Today I thought I’d just cut to the chase and find out what ladies on the Internets think is sexist today. Modern sexism, reveal yourself!

* Gender Goggles reviews Yoko Ono’s feminist video project Cut Pieces, thinks jokes are sexist, but not as sexist as sexual assault: “You might argue that there is a world of difference between laughing at a sexist joke and committing mass sexual assault in Central Park, and while this is obviously true it’s also all of a piece. They are on the same continuum of subjugation of women.”

Also sexist, according to the Goggles: some newfangled “Ladder Theory” of relationships.

* Jezebel thinks Bukakke-esque advertising isn’t as sexy as it is sexist.

* Shakesville’s Melissa McEwan thinks cartoon e-mail forwards are sexist, except when they contain visual poo jokes: “we started emailing each other any dumbass forwards we got, especially ones with ‘hilarious; sexist jokes and cartoons, with intros like ‘This is the best email forward you’ll ever receive!’ We also send each other good email forwards, too, like the one I sent her of a guy wearing see-through plastic pants and crapping himself, which is a classic.”

* Tiger Beatdown thinks that maybe she herself is sexist, but also right, for writing this tirade about rom-coms:

I can hear your cries of shock and denial! But es one hundred percent verdad, ladies: people who watch—and consider themselves fans of—such high quality cinematic entertainments as “Runaway Bride,” “Maid in Manhattan,” and “The Wedding Planner” do, in fact, tend to have crappy relationships, due to the fact that they believe in “predestined love,” immediate commitment, and the idea that “if someone is meant to be with you, then they should know what you want without you telling them.”

Photo via trialsanderrors.

* Richard Cizik, the VP for Government Affairs for The National Association of Evangelicals, stepped down yesterday after making comments on NPR “that he backs same-sex civil unions” [via Shakesville].

* Jezebel—along with the rest of the Gawker universe—gets a massive face-lift to “increase pageviews.” Agh, what? But we’re still working on our redesign that will shamelessly appropriate your model!

* In other NPR news, ye olde tyme radio content  has aborted an interview with an abortion provider, Feministe reports.

* How is “Hot” Rod Blagojeblahblah like Sarah Palin? Now in cartoon form! [Via WaPo'sTom Toles, who just can't quit her].

* Tiger Beatdown beats down the continuing coverage of ladies drinking and whatever the fuck a “ladette” is.

* Can I “make” this hot little item about Tim Gunn coming to D.C. this weekend “work”? Eh, I guess not. He’ll be at Halo tonight.

Photo by trialsanderrors.

* Tim Dickinson for Rolling Stone on why Prop 8 failed. (Hint: It wasn’t Mormon or black voters, but it might have been you).

* The Gay Recluse reports on the shielded statues in Union Station (photo above), indicates that behind the shield are uncircumcised Roman penises, calls it “the biggest scandal in the history of hot gay statues!”

* WaPo says Barry and Hills need to work on their “rapport,” but noted this cute press conference tidbit: “Leaving the news conference in Chicago yesterday where he introduced his national security team, President-elect Barack Obama strolled out of the room arm in arm with his choice for secretary of state and onetime rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton.” Oooooooh!

* Mark your calendars: Forum on gay marriage in D.C. slated for Dec. 11.

* Barrack buys Michelle First Bling!

As fires raged in Southern California, protesters around the world gathered to voice their opposition to California’s Prop 8.

* Flickr user Grant Gochnauer snaps this great sign from a Chicago protest (above).

* The L.A. Times details a 1992 Colorado battle against an anti-anti-discrimination amendment that suggests how the fight in California might proceed.

* Andrew Sullivan attends the Washington, D.C. Prop 8 protest. The Daily Dish has more scenes from protests around the world.

* Jezebel also collected Prop 8 protest photos from readers across the country.

Read More “Prop 8 Protest Roundup” »

That guy who caused a big ruckus by getting pregnant is ready to cause a smaller ruckus: He’s pregnant again! Thomas Beatie, a transsexual man, is again expecting, Barbara Walters announced on The View. Beatie & fam will appear on 20/20 tomorrow, where they will fall victim to Walters’ preternatural sense of exposé. According to Jezebel:

she said that while she was speaking to Thomas, she got this weird feeling and out of nowhere asked, “Are you pregnant again?” And Thomas replied yes!

Last week’s Daily Beast feature which asked former Project Runway contestants to design a Michelle Obama inauguration gown—using only ridiculous materials and some pluck—accidentally asked the wrong Jay McCarroll to design the dress. According to Jezebel, The Beast actually contacted one Jay McCarrol, who has but one “L” in his last name, is not a well-known clothing designer, and has won no national reality television contests. McCarrol proved up to the challenge, however, taking the Beast at their word and asking a friend to sketch up a design for Michelle. McCarrol’s buddy, a 20-year-old student, came up with this pretty okay design, above, considering that the anonymous designer could only use burlap sacks and American flags as material. Tina Brown’s new Web-first outfit recieves a warning, while the fake McCarrol’s young friend establishes herself as a front-runner for the next season of Project Runway.

UPDATE: I’d like to just comment here to clarify the headline of this post, because there’s been some confusion in the comments. I’m not calling the lovely Michelle Obama nor the talented Jay McCarroll ugly. I’m calling the dress design ugly. Proceed to rip me apart for my misguided fashion criticism.

The Daily Beast posed this absurd challenge to former Project Runway contestants: Design an inaugural gown for Michelle Obama using only “Laura Bush’s 2005 Inaugural Ball dress, to be chopped up and repurposed, à la Pretty in Pink; an American flag; burlap potato sacks; and $10 worth of trims of their choice.” (Umm, is that how this happened?) Head to the Beast for god-awful designs from Jay Carroll, Austin Scarlett, Mychael Knight, and others.

Jezebel does the Beast one better by selecting dresses from the Project Runway designers that Michelle might actually want to wear.
Sketches from The Daily Beast.

* New Columbia Heights reports on a rash of violence that hit an underground Petworth brothel this month. According to an Examiner piece on one incident, wherein a robber lost his thumb to a machete-wielding victim after trying to lift cash from the bordello and gambling house. Earlier, two men were shot inside the brothel, located near the intersection of 14th St. and Quincy.

* Slate asks you to break off your long-distance relationship for the sake of the environment. Advises Barron YoungSmith:

You’re sitting in the airport terminal, rolling your copy of the Economist into a sweaty tube and waiting to see a significant other who lives far away. You’re excited. You’re aroused. But there’s something else, a nagging feeling that gurgles in your stomach and won’t go away. Is it pangs of guilt? It should be: The planet is about to suffer for your love.

* Listen up, cynical ladies: Roissy in D.C. finds sarcasm sooo unfeminine:

Sarcasm is a leading indicator of low self esteem in a woman. It is a masculine manifestation driven by the ego that cannot coexist with the inner feminine driven by the heart. A girl who leans on the crutch of sarcasm to thrash her way through a conversation is hiding insecurities behind a phony facade of gritty toughness.

Yep, and we all just secretly want a dick. Your dick.

* Feministing and Jezebel sound off on Chantilly’s new pro-life pharmacy.

* Via Daily Intel: Upcoming Gossip Girl guest star Nastia Lukin hints at (maybe) GG’s next plot twist: threesome, anyone?

Photo by PetroleumJelliffe

* The Sexist’s Manliest Workplace in D.C. tournament is live. Fill out a bracket to predict your manly winners and losers.

* Advanced Style, a street-style blog for the older set. Adorable, inspirational, and regularly updated, this elderly fashion watch is curated by three respectful whippersnappers.

* Jezebel asks if being a successful woman means staying single:

maybe if a woman’s got guts and determination, she “intimidates” men. So she either doesn’t get attached to a guy, or finds one who is content to live in her shadow. Oprah doesn’t have a husband, per se, but when’s the last time we heard anything about that Stedman guy? Anna Wintour? Divorced. Condoleezza Rice? Not married. Tyra? Single and looking to mingle. Angela Merkel? Wikipedia says, “Her second husband is quantum chemist and professor Joachim Sauer. He remains out of the spotlight” . . . While many men have careers in which they shine and the wife is content to stay in the background, it seems that women who live an ambitious life in the limelight rarely have a “quiet” husband at home.

Jezebel’s expounding, of course, on Madonna’s just-announced divorce from filmmaker Guy Ritchie. I wouldn’t assume that the end of this seven-and-a-half year marriage is a result of Ritchie not being able to “handle” Madonna—you probably know what you’re getting into with Madonna. Similarly, I would suggest that Tyra Banks‘ relationship status might not be wholly attributed to her “success.” A lot of marriages fail, successful, famous, or not. Still, I fully intend to co-opt the Stars: They’re just like us! treatment here and assert that by virtue of being a single woman, I am successful. It’s that easy!

* In the wake of Joe Wurzelbacher-gate, Radar imagines the inevitable “Joe Plumber” porn spoof:

Layin’ Pipe will feature five hard-core scenes, including a threeway with other pander-worthy icons, namely Mother of Iraqi Solider Against the War and Teacher In Tennessee Who Can’t Afford Her Parents’ Nursing Home. Bob Schieffer will also be spoofed as the announcer who dishes the sex action that will take place during the film.

Yeah, well, as long as he isn’t portrayed by the lame, pathetically in-shape dude who hangs around the smoothie/tanning salon, I may be interested.

* Plus, what else might “Joe the Plumber” be hiding from the American People? Josh Levin for Slate has your non-pornographic predictions.

* Okay, one reason to have kids:

Photo from Advanced Style.

* Naked Sarah Palin portrait in Chicago dive bar (that’s her on the right, with gun, moose, and, err, rug).

It gets weirder, reports the Windy Citizen: Painter Bruce Elliot used his own daughter as a nude model for the piece. “My daughter is a heck of a stand-in for Sarah Palin,” Elliot told the pub. “She can even do the voice.” Dad, you are so embarrassing.

* It looks like the titular blogger of “Confessions of a College Call Girl” is closing her little black blog:

I’m tired of talking about whoring—at some point reliving these stories becomes less about healing and more about playing with fire, dipping my toe into the quicksand. I’m not sure if my life is interesting enough these days to write about; it’s a tribute to how much writing this blog has helped me that I’m mostly sane and boring today.

She does tell “one last” story. There’s lots of fucking.

* Jezebel’s Megan Carpentier responds to yesterday’s Jezebel-referencing post in The Times titled, “Women have so many don’ts. What’s a guy to do?” Writes Carpentier:

The difficulty with all the post-feminist whining about how women have “rules” that change that men don’t know how to follow is that it continues to be a failure to recognize that women are all different, just as all dudes are different. . . . And — this might be shocking — there was no halcyon time when women all wanted the same thing any more than there was one when men did.