Letter of the Week: The Banality of Feminism in All Permutations

ALEX WRITES:

I never really cared for Paglia. I thought her another feminist, and I guess these comments make it so.

When I read how she felt that a majority of men envied women’s reproductive ability—to have children—I scratched my head. I can’t remember the last time I felt the need to become pregnant.

I never liked Tom Cruise until his excellent performance of the contract killer, “Vincent,” in the terrific Collateral. His glib nihilism and ruthless zeal was conveyed with a subtle performance that some might miss. It was a refreshing and surprising turn from an actor who had given us such dreck as Top Gun and that awful, can’t-remember-its-name, Daytona movie.

Back to Paglia: how is the trumpeting of sex by Britney Spears and her ilk bad for the sex movement? Isn’t that what the sex movement is all about? And what’s with this mundane “pro-sex” ideal that she speaks of? Is she a libertine? Gross. [Related read: “On Sexual Bombast and Bliss“]

For another taste of the nasties, check out the posts from other feminists on the board, who are complaining and wailing that public crotch shots and nudity are, “Like, soooo tame, and like, get over it already—it’s HER body, after all.”

Wonder if the same thing could be said if a disgusting, overweight plumber was caught flashing his penis in public. Would the hip press be debating whether or not it was a career move, or would they state that he was a disgusting and disturbed man? Would these women come to his aid, because it was, “Like, HIS body, ‘after all’?”

—Alex