Shakesville

Holy Shit

[Trigger warning for slut-shaming, body-policing, ageism, misogyny.]

Somehow I doubt that Gawker's intent, when they decided to publish the anonymous recollections and cropped photos of some dude who claims to have had a sexless "one night stand" with Delaware Republican Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell three years ago, was to make me feel profound sympathy for and a fierce protectiveness of someone whose politics and personal philosophies I find utterly loathsome, but, on the off-chance that was the intention: Mission Accomplished!

Publishing this despicable, woman-hating passage has to be one of the most horrendous personal smears I have ever seen in US politics, against any candidate:

[T]here were signs that she wasn't very experienced sexually. When her underwear came off, I immediately noticed that the waxing trend had completely passed her by.

Obviously, that was a big turnoff, and I quickly lost interest. I said goodnight, rolled over, and went to sleep.

And Gawker is so proud of that passage, it's highlighted in a pull-quote. Because, of course, it's the worst thing you can say about a woman: Christine O'Donnell is unfuckable.

Who cares about her politics. Who cares about her competency. Who cares about her policy proficiency. Some random dude who doesn't even have the spine to share his Very Important Insights under his real goddamn name thinks Christine O'Donnell's snatch was too hairy.

I can think of few things that underline how profoundly misogynist a culture we live in than the decision to consider that worthy of publication.

What an absolute disgrace.

And what a very pointed message to send to women who might be considering a public career: Don't get too uppity. This, too, can be done to you.

This piece will almost certainly be defended on the basis that Christine O'Donnell holds policy positions that are not female-friendly. But that is not how feminism works. This piece is comprehensively unjustifiable.

Shame on you, Gawker. Shame on you.

Headline of the Day

"65% Favor Getting Rid of Entire Congress and Starting Over." Whoops, Congress, you suck!

Today's Edition of "Conniving and Sinister"

See Deeky's archive of all previous Conniving & Sinister strips here.
[In which Liss reimagines the long-running comic "Frank & Ernest," about two old straight white guys "telling it like it is," as a fat feminist white woman (Liss) and a biracial queerbait (Deeky) telling it like it actually is from their perspectives. Hilarity ensues.]

Quote of the Day

This inspires me to point something out to my more liberal readers. Remember that particularly clueless right-wing acquaintance of yours? The one who believes that anybody in America can become rich, because he thinks about poverty in a completely unscientific, anecdotal way, which allows him to treat the exceptional case as typical? The one who can't seem to understand the simplest structural arguments about the nature of social inequality?

The next time you see some fat people and get disgusted by their failure to "take care of themselves," think about your clueless friend.

—Paul Campos, author of The Obesity Myth.

This is actually an old quote from a column Campos wrote back when he was writing for the Rocky Mountain News (and the column itself no longer appears to be online).

I just had occasion to dig out the quote for a friend, and I thought I'd post it, for those who'd never seen it. 'Cuz, no doy, it totes rulez.

I Write Letters

Dear Jon Stewart:

"The Rally to Restore Sanity" is disablist shit.

That the politics in this country have become extreme, absurd, and increasingly dangerous is not a result of mental illness; it's the result of ignorance and bigotry—and opportunistic fuckheads willing to exploit the same, without a modicum of regard for any consequences aside from their personal gain.

The "crazy" thing (see what I did there?) about your framing what is a legitimate threat to this democracy as "insanity" is that, because of the stigma against mental illness, the issue is being taken less seriously than it ought to be. These people aren't nutty outliers; they are knowingly and deliberately and rationally complicit in a campaign to undermine both the credibility of the democratic process and the efficacy of the US government.

It's a comprehensive strategy crafted by intelligent people who fervently believe in ideas like government should be small enough that "we can drown it in the bathtub." (And constantly vulnerable to that possibility.)

Because we live in a culture where people with mental illness are to be dismissed out of hand as the hopeless lunatics they are, your disablist frame is actively counterproductive.

"Crazy" turns this steaming mess into a joke—a joke that doesn't have to be taken seriously. And more deeply entrenches the marginalizing narratives that created that dismissability in the first place.

Snake. Tail. Yummy yummy. Fail.

Contemptuously,
Liss

OMGWTFLOL WHUT?!

The Hangover 2 cameo fuckery gets even fuckier:

Mike Tyson is one 'Hangover 2' cast member who wouldn't have had any problem acting alongside Mel Gibson, according to Page Six.

"I'm not going to ever in my life point my finger at anyone. I don't live in a glass house. None of us do. I work with anybody, as long as they're respectful," Tyson said, adding he would "100 percent" have worked with Gibson. The former heavyweight champion will fly to Thailand next month to reprise his role in the comedy sequel.

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!! Literally, all I can do is laugh uncontrollably at this point.

Daily Dose o' Cute

Potter samples some milk.

Number of the Day

Nine. The number of female Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg thinks would be "enough." (Nice question, Diane Sawyer. Yeesh.)

[Full transcript below the fold.]
This has been your periodic reminder that Justice Ginsburg totes rules.

[Via egalia.]

Transcript:

[Text onscreen: "The Women's Conference / October 26, 2010. / abc.com" Cut to video: Three women are sitting on a stage in front of a banner reading "The Women's Conference 2010," and below a graphic reading "Legendary Architects of Change." The women are, from left to right, ABC News' Diane Sawyer, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.]

Ginsburg: It's the first time the public can see we are really there—really there to stay. Not one at a time curiosities. [applause] You know, one important sign is, in the years that I served with Sandra, every term, without fail, one lawyer or another called me Justice O'Connor [O'Connor nods her head in agreement] because they were accustomed to a woman, and that woman was Sandra—and you can see we really don't look alike, do we? [Laughter; O'Connor laughs and shakes her head and makes a funny gesture] Well, last year, not one person called Sonia Sotomayor Justice Ginsburg, and this year, I am confident, that no one will call Justice Kagan either Justice Sotomayor or Justice Ginsburg. [applause]

Sawyer: Landmarks along the way, yeah. So, have you thought—how many women is enough?

[pause]

O'Connor: What? [laughter]

Ginsberg: How many women—?

Sawyer: How many women would be enough?

Ginsberg: Nine.

[laughter and cheers and applause]

O'Connor: We're not there yet. [Sawyer laughs]

Ginsburg: Well, there've been nine men there for a long, long time, right? So why not nine women?

[cheers and applause]

Top Chef: Just Desserts Open Thread

[Image from last night's episode: Chefjudicator Johnny Elvisface declares Team Diva a bunch of (sore) winners.]

Last night's episode will be whipped and folded, so if you haven't seen it, and don't want any spoilers, pack your cream filling and go...

Discussion Thread: When Fat-Shame Stopped Me

[Trigger warning for fat-shaming and discussions of body image and body policing.]

Following up on yesterday's discussion threads about being fat-shamed and engaging in fat-shaming, this is a thread in which to share stories about when the fear of being publicly fat-shamed stopped you from doing something you wanted to do.

Have you ever avoided going out to dinner with friends because you were worried about someone commenting on your eating in public? Have you ever avoided going to a particular club because you were worried about someone commenting negatively on your body size? Have you ever not taken a trip because you didn't want to deal with the possibility of being asked to buy a second seat on a flight? Have you ever not gone swimming because you didn't want to be seen in a swimsuit? Have you ever declined a formal occasion because it would have necessitated a shopping trip that was likely to elicit fat-shaming?

This isn't a thread about failure or weakness. This is a thread in which we bravely speak about the effects that the ubiquity of fat-shaming, and the strong possibility that we will be publicly fat-shamed, has on the decisions and lives of fat people (and/or thin and inbetweenie people who have also come to expect fat-shaming in certain situations). We are not admitting defeats; we are testifying.

The companion thread with a discussion of the times fat-shame didn't stop us is here.

[Commenting Guidelines: Engaging in fat-shaming and fat hatred here is off-limits, as it is in any other thread, and will be removed and its purveyors banned. This thread is for people who want to be engaged with ending fat-shaming, not for people interested in perpetrating it.]

Discussion Thread: When Fat-Shame Didn't Stop Me

[Trigger warning for fat-shaming and discussions of body image and body policing.]

Following up on yesterday's discussion threads about being fat-shamed and engaging in fat-shaming, this is a thread in which to share stories about when you had to overcome the internalized narratives of fat hatred in order to do something you wanted to do.

Have you ever stood in front of a mirror wearing something you've never worn before, like a sleeveless dress, and made a conscious decision to feel good about yourself and go out and have fun? Have you ever hesitated before sending a reply to a personals ad, deciding if zie doesn't like fat people, well, that's hir problem? Have you ever posted a picture of yourself online, even though you know it might elicit negative comments? Have you ever fought through panic just to walk out the front door?

This is a thread about what it takes to Live While Fat, whether it's a small thing or a big thing. It's about the times we recognize the possibility of being fat-shamed, and maybe even expect it, but go ahead and do what we want, anyway—even if, and especially if, on some other day, we might not have had the emotional reserves and steely psychological armor to do the same.

The companion thread with a discussion of the times fat-shame did stop us is here.

[Commenting Guidelines: Engaging in fat-shaming and fat hatred here is off-limits, as it is in any other thread, and will be removed and its purveyors banned. This thread is for people who want to be engaged with ending fat-shaming, not for people interested in perpetrating it.]

Two-Minute Nostalgia Sublime

Rob Zombie: "Dragula"

Dipshit of the Day

House Minority Leader John Boehner, (R-Eprehensible), who thinks it's totes cool to campaign with Ohio 9th Republican candidate Rich Iott, who, as you may recall, it was recently reported, "for years donned a German Waffen SS uniform and participated in Nazi re-enactments."

Sure.

News from Shakes Manor

Iain, via email, under the subject line "I have a new life goal": To beat this guy.

[The link leads to a story about a man who's set a world record for collecting (and storing) the most navel lint.]

Liss: And to get divorced, presumably. Cuz, eww.

Iain: Lol, I'm setting a jar up in your office.

Liss: Set up a jar on your desk to collect funds for your new bachelor pad. Where you can store ALL the navel fluff!

Iain: Ha! My bachelor pad will be carpeted in the finest navel lint rugs, and you will be JEALOUS!

Liss: This is your worst idea since you wanted to build a toejam castle called the Toes Mahal.

Iain: Lol, don't give me ideas. That would be awesome.

Liss: Weirdo. In the immortal words of Kelly Clarkson, my life would suck without you.

Iain: Dittoid.

This is so the worst thing you're going to read all day.

Actual headline: Ladies, try marketing approach to get a man.

Leaving aside the evident and entirely typical assumption that anyone who's a "lady" wants to "get a man" in the first place, I've got some real problems with a relationship strategy that essentially asks women to turn themselves into branded objects (if not explicitly sex objects) that are "marketed" to single men.

If your partner sees you as an object, of any sort, that makes you a fixed product. When you've branded and marketed and sold yourself as a catchphrase, it doesn't leave you a lot of room to change, or grow, and still be "the same person."

Growing together with a partner can be a challenging enough task for any couple, even without the additional pressure of constantly being measured in increments of deviation from a personal brand that the simple act of living life will likely lead one to outgrow.

Blog Note

The numbers of comments showing on posts is screwed up again this week. Don't know why; we'll put in a ticket with Disqus and hope it gets fixed soon.

Some people have mentioned that they're having trouble editing their comments, too, or the comments threads are hanging and not loading properly without refreshing. Hopefully that will be resolved soon, as well.

In the meantime, my apologies for the inconveniences.

Obama on The Daily Show

So, the president was on The Daily Show last night. (If you didn't see it, and want to, you can watch it here.)

Predictably, I found the whole thing annoying, as the president pleaded for patience, and whinged about not getting enough credit, and audited for "fairness" various criticisms of the administration. (Guess what? None of the criticisms I tend to make are fair. Shocking!) He also used the word "folks" like nine thousand times in the first five minutes of the show. When his 2012 reelection campaign starts in earnest, we're so playing the "Obama Says 'Folks' Drinking Game" during his stump speeches and the debates. Start stocking up on the booze now!

The high-point: His plug for voting. His encouragement to people to get involved in the process (while ironic, given that he panders to corporate elements who render individual voters increasingly irrelevant) is a refreshing change from the fearmongering "VOTE! AND VOTE FOR US OR YOU WILL BE DEAD!" horseshit that used to emanate from the Bush administration.

The low-point: "Heckuva job, Lawrence Summers." Ugh. He tried to recover quickly with a wink and a grin and an assurance it was a pun (oh really? so you think he did a shitty job, too?), but nope. Fail.

In other news, the president met with some bloggers yesterday, and, during that meeting, claimed his position on same-sex marriage is "evolving." This has become the new Democratic punt, replacing "state's rights" to buy some time before having to actually commit to a principled (or unprincipled) stance on one of the nation's most important civil rights issues.

I predict the Democrats' "evolving" position on same-sex marriage will evolve right into full-throated support the moment it becomes politically expedient. Which will naturally be a total coincidence.

So Much For Principles

Guess who's back for a cameo in The Hangover 2? No, not Mel Gibon. Mike Tyson will be returning, according to the film's director Todd Phillips.

Way to go, Zach Galifianakis, your integrity remains intact!

[H/t to Shaker scatx.]

Open Thread

Hosted by the Creature, looking bored.

Question of the Day

No, really: What the hell?