Quick Hits Tuesday #6

Gender neutral baby clothing can save you money, keep your kid looking damn cute, and help you fight the power all at once. As someone who was raised in mustard yellow and brown striped unisex playsuits as a kid (and hey, I turned out OK. Stylish, even!), I can wholeheartedly amen Jennifer over at Queercents.

Guest poster Ginger at Consumerism Commentary asserts that smart women hook up with financially savvy partners. By her definition I may not be a smart woman, but Shiner's learning fast. And she's right on the fact that if he weren't, we shouldn't be getting married. But hilarious (and satirical) counterpoint at Feministing: Marrying anti-feminist "Take Back The Date" campaigns with Lori Gottleib's recently published and much discussed "I should have made babies with anyone who would have me, so don't you make the same mistakes!" piece, Ann proposes a new "Take Back The Loser" ad, featuring Barney Gumble of Moe's Tavern/The Simpsons fame.

Interesting disucssion in the comments of this post at Boston Gal's Open Wallet. College grad Adam Shephard began playing at poverty for the sake of the great American nonfiction book and he managed to wageslave his way to modest assets in eleven months time. At that point the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune became too much to bear, and Shephard wanted out, so he claimed victory over poverty before non-ironically accessing his middle class family's safety net and opting out of foodstamps, day labor, and beater trucks for good. But how might Shephard's bootstrap narrative have been different if he'd been a woman?

Feministe's Jill on the Lady Tax: a luxury tax targeting services used almost exclusively by women.