What Do You People Want From Me?
Since the rest of my day is tied up in company meetings concerning our "future," let's open this up to the peanut gallery: What would you like to see from The Sexist in the coming year? What topics would you like me to cover? What topics do you desperately wish I would stop covering? What other features would you like to see here? I need all the help I can get, so please file your criticisms in the comments.
Photo via The Library of Congress
3:12 pm
I have no idea how to do this but it would be nice if the videos you post are able to be viewed on an iPhone.
3:38 pm
I honestly don't care all that much about the sex parties. People got handjobs, some dude had a concussion, and that seemed to be pretty much what happened there.
I actually want to hear more metacommentary on the reaction to the side-hug story. It's amusing to see people who are completely unaware of (or militantly hostile to the concept of) irony complaining that someone else "doesn't know what satire is".
4:04 pm
I'd love to see some discussion of the Miller-Jenkins case. For those unfamiliar, this is a dispute between a Virginia "ex-gay" woman, Lisa Miller, who is the biological mother of a daughter she conceived whilst living in Vermont with her lesbian partner Janet Jenkins in a civil union. She fled VT for VA in 2003 or so to avoid having to share custody with Jenkins, but still receives child support from her. Jenkins was just recently awarded sole custody by a VT judge. Just to make it extra-juicy, Jerry Falwell's Liberty Counsel is on Miller's side, and GLAD is on Jenkins' side.
4:46 pm
Hm, this is kind of general, but I'm tired of how invisible our bias is towards folks who are beautiful. How our society forgives anyone and everyone if they are beautiful, or rewards them for nothing. How beauty is our measure, and is what privileges women/men in our society. We no longer really value folks for their achievements, charity work, their "good" or talent, but for accidents of birth. Just thinking about that a lot lately - how women, are deemed unimportant or less than, if they don't fit the American (totally bland, idealized, Barbie) version of beautiful. Accusing Lady Gaga of having a penis, bc she has a big nose and didn't smash it down like Jessica Simpson is absolutely ridiculous. Or Carrie Prejean's terribly limited definition of "Christianity" which I guess means anti-gay, but pro objectification and breast implants. etc.
5:54 pm
I think continued focus on gay/lesbian issues is very important to the community. I also think that some commentary on sex in movies / TV shows would be cool. Theres a new lesbian focused web series called "Venice" which could be fun to follow.
7:20 pm
J --- I was thinking about doing a regular feature on sex in TV. I think it would be great! The problem is that I don't have a TV, so the only shows I watch are ones I'm willing to buy on the Internet. With Mad Men gone, that leaves ... Gossip Girl. I said it. I watch Gossip Girl.
12:29 am
I'm a huge fan of media commentary - especially advertising...commercials and print... and also (as above) TV.
12:58 am
More sex. Lots more sex to go with the sexism, misogyny and rapiness. Lots more yummy, loving sex.
10:07 am
1) More interviews.
2) More stats.
3) Sexist theme song.
You do a great job.
10:55 am
Hey Amanda- thats great you are thinking of doing that. The show (soap) I mentioned above about lesbians will be web only. You can see a sneak preview at http://www.venicetheseries.com The buzz is pretty big about this show and there should be some decent woman on woman action. =)
6:55 pm
Race seems to be your blindspot. Do more on its intersection with gender and sexuality.
11:15 pm
Postings on Communist Free Love would be great. In some commie communes, women are on top in all sex acts, for example. More on threesomes would be great as well - teabagging [the original, not the crazy right wing nut jobs teabagging].
Etiquette in threesomes is also important - with two women & one man, usually the girlfriend gets to guide what her friend & her boyfriend do, & usually in penis-vagina sex the man only gets to climax in his girlfriend. For example, I've been teabagged several times in threesomes, with three different girlfriends, but each time it happened, my girlfriend took my testicles in her mouth & her friend took my penis in her mouth.
Another interesting topic is lesbians who occasionally want a man. When men are gay, they usually are 100% gay, but when women are gay, they often take an occasional walk on the hetero side. Why is that?
Anyway, your column is great, & you are a good writer with many original ideas & a gift for felicitous phrasing. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
1:08 am
Ack, what? Um, I think I love the Sexist as-is! Guess I would agree with whoever said more race/gender/class intersection. Sometimes I get the feeling things skew toward middle-class white women, in terms of relevance...middle-class white women are OK and all, but DC has lots of other kinds of women too! I prefer reading about things that we all run into (like the anti-abortion bus ads!) or things that I need to know more about (i.e. am not as familiar with, as a middle-class whitish woman). Thanks Amanda!
12:24 pm
Love & violence. Elin & Tiger. Kathy & me. Kathy used to beat me up a lot. She got arrested once – the neighbors called the police. A different time she beat the crap out of me in front of four of my friends. My friends & I were sitting around getting stoned & watching Star Trek the X Generation on a Sunday night in 1995. Kathy came over, & the only girl there [the girlfriend of the guy who lived there] answered the door. When I heard Kathy say, “I’m not stupid, I was Phi Beta Kappa” I knew there’d be trouble. I had a broken leg at the time, & so I crutched myself over to the door.
Kathy just went bonkers. She picked up a free newspaper & started hitting me with it, shouting, “Extra, extra, read all about it” with each blow.
I retreated out into the yard & then down a hill, crutching myself backwards as she clobbered me repeatedly, still shouting, “Extra, extra, read all about it”. She began kicking at my broken leg, then punching me. I couldn’t block her punches because I had to hold onto my crutches. I ducked my head, so she grabbed a big chunk of curls & ripped them by the roots right out of my skull.
It hurt a lot. I was beaten savagely. A friend of mine who witnessed it said she’d beaten me like a red-headed step-child. Just a month earlier during one of our phone calls, I’d suffered a compound fracture of my tibia, broke the fibula as well; after I broke it, the tibia was glowing white in the moonlight, & it made me think how it had never been exposed to smoking or coffee. I was in pain a lot back in those days, but not too much pain to lose sight of aesthetics.
2:20 pm
Medical Marijane lives upon the hill, ♫♪♫ ♫♪♫
Medical Marijane, sitting very still. ♫♪♫ ♫♪♫
Is she sleeping ? I don't think so.
Is she breathing ? Yes, very low.
Whatcha doing, Marijane, my love ?
Medical Marijane, rides a dappled mare, ♫♪♫ ♫♪♫
Medical Marijane, lilacs in her hair. ♫♪♫ ♫♪♫
Is she dreamy ? Yes, I think so.
Is she pretty ? Yes, ever so.
Whatcha doing, Marijane? Medical Marijane. Medical Marijane.
I'm thinking of much she loves me.
& this happy song came along
I will somehow try to tell you.
Medical Marijane, hair of golden flax. ♫♪♫ ♫♪♫
Medical Marijane longs for what she lacks. ♫♪♫ ♫♪♫
Do you like her ? Yes, I do, Sir.
Would you love her ? Yes, I would, Sir.
Whatcha doing Marijane? Medical Marijane. Medical Marijane.
Medical Marijane, Medical Marijane, Medical Marijane.
Medical Marijane vit sur la colline, ♫♪♫ ♫♪♫
Medical Marijane assise trs tranquille. ♫♪♫ ♫♪♫
Dort-elle ? Je ne crois pas.
Respire-t-elle ? Oui, mais tout bas.
Qu'est-ce que tu fais, Marijane mon amour ?
Medical Marijane, Medical Marijane, Medical Marijane. ♫♪♫ ♫♪♫♫♪♫ ♫♪♫
It's the anthem I wrote for Medical Marijuana freedom. Sung to the tune of Donovan's Jennifer Juniper. Thank you, Comrades, thank you.
Columns on sex & drugs are sure to draw some clicks.
12:23 am
I love the Sexist, and I love it when you go after Sexism in the media various ways.
Personally, I think your next target should be Ask Amy's November 27th column which goes all "Blame the Victim" on a rape victim:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/19/AR2009111902187.html
11:23 am
Comrade should have his own City Paper blog. then we can choose to read his drivel or not. (kidding!)
9:20 pm
Ask Amy isn't fit to be an advice columnist. This isn't the first time she's given dangerous and terrible advice and blamed the victim. She seems to have a real blind spot in this area.