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518 books
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2,293 voters
Iulia Necșulescu
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https://www.goodreads.com/iulianecsulescu
“Though
the actresses who played female boys were of all ages and performed in a vari-
ety of acting styles, they were generally small, thin, white, and photogenic, and
their performances combined boldness and vulnerability. Their femaleness al-
lowed them to convey fragility and androgynous beauty. These performances
demonstrate that cross-gender casting, which may seem like an inherently
transgressive practice to twenty-first-century scholars, can also uphold conser-
vative gender, class, and racial regimes. At the same time, the performances
cannot be dismissed as reactionary or antifeminist, because they embodied
middle-class women’s sentimental politics and created a space in which wom-
en’s bodies had an important role in producing an idealized masculinity.”
― Girls Will Be Boys: Cross-Dressed Women, Lesbians, and American Cinema, 1908-1934
the actresses who played female boys were of all ages and performed in a vari-
ety of acting styles, they were generally small, thin, white, and photogenic, and
their performances combined boldness and vulnerability. Their femaleness al-
lowed them to convey fragility and androgynous beauty. These performances
demonstrate that cross-gender casting, which may seem like an inherently
transgressive practice to twenty-first-century scholars, can also uphold conser-
vative gender, class, and racial regimes. At the same time, the performances
cannot be dismissed as reactionary or antifeminist, because they embodied
middle-class women’s sentimental politics and created a space in which wom-
en’s bodies had an important role in producing an idealized masculinity.”
― Girls Will Be Boys: Cross-Dressed Women, Lesbians, and American Cinema, 1908-1934
“The repressive fifties were giving way to the rebellious sixties, symbolized by miniskirts and Playboy magazine and the young, progressive-thinking family in the White House. Elizabeth's great achievement during this period was that she made the public want her as she was: she made being sexy, independent and defiant of cultural norms the desirable way to be.”
―
―
“I've worked very hard, you know," she confided to him, "and I've planted some kind of-I've been lucky enough, I guess, to plant a star-and then people wanted to either get in the act or else they wanted to rob me emotionally or financially, whatever. And then walk away and it's always lonely”
― Judy Garland
― Judy Garland
“Women were never absent from film history; they often simply weren’t documented as part of it because they did “women's work”, which was—by definition— insignificant, tedious, low status, and noncreative. In the golden age of Hollywood, women could be found in nearly every department of every studio, minding the details that might otherwise get in the way of more important, prestigious, or creative work (a.k.a. men's work).
If film historians consider the classical Hollywood era’s mode of production a system, we ought to consider women this system’s main-stay, because studios were built on their low-cost backs and scaled through their brush and keystrokes.”
― Never Done: A History of Women's Work in Media Production
If film historians consider the classical Hollywood era’s mode of production a system, we ought to consider women this system’s main-stay, because studios were built on their low-cost backs and scaled through their brush and keystrokes.”
― Never Done: A History of Women's Work in Media Production
“We cannot, of course, expect every leader to possess the wisdom of Lincoln or Mandela’s largeness of soul. But when we think about what questions might be most useful to ask, perhaps we should begin by discerning what our prospective leaders believe it worthwhile for us to hear.
Do they cater to our prejudices by suggesting that we treat people outside our ethnicity, race, creed or party as unworthy of dignity and respect?
Do they want us to nurture our anger toward those who we believe have done us wrong, rub raw our grievances and set our sights on revenge?
Do they encourage us to have contempt for our governing institutions and the electoral process?
Do they seek to destroy our faith in essential contributors to democracy, such as an independent press, and a professional judiciary?
Do they exploit the symbols of patriotism, the flag, the pledge in a conscious effort to turn us against one another?
If defeated at the polls, will they accept the verdict, or insist without evidence they have won?
Do they go beyond asking about our votes to brag about their ability to solve all problems put to rest all anxieties and satisfy every desire?
Do they solicit our cheers by speaking casually and with pumped up machismo about using violence to blow enemies away?
Do they echo the attitude of Musolini: “The crowd doesn’t have to know, all they have to do is believe and submit to being shaped.”?
Or do they invite us to join with them in building and maintaining a healthy center for our society, a place where rights and duties are apportioned fairly, the social contract is honored, and all have room to dream and grow.
The answers to these questions will not tell us whether a prospective leader is left or right-wing, conservative or liberal, or, in the American context, a Democrat or a Republican. However, they will us much that we need to know about those wanting to lead us, and much also about ourselves.
For those who cherish freedom, the answers will provide grounds for reassurance, or, a warning we dare not ignore.”
― Fascism: A Warning
Do they cater to our prejudices by suggesting that we treat people outside our ethnicity, race, creed or party as unworthy of dignity and respect?
Do they want us to nurture our anger toward those who we believe have done us wrong, rub raw our grievances and set our sights on revenge?
Do they encourage us to have contempt for our governing institutions and the electoral process?
Do they seek to destroy our faith in essential contributors to democracy, such as an independent press, and a professional judiciary?
Do they exploit the symbols of patriotism, the flag, the pledge in a conscious effort to turn us against one another?
If defeated at the polls, will they accept the verdict, or insist without evidence they have won?
Do they go beyond asking about our votes to brag about their ability to solve all problems put to rest all anxieties and satisfy every desire?
Do they solicit our cheers by speaking casually and with pumped up machismo about using violence to blow enemies away?
Do they echo the attitude of Musolini: “The crowd doesn’t have to know, all they have to do is believe and submit to being shaped.”?
Or do they invite us to join with them in building and maintaining a healthy center for our society, a place where rights and duties are apportioned fairly, the social contract is honored, and all have room to dream and grow.
The answers to these questions will not tell us whether a prospective leader is left or right-wing, conservative or liberal, or, in the American context, a Democrat or a Republican. However, they will us much that we need to know about those wanting to lead us, and much also about ourselves.
For those who cherish freedom, the answers will provide grounds for reassurance, or, a warning we dare not ignore.”
― Fascism: A Warning
Iulia’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Iulia’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
192 books
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285 friends
1,006 books
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316 friends
478 books
|
53 friends
504 books
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33 friends
304 books
|
2,845 friends
1,256 books
|
24 friends
719 books
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216 friends
351 books
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42 friends
More friends…
Favorite Genres
Art, Biography, Classics, Crime, Fiction, Gay and Lesbian, History, Horror, Memoir, Non-fiction, Psychology, and Romance
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