damn, some feminists really don’t have a sense of humor
[I always thought that the subject heading was a cheap shot issuing =
from the likes of Katie Roiphe, but I might have to reconsider. =
Jezebel is a smart and amusing new product from Gawker Media.]
http://www.thefword.org.uk/blog/2007/may#000874
What women (don’t) want
Imagine taking the very worst of those magazine’s supposedly aimed at =
women and distilling it in a big vat of misogynist nonsense and then =
unloading it onto the web. Welcome to Jezebel, the new “women’s” blog =
from Gawker.
I think the view Gawker has of women is very neatly summed up when =
they mention “Nebraska” and feel the need to add “(a state)”=85 I wish =
I was making this up.
So what is it that us women are interested in then? Mainly =
relationships - other peoples it seems, a good two-thirds of stories =
are about celebrity relationships. Personally I am interested in =
celebrity relationships - I’m interested in how they’re portrayed in =
the media and how they highlight gender issues that “ordinary” people =
may be experiencing.
For instance Anne Heche’s divorce - we’re told she’s a poor cook =
while he looks up internet porn while he’s meant to be looking after =
their child. Those are some really interesting issues. As a woman - =
what do you do if you discover your partner uses large amounts of =
pornography? How does it affect your relationship, how does it make =
you feel and how do you react if there’s a risk of children finding =
it? And these days a lot of women and even more men have very limited =
kitchen skills. The wide availability of pre-prepared food may appear =
to be making life easier but if it generates a generation who are =
effectively unable to prepare fresh food from fresh ingredients, then =
that has serious implications for our health and wellbeing.
Sadly that’s not the Jezebel response. They’ve gone with “Sounds like =
a normal marriage to us!” Never mind that more men than women admit =
to poor culinary skills. And remember ladies - all men look at porn, =
just get used to it.
As for the rest of it, try these extracts for size=85
“Does this mean we can stop coloring our hair?” When were we supposed to start? Did I miss a meeting?
“Guess those fake breasts paid off!” Since when was cosmetic surgery a business plan?
“You can never be subtle enough when it comes to reminding a guy =
where his vagina is coming from” Any sentence with the words ‘his vagina’ needs a re-think doesn’t it?
“Conventional wisdom holds that women’s magazines aren’t as good as =
men’s magazines.” At what? And who writes half the crap in so-called women’s magazines? =
Men! I don’t think the author of this piece has subscribed to BUST yet=85
“Males of the species: Now, sadly, even more irrelevant.” Speak for yourselves, the men in my life are very relevant thanks. Of =
course the article is about fertility treatment. Because remember =
ladies - life is about baby-making!
“We thought feminism was supposed to be straightforward.” Who told you that? It’s as diverse as, erm, the women who definitely =
WON’T be reading your stupid website!
posted by Kate Smurthwaite at 4:06 PM