Big Bad Site Of The Day

Another day, another day of "interesting" opinions. I simply can't tell if this guy is being tongue-in-cheek, a big "f-u" to "politically correct" terms, but I'll continue to cringe at every word posted by "Large" of Take A Report. It's like a fascination to me now though. I'll read it, and re-read it, and try to figure out things, and I've realized that Take A Report is like a really quaint idea of some over-the-hill bluehairs think. Really? Cut off Renee's ear to make her prettier? Awkward.

And, snap! He was fired (from Citigroup!) for, you know, being a misogynistic turd nugget.

Sick Sick Sick!!

It just doesn't get any better than this. With Cheney looking on and smiling brightly, ear to ear, behemoth defense contractor KBR made the announcement that they would "ban the use of personal cell phones by its employees in Iraq". While this seems 1984 in its own right, this news comes quick on the heels of numerous allegations of rape by KBR employees, specifically one who was raped, then held captive for days until a sympathetic guard (not one of the rapists) let the woman use his personal cell phone to escape. 

This woman, Jamie Leigh Jones, has a foundation to assist victims of sexual assault. It seems like Halliburton and KBR have a history with these pesky rape cases. Draw your own conclusions, but it seems like women should stay away from these places of "employment" if you don't want to be raped. 

This Surely Has Happened Before

Working events (besides the Jonas Brothers event in the Hamptons!) is never fun. I've helped out my friends on their hoity-toity promo events and...while I have sometimes reaped the benefits, chaos still can occur. 

Matthew O'Sullivan (37) of Los Angeles, has been a very naughty boy. The "Girls Gone Wild" cameraman allegedly lured a 20 year old woman on their bus and she accused him of unwanted sexual contact a few moments later.  

I've been to parties with these silly men running around. Please, a free shirt in exchange for keeping my integrity and ability to watch late-night television with my father? If you want to bail Mr. O'Sullivan out, he's going to be arraigned at the First District Court in Central Islip today. 

Cultural Objections: Brits Have This Problem Too

While as a general rule I avoid discussion with many conservatives because of their...weird woman (mommy) issues, I can't help but halfway agree (only to an extent, people!) with Tory education spokesman Michael Gove on the ladymags so popular in Great Britain. Are they corrupting male culture? Are they ruining the desire of the men who read these mags to be fathers? 

"Titles such as Nuts and Zoo paint a picture of women as permanently, lasciviously, uncomplicatedly available" 

And that's never good. 

"The images they use and project reinforce a very narrow conception of beauty and a shallow approach towards women. They celebrate thrill-seeking and instant gratification without ever allowing any thought of responsibility towards others, or commitment, to intrude."

So I guess that's why there are so many single mothers/fathers in England?

Lunchtime Objections

A little lunchtime conversation was turned on its red-hot-sex-me heels today. Meeting with R & A.D. in Bryant Park today and lookie what we talked about. 

It started innocently enough, and I don't know who brought it up. Maybe I was discussing my aggressively strappy shoes (because foot circulation is so 2007). Maybe we were talking about cupcakes (Crumbs v. Magnolia...no this was later). Oh! I remember, an overweight woman left her expensive handbag on a B.P. table, and when she had come back to retrieve it, R noticed she needed some support in the boobular area. A.D. starts it off. 

I remember I had a less-than-supportive day once. I started sprinting down the street and a BUM, a bum! yells "bouncing, bouncing, BOUNCING!" Well needless to say I was holding my boobs up for the rest of the run. 

I continued, with a story from last week. 

I was helping my boy's parents with their luggage and as we were walking down the street, I hear "you got a nice little body for a white girl". He continued, essentially screaming at me as I walked by: "how bout I take you home and give it to you better than your husband!"

I think we all have many such stories. Disclose, anonymously, at femasculist@gmail.com. 

Not the Only One

Steven Hirsch, man with camera, has a new blog,"Courthouse Confessions". He stands outside the Manhattan courthouse at 100 Centre Street and photographs "criminals" walking out of their hearings/trials. It's mostly bullshit that is congesting the court systems - lapsed speeding tickets, right to assembly arrests, "stolen" property and also an "assault" by Nina Montanez. A guy called her out on the street, she defended herself against him, she got a black eye, he called the cops on her, she wound up getting arrested. 

Here is her description of what happened before the "assault"

If you want to approach me, you tail to me in a different way. You know what I mean? You don't talk to someone, you don't try to get somebody's number by saying you got a big butt or nice breasts. You know what I mean. I'm a grown woman. I don't like disrespect. 

He didn't show up to the court date. 

Let's Talk Cock!

I'm trying to keep this tres equal between the genders so, while sexual objectifications of women have been joked about & discussed for oh, since the dawn of man, men are now getting to be the brunt of the jokes and catcalls as well.

Besides individual anecdotal accounts, advertising is the most saturated way citizens see imagery. Advertising, in theory, tells us how to feel about products. Look at David Beckham. He's smokin' in these Armani underwears. Yet, Beckham will never be in YOUR bed wearing these underwears, so why do we care? Young men aren't going to do any self-examining of their physique and, unfortunately, your boyfriend probably won't do more pushups.

The traditional gender role for men emphasizes power. Making sure we're all on the same page, Beckham looks supplicant, right? He's saying "look at me!", almost desperately. Thinking beyond the fact that he's in an underwear ad, he's there for women (and some men) to look at, hungrily, longingly.

So we're here to talk about that too.

Don't get so down though, I'm not saying men don't deserve to get the "bedroom eyes" from women...just it may not work out so well (and vice-versa). Case in point:

Russians Will Continuing Procreating, Thank You Very Much

Look, I know we're all here to procreate and spread Man everywhere (blah blah blah) but sex at work...my, isn't that just 2005?

A Russian judge tossed out a perfectly good court case today involving
an executive and her touchy-feely-in-a-gross-way boss. The judge even went as far (probably not to him) as saying:

"If we had no sexual harassment we would have no children,"

There have been only two successful cases of sexual harassment in Russia, one in 1993 and the other 1997. What is wrong with people? If you honestly think that slapping a woman on the ass means she wants to take you to a conference room and give ya one, there is something wrong with you.

Women are second-class citizens in too many countries. Even in supposedly modern societies like the U.S., women (and men) still have to deal with unwelcome ass-grabbing.

Article 19 of the Russian Constitution specifies says that men and women are to be considered equal. What is equal about this situation?

Educate yourselves: stopVAW

Femasculisting The Web!

I'm going to say it, I'm sick of being a sex object. Since puberty, it's been a nonstop barrage of "hey baby" this and "give me your number, sugar tits" that, and maybe I'm just giving myself room to vent, but I think sexual objectification, in all its forms, needs a niche in the public discourse. S.O. is always going to happen, but instead of being mad about it, I thought it might do some good to talk about it.

Thinking of the public good, I decided to name this here blog "femasculist" - a mash up of "feminist" and "masculist". Both offer similar feelings on objectification.

To educate the poor souls:

"Sexual objectification is objectification of a person. It occurs when a person is seen as a sexual object when their sexual attributes and physical attractiveness are separated from the rest of their personality and existence as an individual, and reduced to instruments of pleasure for another person.

The concept of sexual objectification and, in particular, the objectification of women, is an important idea in feminist theory and psychological theories derived from feminism. Many feminists regard sexual objectification as objectionable and as playing an important role in the inequality of the sexes. Some feminists and non-feminists, however, argue that increased sexual freedom for women and gay men has led to an increase of the sexual objectification of men. Thus, the objectification of men is an important idea in masculist theory."