I completely agree with you about Grealy's essay, in that she was depicting sex in a negative way, desperately using it to feel some measure of self-worth. However, in Clark-Flory's defense, the "awe" she was talking about could come from the beauty of Grealy's writing and raw honesty, not necessarily the subject matter or Grealy's behavior. I know I was in awe at her (Grealy's)ability to analyze her emotions so clearly and her courage in revealing such personal failings. She is certainly a lovely writer.

I'm a bit confused by this as well. I read the quote expecting to read something where Phillips insults older women's sexuality, and instead she says something like once you hit 40 "you're a lioness until the day you die." Hell, I'll take that. That sounds pretty hardcore and kickass. Maybe it sounds more insulting when you read her whole interview (I couldn't get to that page), but as it stands, it doesn't seem so dumb to me.

I finally read most of the interview and it still doesn't seem like a big deal. Bijou is just joking around and being silly. She also says in the same interview that she was a Hillary supporter and that she loves Michelle Obama. Funny how that wasn't mentioned in this post.

Frankly I'm way more irritated by Amy Benfer's assertion that everyone would think that Cameron Diaz is a hot catch. Oh really? Why is that? Cuz she's skinny, blonde, and famous?

A bit off topic, but:

I am no fan of Cameron Diaz's. It's not because she's skinny and blonde, but because she's basically famous for being skinny and blonde. She comes across as vapid and obnoxious, has no acting talent to speak of, and is a prominent player in romantic comedies, a movie genre that needs to die a painful death. Maybe I'm being unkind, maybe she's a lovely person in real life, but as an actress she holds absolutely no interest for me. She's just another skinny blonde that men go wild for and it does seem that most of her career and success have been built from her looks.

Thus, it totally irks me that on a feminist blog Cameron Diaz is held up as the pinnacle of a "great catch" as though it's a factual statement that nobody could disagree with. She's celebrated for her looks; why is she such a great catch? Isn't Broadsheet supposed to be beyond such superficial objectification of women?

to the lonewolf: your letter is uncalled for and a bit ridiculous. Is racism completely despicable? Well yes, of course. It's also often (not always, but often) the result of ignorance, poverty, and the lack of education. We should hope to reform and educate racists, not wish them painful, horrendous deaths from cancer. This is a young woman who's leaving behind two preschool age boys. There's nothing to celebrate here.

And yeah, I'll say it. As someone who was diagnosed with pre-cancerous lesions on my cervix, your letter pissed me off.

Well said. Thanks for being a voice of reason.

I swear this is like something from a Joe Heller novel. It's the absolute height of absurdity. I hope to God they don't label these kids sex offenders. That's a punishment that would last the duration of their lives, all for the crime of being idiot teenagers.

There have been many thoughtful letters in this forum which I can appreciate. However, the two by "lonewolfy" still just make me shake with fury, and I don't think it's solely b/c I've had personal dealings with a condition that could have developed into cervical cancer and may very well still do if I'm not careful (and I really haven't been that careful, seeing as how I have no health insurance at the moment.)

I think what makes me so angry at his (?) remarks is that by saying that compassion is only for those who "deserve" it, it seems as though the very foundation of social progressivism and liberalism is being distorted and violated. In my more idealistic youth (well I'm still pretty young, mid twenties, so I'm not all-knowing now) I always gravitated toward left wing politics because I thought its very philosophy was so beautiful--tolerance, acceptance, equality, and yes compassion--for everyone. Situations are not black and white, people are rarely solely "good" or "evil." Liberalism seemed to understand and embrace this. Racism is not to be applauded or even ignored no. We should work to stamp it out. But why would you not have compassion for the 50-year-old dirt poor, uneducated chicken farmer who consistently uses racist language (and most likely has no idea that he does so)? Would you celebrate his untimely death?

Even in more extreme cases, pedophilia for instance-- why would you not have compassion for a pedophile that suffers from a mental illness that few can comprehend or understand (hell, see Peter Lorre's performance in M)especially one that has no wish to harm anyone. Why would you not have compassion for the abused wife who murders her husband? None of these situations are ideal, but I would assume that liberals would seek to understand these people, where they're coming from, and do what they can to help them,educate them, reform them, or give them the justice that they deserve.

I guess what I'm saying is, that it just frustrates me to no end to see such disgusting, judgmental filth on a liberal website. And it reminds me that once again, nothing is perfect, not even the social and political philosophy that I embraced so fully in my teens and early adulthood.