OMG, getting so muddled with so many points.

My only point is that the Short Haired Non-Sexualized Female Soldier is a trope as well. It's not as common, but it's fairly consistent and you can see it in: Vasquez, Trinity, Starbuck on BSG, Lady Jaye (GI Joe), Carter on Stargate, Carmen Ibanez (in the original book of Starship Troopers) et al.

Can't sleep. Pain and spinny brain.

My only point is that the Short Haired Non-Sexualized Female Soldier is a trope as well.

I actually agree with this completely. Ass kicking chicks are more likely to have short hair and be nominally butch (but almost always still hetero!) as portrayed in popular media than other chicks in popular media. If you look back at my post, I referenced ANY MOVIE, and not just action movies. (I also should note that I have not seen any of the Alien movies. Yes, I know. Yes, I should get right on that. I'd like to point out that I was only 15 when Alien 3 came out, and my parents were very strict about R movies. It just hasn't been a priority.)

Also, show me ANY WOMAN in a movie who has short hair and wears combat boots and no (obvious) makeup (since we know the guys are wearing makeup, too)

Tank Girl. Made of awesome. Though also a future heroine.

Advice needed:

Let me preface this: I am not an educator, I do not work with kids of any age (beyond the two or three times a year I get to use them as slave labour when they have to get their community service in and it's my duty to bark orders at them and make sure they're constantly busy). I don't have the education or personal experience for dealing with the quirks of any age group. Also, I hate kids of any age group.

So, I'm working with a bunch of 14-year-olds doing environmental work. One of the kids is a severely overweight girl whose mother is deaf. Girl is tremendously needy, to the point that I had begun to think that she was, for lack of a better word in my vocabulary, mentally retarded. I've somewhat amended that to so desperately in need of attention that she'd offer up herself as a target for bullies (to the point where even I am tempted). Her own conversation starters to a group of people involve how she still smelled bad after a shower, how her pants are falling down, but she doesn't have belt loops. She asks the same question over and over, and when I tried to logically talk her through how to figure out the problem for herself (which is the bucket that isn't broken?) she comes to me and the other educator individually and asks if we're mad at her, which of course we say no to (and I don't know why the other educator would have gotten the question, I was the one who was impatient and short-tempered).

And now the other girls are making fun of her, and I feel partially to blame for that. (One of the quirks of the girl in question is to call out my name, point out that I am there saying my name, and generally behave like JD #1 on Scrubs with his "hey numba 2!" I got this greeting the other morning, said good morning to the wrong girl, who then asked me if she sounded like the other girl. Later I heard that they'd begun mimicking the other girl).

I've got another two weeks with these kids. How do I not coddle her without making her feel badly? How do I set a better example for the other girls without being completely false?

My only point is that the Short Haired Non-Sexualized Female Soldier is a trope as well. It's not as common, but it's fairly consistent and you can see it in: Vasquez, Trinity, Starbuck on BSG, Lady Jaye (GI Joe), Carter on Stargate, Carmen Ibanez (in the original book of Starship Troopers) et al.

I think Trinity and Starbuck were sexualized for at least part of their respective roles. Trinity in the shiny catsuit and Starbuck in at least one "I'm a hot babe in a dress" scene. Carter, too, for that matter, what with that wet bra scene in SG:A. Granted, the last was in the head of a man known for inappropriately sexualizing Carter, but it's not like the producers said, "Gee, this is inappropriate for the character so we need keep it off screen."

I think that Starbuck can be and should be allowed to be a hot babe in a dress as well as a kick-ass pilot and cardsharp. But I also think this undercuts the idea of her being part of a non-sexualized warrior woman trope.

In semi-related news, did y'all know that Netflix has Xena available for streaming? I think that's how I'll be spending my morning.

New Starbuck was highly sexed and sexual. Maybe because she was the sexual aggressor she wasn't considered sexualized?

Juliebird, her conversational quirks sound A LOT like my son who is on the autism spectrum. He will repeat questions over and over again sometimes because he can't properly process the auditory answers very well and might need some visual queues in some cases. Also, no social skills and no personal boundaries are an indicator. Girls are less likely to be diagnosed with AS disorders until they are older.

When she asks if you're mad, can you maybe point out that she asks the same questions over and over and see where you can help with answers that she can understand? You might just need to practice more and more patience with this particular kid.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE shut down the teasing and mocking if you see it. These kids need to be called out if they're picking on this girl or mocking her behind her back. That kind of pack mentality will only get worse. Take the initiative to point out how maybe they can help her or accept her the way she is rather than mock or tease.

Timelies all!

Need to shower and dress. Don't wanna.

The poor kid.

Cashmere, thank you so much.

How do I talk to the mean girls if I'm only suspecting that the girl is autistic?