly Wang’s death and the end of Hostel B.

Yenna’s Rating: Big Daniel Breaking Gun’s Arm/10

I’m sure there’s someone I’m forgetting…but this is getting long. Anyway, who’s your favorite female (or male) character in Lookism?

References: (https://www.webtoons.com/en/drama/lookism/list?title_no=1049&page=1) “Lookism” by  Park Tae-joon