Boobquake

In the Wake of Boobquake

Brianne Bilyeu, , , 4,407 Comments

The results of Boobquake 2010 are in! Jen from blaghag.com did a statistical analysis of the number and severity of earthquakes that occured across the globe yesterday. Sadly, ladies, it looks like we don’t have boob/butt/leg/ankle/hair magic that can control plate tectonics.  From blaghag.com (click here for larger image):

Each data point represents the total number of earthquakes per day going back to February 5th (the extent of the online database). Days are measured in Coordinated Universal Time. That red square is boobquake. As you can see qualitatively, our provocative dress didn’t really seem to effect the frequency of earthquakes. There were 47 earthquakes on the 26th, which falls well within the 95% confidence interval for number of earthquakes (about 0 to 148).

Ah well, that’s just one more superpower I can cross of the list, I guess 🙂

Now from Boobquake 2010, to boobs on the boob tube:

Have you heard about the banned Lane Bryant lingerie commercial?

Apparently ABC refused to show the “racy” commercial during Dancing with the Stars, and FOX network demanded excessive re-edits before they offered to run the commercial at the end of American Idol.

Hmmm…between the Victoria’s Secret “The Nakeds” commercial that aired during American Idol (FOX) and ABC’s Dancing with the Stars:

  
Dancing With the Stars Poster
 

Yeah…wouldn’t want to show any girl skin or cleavage when families might be watching…

For more in-depth writing on the Lane Bryant Lingerie Commericial Controversy, I recommend checking out The Stylelist

In the Wake of Boobquake
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A Call to Boobs

Brianne Bilyeu, 2,458 Comments

So I haven’t yet posted about the viral awesomeness that is Boobquake.  Jen M. McCreight from the BlagHag blog has started a protest movement called Boobquake 2010.  Boobquake was created on April 19th – last Monday – and holy crap has a lot happened in a measly week.  If you want to follow the entire hullabaloo, start reading Jen’s post “In the name of science, I offer my boobs”.

Boobquake started out as Jen’s off-the-cuff response to Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi’s comment in the Chicago Tribune:

Many women who do not dress modestly … lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which (consequently) increases earthquakes.”

Jen decided that this was a ridiculous postulate, and she asked her readers if they would join her in a bit of scientific study.  People were invited to join the Boobquake facebook event, which she describes below:

On Monday, April 26th, I will wear the most cleavage-showing shirt I own. Yes, the one usually reserved for a night on the town. I encourage other female skeptics to join me and embrace the supposed supernatural power of their breasts. Or short shorts, if that’s your preferred form of immodesty. With the power of our scandalous bodies combined, we should surely produce an earthquake. If not, I’m sure Sedighi can come up with a rational explanation for why the ground didn’t rumble. And if we really get through to him, maybe it’ll be one involving plate tectonics.

Well, I’m all for a little activism and the scientific method, so today I sported my cute little on-the-town cleavage-showing t-shirt!  This is a far cry from what I usually wear in the office, so I have been wearing a sweater most of the day, choosing the route of not flaunting my chest and politics in the work place.  I may have to do a little grocery shopping this evening, though 🙂

Is that a flesh-induced EARTHQUAKE?

Nah…it’s just Boobquake 2010.

 

By the way, in the light of the OVERWHELMING response* to Boobquake, Jen has answered several concerns of the “experiment” being demeaning to women, and cries that it isn’t being rigorously controlled…to which the general reply has been, DUH!  This is first and foremost a show of activism against the oppression of women, the criminalization of women’s bodies, and the unfortunate belief that following a certain moral code can affect plate tectonics.

By the way, there are T-Shirts!  Purchase of t-shirts goes to benefit the Red Cross and the JREF (James Randi Educational Foundation).

*BBC, Canada AM, WGN, CNN 

A Call to Boobs