Rejected Princesses and Other Mould Breakers of the Month

Welcome to the first edition of “Mould Breakers of the Month.” Each month I come across loads of interesting things about people who are breaking all sorts of moulds, and I’m going to start compiling some of the best bits to share with you all here each month. So without further adieu, I give you the Mould Breakers of June!

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Rejected Princesses: This is a pretty creative new website, run by former DreamWorks animator Jason Porath, where he illustrates and tells the stories of real-world historical women who would probably never make the cut as big picture princesses because they are “too awesome, awful, or offbeat for the movies.”

Fail Safe: This creatively-handwritten essay, a book excerpt, gives encouragement to creatives wondering if there is a middle way between following your heart against all rationality, or selling out to society’s 9-5s.

In Search of a Better Gospel: “If your rules about morality are at the heart of your gospel, it is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” Micah J. Murray tells it straight with this piece on how the evangelical church’s fixation on certain sins trumps everything else.

Where religious systems want to draw tight circles around themselves and keep others out, Jesus wants to fling the doors open and welcome them all in. -Micah J. Murray

Ramadan 2014- What Growing up in a Muslim Country Taught us About Christianity: A Third Culture Kid, Marilyn of “Communicating Across Boundaries” illustrates how, while religions may appear to exist in opposition to one another, people can get a long just fine.

Bridging the Gap Between #YesAllWomen and #NotAllMen: Okay, so this is a little bit pre-June, but I still want to share it here because the fallout from the aforementioned hashtags and the battle of the sexes they devolved into extended well beyond the end of May. In this article, the usually sassy blogger Katie tries seriously to find some middle ground for both genders to stand on.

10 Female Protagonists That Don’t Care That They’re Female: Forget writing strong female characters; games writer Nic Bunce highlights some strong characters – period – who don’t give a damn that they happen to be female.

Six Male Stereotypes Hollywood Needs to Let Go Of: There are loads of articles deconstructing the stereotypes of how women are portrayed by entertainment media, but here’s one for the men, courtesy of “The Good Men Project.”

Colonization in Europa Universalis IV: In this thoughtful piece on a strategy game of world conquest, games professor Dr. Kevin Schut encourages gamers to mindfully consider the implications of the games they play. Not to throw out anything remotely questionable, or accept everything unquestionably, but find a middle way.

Ayaka Shiomura Immortalized in Dot-Art Portraits: The big news in Japan this month was Ayaka Shiomura, a Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly member, being heckled with blatantly sexist remarks by several members of Japan’s ruling party as she was speaking in an Assembly session. One member, Akihiro Suzuki, “apologized,” and yes that belongs in ironic quotations. I love this response by internationally-known Japanese artist Takashi Murakami: Suzuki and his ilk will die forgotten but she will be committed to history.

The Lydia Life: This new website, started by a friend of mine, is striving to make a space for “professional women of faith.” To be a woman who is both professional and Christian means probably breaking more than a mould or two along the way. If this sounds like you, check it out!

Quiz: Which Game of Thrones Character Would You Be? Because not every link has to be so serious. The Internet is a minefield of quizzes these days, so The Oatmeal decided to turn the concept on its head… sort of. If you know The Oatmeal you probably know what to expect.

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I hope you enjoy the above links as much as I did. Oh, and in other news, I got a job! I’ll start shortly after moving back to Canada in August, so it looks like I won’t be spending my life away as a NEET after all. Not yet, anyways.