Over coffee this morning, I saw a few Facebook posts from female friends, excited about showing off some cleavage for “Boobquake” this Monday. While I wanted to be happy about some counterculture movement, this one just made me sigh.
In case you haven’t heard, Boobquake was started by Jen McCreight, a blogger at Blag Hag, in response to an Iranian cleric who recently issued a statement that read:
Many women who do not dress modestly… lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which (consequently) increases earthquakes.
via Why I won’t be joining the “Boobquake” – Broadsheet – Salon.com.
Let me get this out there right upfront: I do not want to take your porn away. I am against the exploitation and objectification of women, but I am also against censorship and Puritanical bullshit, and porn tangles all of those issues up in such a way as to make me feel uncharacteristically dispassionate about the whole mess. My official position on porn: Whatever.
So if I saw a compelling argument that porn is good for society, I would probably not go out of my way to nitpick it. But Milton Diamond‘s article at the Scientist, in which he discusses data that shows more porn is correlated with lower sexual assault rates, is not that argument. “[I]n every region investigated,” he writes, “researchers have found that as pornography has increased in availability, sex crimes have either decreased or not increased … Surprisingly few studies have linked the availability of porn in any society with antisocial behaviors or sex crimes. Among those studies none have found a causal relationship and very few have even found one positive correlation.”
Interesting. And if you’ve been going around saying that increased availability of porn causes an increase in sex crimes (or at least, that it did through the 1990s; Diamond doesn’t cite more recent findings on this subject), maybe you should stop. But speaking of the difference between correlation and causation, isn’t it kind of a big leap from that to “More porn equals less rape”?
via Stopping rape with smut – Broadsheet – Salon.com.
The world’s “first” X-rated fembot literally has no moves Video
By Tracy Clark-Flory
Meet Roxxxy, the “world’s first sex robot.” She has folks buzzing with excitement after her debut at this weekend’s Adult Entertainment Expo (never mind that she isn’t actually the first of her kind). Given the hype, and the use of the term “robot,” you might be envisioning something along the lines of a Real Doll that can actually perform sexy moves — or at the very least do “The Robot.” In reality, she’s more like an X-rated version of Talking Elmo. She can’t walk or move her arms, but when you touch Roxxxy she will purr things like, ” Where you gonna put that?” As creator Douglas Hines demonstrated at the event (video below), clumsily groping at her vagina will elicit a moan; meanwhile, she remains paralyzed in her pre-programed ecstasy.
via Broadsheet – Salon.com.
I’m always up for a figurative orgy of conservative pundit-bashing, but this Playboy piece is after something a bit more literal. Author Guy Cimbalo counts down the top 10 most fuckable conservatives, from Michelle Malkin to Laura Ingraham — though don’t worry, he hates them, too. Cimbalo managed to get one or two guilty smiles out of me, but the overall effect is beyond creepy. Cimbalo seems to think he’s shielded himself from obvious criticism by wildly overshooting the target. If bashing conservatives makes sexism okay, irony makes it even more so; Cimbalo can’t be a genuine misogynist if his jokes are so hep, dig?
Of TownHall columnist Amanda Carpenter, Cimbalo writes, “The Hate Fuck Rating: This foul temptress is a walking, talking Faustian fuck bargain.” Michelle Malkin is a “highly fuckable Filipina” and a “Beelzebabe.” And “The View”’s Elisabeth Hasselbeck is just begging for defilement: “She’s the clean-cut American sweetheart who elicits our filthiest thoughts. Endlessly perky, this golden goddess probably has her Catholic school uniform still in the closet, and she wouldn’t mind putting it on before taking it off for a session of sweaty, anti-American hate fucking.”
Usually, I don’t go in for declaring certain jokes off-limits, but at some point, this passes from gross into vile. Cimbalo is also playing right into the hands of the conservatives he claims to hate, becoming not so much a critic of Michelle Malkin’s reactionary ideas as an accessory to them.
via Screwing Michelle Malkin – Broadsheet – Salon.com.
The “It Girl” label is one that pops up when no one can quite put their finger on what makes a person worth caring about, despite the fact that her popularity is seemingly effortless. So, how should we define the Internet It Girl? Is she a podcast’s talking head? A startup employee who photographs well? Maybe. But if the whole point of the It Girl’s celebrity isn’t her employment but her public persona, then there’s probably a more direct analog. Truth be told, the Internet It Girl is probably a vlogger.
There is a big ol’ Internet full of young women using video to share their insights with the world, and so the fact that Molly McAleer has gotten the attention of some big web entities — first, the now-defunct Defamer, where McAleer did videos on a wide range of pop culture topics, and now Justine Batemen’s FM78.tv, which is executive producing McAleer’s new official show, The Molls Show.
Beyond a snazzy Tumblr layout, there’s not a lot to differentiate The Molls Show from any other vlog, except that McAleer is a lot more mobile; in tightly-edited segments, McAleer responds to questions, goes on field trips, and in general exposes herself to the outside world. If The Molls Show consisted of nothing but McAleer parading down Hollywood Boulevard in a vagina costume, it might get tiresome, but the stunts are balanced out by more thoughtful pieces — critiquing bad advice books or offering tips on where to find boyfriend-quality boys. She’s comfortable on camera, has a sharp and self-effacing sense of humor, and is unashamed to admit that she wears hair extensions. It’s a nice mix.
via Online Video – GigaOM – Salon.com.
The headline sent my hand flying to my gaping mouth: “Her teen committed suicide over ‘sexting.’” The MSNBC article reported on a mourning mother’s appearance on Friday’s “Today” show to talk about how text messaging nude photographs killed her daughter.
“Sexting” might be a trigger, just as old-fashioned gossip campaigns or bullying can be
The story is a familiar one: Jesse Logan, 18, sent her boyfriend some naughty snapshots. After they broke up, he sent the photos to some high school girls, some of whom took to shaming Jesse by calling her a “slut” and a “whore.” This is where the story breaks from the usual: The torment continued for some time, and worsened, driving her to appear anonymously on local TV to warn of the consequences of “sexting.” A couple of months later, she killed herself; her mother, Cynthia, found Jesse hanging in her bedroom closet.
It is a truly heart-rending story. It also serves as a vital reminder to teens that “sexting” can lead to severe embarrassment, taunting and bullying. But, it is with the utmost respect and sympathy that I have to ask: Did “sexting” really cause this tragedy?
via Did “sexting” cause a teen s suicide – Broadsheet – Salon.com.
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