The Good
Mothers in Medicine: “Getting In the Sterile Field”, by Tempeh. The topic verges on glurge, but it’s well-written and non-cliche enough to bite. Or maybe I’m just susceptible right now. Make up your own mind.
As you can imagine, putting chemo into someone’s brain is a tad unnerving. The sterile field is no joke. Enough said.
The Bad
Time: “White House Family Values: Where Are the Boys?”
Belinda Luscombe decides that there haven’t been boys in the White House for some time because it’s impossible to campaign while parenting male children, on account of they’re so naturally rambunctious and troublesome, unlike all those photogenic, eager-to-please girlchildren.
Campaigning and raising sons are mutually exclusive. Campaigning requires lots of travel, enormous amounts of time in the public eye and months and months of sitting down quietly listening to the same guy talking while wearing your good clothes. It’s like 11 straight months of being in church when you’re the preacher’s kid – with long car rides in between. It’s torture on adults, let alone children. But it’s worse for boys. Try this experiment: next month ask your son to be on his best behavior in front of other people, from now until November 2009. See how far you get.
“Boys are generally more competitive, risk-taking and defiant, which makes them less manageable,” says Meg Meeker M.D., author of Boys Should be Boys and Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters. And the 24/7 scrutiny of the modern campaign makes every small risky and defiant act a public affair.
Luscombe takes a side-swipe at the Obama girls, not only dismissing them as compliant, daddy-lovin’ campaign-prop ciphers, but as losses in the ol’ gamble of childbearing. She exhorts the Obamas to try again to bring an XY-fuelled bundle of mischief into the family.
In tough times like these, it would be nice to have a bit of that harmless White House mischief. And the Obamas are still a young couple. With ready access to government-sponsored childcare. No pressure of course, but would it be too much to ask to give the ol’ dice another roll?
And The Ugly.
TV blog Cliqueclack, in a fit of simultaneous prurience and gormlessness, asks, “Do lesbians really have as much sex as The L Word girls?”
Bonus Ugly Points for lesbians as exotic species, bisexuality as “identity issues”, walking in on lesbian sex as an automatic invitation to a threesome, and lesbianism as het-man-pleasing display.
Bleagh.
Categories: arts & entertainment, gender & feminism, media, medicine, Politics
Hoyden About Town 
“Do lesbians really have as much sex as The L Word girls?”
*sigh*
Who wants to help me with this experiment?
Happened upon this article and was going to post under Otterday, but it seems to fit better here, esp under ‘bad’ or ‘ugly’.
”VIAGRA THE WAY TO AN AFGHAN WARLORD’S HEART:
THE CIA is using Viagra to entice Afghan warlords into supplying information on Taliban movements and supply routes.”
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24845289-2703,00.html
With rape endemic in Afghanistan, especially child rape, let’s hope there are more CIA inducements of the “medicine or sweets for ailing family members, toys and school equipment, tooth extractions” variety and less of the “pharmaceutical enhancements for ageing patriarchs with slumping libidos” kind.
You want ugly? It’s been a while since I read anything this offensive.
http://townhall.com/columnists/DennisPrager/2008/12/23/when_a_woman_isnt_in_the_mood_part_i
All the reasons why women women should force themselves to have sex when they don’t want to. Don’t forget, a woman who is faithful isn’t a slut, but a man who is faithful is “heroic.” Yes, heroic.
I read the Mothers in Medicine post and I absolutely loved it. But, I am a little biased!
MomTFH’s last blog post..Déjà vu, all over again
I liked the Mothers in Medicine post–good writing, a bit sappy but this time of year it’s totally allowed.
As for the rest, this bisexual will gladly bash the authors over the head with her identity issues. Maybe that’s how bi people are played on TV, but real life? Ha.
Iala – I tried to read that link, was a gibbering wreck after the intro but perservered for another para or two…ENUFF
Too stupid to be even wrong.
Click random on Urban Dictionary if you want ugly. *cowers under desk from misogyny storm*
“Do lesbians really have as much sex as The L Word girls?”
Do straight women really have as much sex as the *insert soap opera here* women?