Humans have been celebrating variations on a “Valentine’s Day” since the fourth century, when ancient Romans celebrated their mid-February pagan fertility rite. Nowadays, the Valentine’s Day tradition persists in order to market shitty ensemble romantic comedies, prod our significant others into buying shitty chocolate, and make single folks feel shitty about themselves. Valentine’s Day has not been particularly good to us.

Thankfully, some enterprising groups have figured out how to capitalize on the obligatory Valentine’s Day celebration in ways that don’t involve a 5-buck Hallmark card (or Patrick Dempsey). Below, three Valentine’s-themed events that support women around the world:

Read More “Valentine’s Day Events That Won’t Make You Hate Yourself” »

It looks like our discriminatory Rockville car repair company got the message that their job ad in search of a hot female employee didn’t exactly jibe with Montgomery County employment laws. The company has removed its Craigslist ad specifying an “attractive” “gal” who is “confident with her sexuality,” and replaced it with this sanitized version that ditches the physical requirements, employs gender-neutral pronouns, and does not specify any headshot requirements:

Read More “Nevermind About That Sexually Confident Female Office Assistant” »

We’re in the middle of the worst recession in our lifetimes. The state of Maryland is hanging at a 7.2 percent unemployment rate. And one Maryland employer has found a silver lining in the desperation of his countrymen: The potential for hiring a total babe.

Last week, an area job seeker alerted me to this Craigslist ad for an office assistant job at a Rockville, Md. automotive repair company. Necessary qualifications: Sexy “gal” who knows how to “take direction.” Unessential: Actual knowledge of cars. Read More “Maryland Employer Seeks Office Assistant Who Is “Confident With Her Sexuality”” »

It seems as if my critique of last night’s Superbowl ads struck a nerve with the most loyal fans of the Dodge Charger. These are their stories.

Read More “Sexist Comments of the Week: Emasculated Dodge Charger Driver Edition” »

Last year, we delved into the world of 7orbetter.com, an online dating network that caters to men with long penises—and the men and women who love them. Recently, a reader wrote in to ask if there exists any similar service for men with genitals on the opposite end of the ruler. He writes:

Hello Amanda, I recently read your article about this website and wondered if you found any others with the opposite slant.  I think the concept is great in that you do know up front.  As an alternative are there any sites that also advertise size but not focused on the larger variety of men.  I guess what I am getting at is getting the whole “size” question out of the way early so there is no disappointment when things are revealed.  A girl may not want a 7 incher but a 4 incher may also be unacceptable.

Read More “No Space For Men To Disclose Small Penis Size” »

Local anti-sexual harassment resource Holla Back D.C. has declared March “Public Transit Awareness Month” in order to “focus on public sexual harassment on our public transportation in the DC metro area.” I’m inclined to support this occasion for the following reasons:

Read More “March Is Public Transit Sexual Assault Awareness Month” »

Why is the Superbowl commercial line-up, hailed as an achievement in advertising industry creativity, often so casually sexist, racist, and homophobic? Credit the watchful eye of the CBS Standards and Practices department, which ensures that Superbowl ads bring in millions of viewers looking to be shocked—without offending the delicate sensibilities of the American people.

Read More “Why Superbowl Ads Are So Sexist, Racist, and Homophobic” »

Hard at work inventing the rape-preventing rocket boot.

Last week on the Sexist,we learned that since both climbing stairs and riding in elevators put women at a high risk of sexual assault, the only way for us women to ascend beyond the ground floor is to invent some sort of rocket boot. Think about it!

1. The Worst Sexual Assault Prevention Tips Ever, in which wearing rocket boots is truly the only reliable mechanism for avoiding rape. That is, until the rapists invent their own  rocket boots. Then we’re shit out of luck.

2. The Breast Massage Will Happen, in which your boss uses phrases like “bone-girl” in your work e-mails.

3. Why Do So Many Men Die as a Result of Domestic Violence?, in which murdering your wife can be deadly.

4. Victim Blaming and Transgender Rape Victims, in which transphobic commenters argue why a trans women simply can’t have been raped.

5. Style Tips From Men’s Rights Activists, in which men’s rights will never truly be achieved as long as dudes are still buying “stylish elevator shoes.”

Photo via the Library of Congress

Last week, Montgomery County high schoolers brought home an extra special science lesson with their report cards: A flier from Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX) informing parents that their gay kids don’t have to stay that way. Read More ““Ex-Gays” Search In Vain for “Gay Center of the Brain”” »

After it was reported this week that White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel had used the phrase “fucking retarded” to refer to a group of Democrats, Sarah Palin took to Facebook to decry Emanuel’s word-choice as a “slur on all God’s children with cognitive and developmental disabilities”—and to demand that Obama give him the ax. Prepare to get totally fucking deep into the philosophical import of a Sarah Palin Facebook update, everybody.

In this edition of Sexist Beatdown, Sady Doyle of Tiger Beatdown and I parse the new Republican PC strategy, examine Palin’s record on disability (it ranges from condescending to damaging), and propose that Palin’s adoption of a far-left feminist talking point is a sign of the coming apocalypse.

Read More “Sexist Beatdown: Sarah Palin’s Slur on All God’s Children Edition” »