Killing Us Softly 3: Advertising’s Image of Women

Posted on October 16, 2012 by Sabina Becker

In light of the death of Amanda Todd, who was literally driven to her grave by her own image on the Internet, and the whole Reddit “creepshot” kerfuffle, it’s instructive to look how media imagery of the female body plays into the horrors we face every day. (It doesn’t do men any favors either, as it locks them into the role of the dominant victimizer, instead of an equal partner coexisting in peace and freedom. But how many straight men are raped and killed, or driven to madness, eating disorders, or suicide, as a result of this false image of them in advertising?)

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Posted in Fascism Without Swastikas, Filthy Stinking Rich, Good to Know, If You REALLY Care, Madvertising, Uppity Wimmin | Comments Off on Killing Us Softly 3: Advertising’s Image of Women

Anonymous tracks a predator

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Sabina Becker

Looks like they’ve found Amanda Todd’s tormentor:

Here’s the story, from MSN.ca:

The tragic story of B.C. teen suicide victim Amanda Todd has taken another bizarre twist as the internet hacking and activist group Anonymous has named a man the group says was the girl’s primary tormentor.

Todd, 15, of Port Coquitlam, died last Wednesday, a month after posting a haunting video on YouTube that cited the sexualized attack that set her down a path of anxiety, depression and drug and alcohol abuse.

During her nine-minute video, the teen explains in hand-written notes that she was in Grade 7 when she was lured by an unidentified male to expose her breasts via webcam.

She says that a year later she received a message from a man on Facebook threatening that if she didn’t give him a show, he would send the webcam picture to her friends and family. She says police later told her the man followed through with his threat.

Anonymous published the name and address of a Vancouver-area man that the group claims was bullying and preying on Todd via the internet.

The activist group, which often uses a caricature Guy Fawkes mask as its logo, claims the 32-year-old man has also made postings to child pornography sites.

So, he’s a kiddie pornographer. Big surprise there! Looks like he can join Michael Fucking Brutsch in ostracism and public contempt now. Let’s hope the justice system catches up to these guys soon, too. I have zero sympathy for either of them. Maybe, if more of these perverts were outed on the internet, instead of thriving in obscurity, cowardice and the abuse of anonymity, there’d be fewer teen suicides out there, and less misogyny, too. A girl can only hope…

PS: Looks like this is picking up steam. Vice is right on it, with a crackerjack story and a set of damning screenshots (we can haz more zoomage, pls?), while Jezebel’s analysis is also worth a read:

In light of Gawker’s exposure of notorious troll Violentacrez, and Katie’s article about CreepShot-posting creeps being called out, it feels like there’s steady momentum in the direction of increased intolerance of this specific brand of internet bullshit.

Maybe taking away the anonymity of these people won’t completely solve the problem, but perhaps it’ll slow things down, allowing would-be harassers to think twice. It likely won’t stop the real psychopaths, those hell-bent on being creeps, but it’ll probably encourage people who aren’t 100 percent devoted to being gross to put the brakes on. Plus, there is so much power in peers telling peers: “Hey, what you’re doing isn’t cool, so knock it the fuck off.” I’m guessing that’s our most effective weapon in bully culture, the ability of everyone on the sidelines to say, “Shut it down, weirdo!” Threatening to expose their asses is the internet equivalent of a badge of shame, but perhaps worse; trite as it is, you can’t take the internet off at the end of the day. Your name will always be out there, forever branded. Don’t believe me? Just Google “Michael Brutsch.”

Something tells me that Internet perverts and trolls are about to become as popular as Jerry Sandusky, and soon. Too late to help Amanda, sadly. But at least it is starting to look like she did not die in vain. I hope it brings her family some badly needed comfort to know that caring strangers are behind them, working to bring these cretins to justice…one way or another.

PPS: Here is a Pastebin link full of damning evidence indicating Kody Maxson as a likely suspect.

Meanwhile, the Vancouver Province reports (without naming Maxson):

On Monday night, a man who answered the door at the address listed by Anonymous said he doesn’t know anything about the online claims and doesn’t know the man the group identified.

“I’ve already been through this with the police,” he told The Province before shutting the door.

Neighbours said three single men live in the house. There are occasional loud parties, said one neighbour.

A man with a similar name was in Surrey provincial court earlier Monday on charges of sexual assault and sexual interference of a person under age 16 stemming from a separate incident in Surrey on Aug. 1.

The man told CTV News he was unfairly targeted by Anonymous. He said he was friends with Todd online, but did not bully her.

I call bullshit on what he says, for obvious reasons. What 32-year-old man is “friends” with a 15-year-old girl and doesn’t try to take advantage of her, or the unequal power dynamic of the whole situation? Any decent guy would not go seeking out girls that age at all. And remember, Amanda’s heartbreaking video said very specifically, “I have nobody. I need someone”. If this guy was actually her friend, wouldn’t he have helped her? If she had any friends left, she would not have killed herself. A very cynical attempt to cover his ass, that is.

And it stinks to high heaven.

PPPS: More interesting stuff, this contradicting the above. Vancouver 24 Hours reports:

A man with a similar name as the one published by Anonymous appeared in Surrey Provincial Court Tuesday on a charge each of sexual assault and sexual interference of a person under 16.

But there are several differences, such as a different age and name spelling. The man named by Anonymous is 32-years-old, while the man in court is 19. The former appears to use a shortened version of the latter’s name, though both share the same last name.

According to CTV, the 19-year-old knew Todd, but had already talked to police.

Not sure what to make of this.* But the same article also contains the following, rather reassuring news:

Apart from responding to speculation about the identified man, Mounties said investigators were distracted “for hours” dealing with a more disturbing rumour of the “supposed release of Amanda Todd’s autopsy photos.”

In a statement Tuesday, RCMP Sgt. Peter Thiessen said the allegation against the man was “unfounded” and no autopsy photos were ever leaked.

So no, Amanda is NOT on the odious “picsofdeadjailbait” forum at Reddit, the Anus of the Internet. Thank heaven for small mercies.

Meanwhile, the mother of the accused is now pointing the finger herself at the “lynch mob” that outed him. Guess she hasn’t seen all of what Anonymous has dug up and Vice has published.

But even if her son proves guilty as hell, I hope she and his family are NOT targeted for abuse, as they don’t deserve to be singled out. As always, it is the perpetrator alone who must bear responsibility for his own actions. (Unless, of course, he is the product of a bad upbringing, in which case all bets are off.)

And on that note, I’m signing off on this entry. Peace.

*According to the Toronto Star, he is indeed in his thirties, and NOT 19 as has been erroneously reported.

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Posted in Canadian Counterpunch, If You REALLY Care, Karma 1, Dogma 0, Law-Law Land, Schadenfreude, Sick Frickin' Bastards, The United States of Amnesia, Uppity Wimmin | Comments Off on Anonymous tracks a predator

A SupposiTory-to-English translation

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Sabina Becker

Since our politicians often don’t speak English, here’s a handy primer which I’m sure immigrants and refugees will particularly appreciate:

Via.

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Posted in Canadian Counterpunch, Fascism Without Swastikas, Found in Translation, If You REALLY Care, Isn't It Ironic?, Isn't That Racist?, Law-Law Land, Not So Compassionate Conservatism | Comments Off on A SupposiTory-to-English translation

Music for a Sunday: One for Felix Baumgartner

Posted on October 14, 2012 by Sabina Becker

Well, what would you play for a guy who just shattered a skydiving record or two?

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Wankers of the Week: Flippin’ the Big Bird

Posted on October 13, 2012 by Sabina Becker

big-bird-is-the-word.jpg

Crappy weekend, everyone! Has everyone got that bug that’s going around? It’s not the bird flu, it’s just the common cold, but holy shit, is it potent. I’m actually leaking pus from my eye sockets as we speak. And while we’re on the subject of mucopurulent discharges, how about these snotballs?

1. Mark Fucking Steyn. He’s mad as hell that Sesame Street has, supposedly, sanitized the concept of monsters and boogymen, so that kids aren’t afraid of either one anymore. So he hates Sesame Street, and he’s of course advocating for the privatization of public TV as a result. Well, Mark, I’m not so sure that people aren’t afraid of monsters or boogymen just because they watched Sesame Street as a kid. Every time I see your urghly little face, or hear you blatting batshit, I get queasy. And I’m afraid that even Herry Monster and Mr. Snuffleupagus can’t make that go away.

2. Vladimir Fucking Umanets. No, your signature will NEVER be worth more than the painting it defaces. At most, you are destined to be a footnote in the art-history books. Worse, your “yellowism” so-called concept has already been done (literally ad nauseam) before. And better, if by “better” we’re talking blue barf.

3. Joran Fucking Van der Sloot. Quite aside from the fact that he was allowed an unsupervised visit by a girlfriend (why???), there remain some very uncomfortable questions: Who the hell would want to sleep with him? Unprotected, yet? And, urgh: Are psycho-fuckers an actual thing, now?

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4. Dominique Fucking Strauss-Kahn. And while we’re on the subject of why-why-why, the biggest pervert in France now has a consulting firm. And apparently, there still exist a few women in some deep dark corner of the Universe who would not be averse to working with him, even knowing that they could easily be jumped and raped at any moment by a man who is apparently clueless about the meaning of non.

5. Deborah Fucking Needleman. Katie Fucking Roiphe is “sexy…smart [and] sassy”? Sorry, Debbie, but you’re fucking clueless. Thanks for inadvertently furnishing the funniest hashtag of the week, though.

6. Jerry Fucking Sandusky. In his heart, he knows he did not do “these alleged disgusting acts”, which happened to have been witnessed by third parties with nothing to gain, and a lot to lose, by reporting them. And, seeing as the accusations against him have been floating around since the 1990s, it’s kind of rich too that he claims he had no time to prepare for his day in court. What, too busy schtupping little boys? Jesus.

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7. David Fucking Siegel. Dude, shell out a few bucks for a dictionary. Learn the meaning of the word productive. It does not mean what you think it means. Truly productive people don’t live in a fugly wannabe Versailles. (It would also behoove you to remember how the last royal residents of the original palace ended up.) They don’t run crappy companies rated F by the BBB, dealing in timeshares that people get warned not to buy. (All timeshares are a scam anyway.) And most of all, they don’t plagiarize shitty chain e-mails telling their employees (who are the REAL producers, ahem) to vote Repugnican or the fucking sky will FALL FALL FALL! (Also, your interference with their right to vote? ILLEGAL.) You’re not “bailing out” anyone, and the Bush tax cuts were, in fact, YOUR bailout, paid far in advance. Time to give it back, because you didn’t earn that. You didn’t create jobs, you destroyed them just so you could live in your pretentious McPalace. In short…pay your taxes and STFU, you whiny, tyrannical, antidemocratic old douchebag. Taxes are just the price of living in a decent society, which is one not dictated by corporate owners and shareholders. And if Obama wins again, and you end up fucking off to the Caribbean, sucking down piña coladas per your threat, I hope you get a whole new exclusive strain of hepatitis from the ice. In any event, your business is one that doesn’t deserve to flourish. PS: A sex harasser? I never would have guessed. Bet you felt entitled to buy your son’s girlfriend for a cool million too, eh?

8. Scott Fucking DesJarlais. The only “good” abortion is YOUR abortion, eh, Dr. Teabagger? Or rather, your mistress’s. All life is sacred except when conceived in adultery. Oh, sorry — “open marriage”. (Note the quotes.)

9. Charlie Fucking Fuqua. If everyone killed their kids just for rebelling against them, this world would be utterly devoid of humanity. In more senses than one. Is there any better reason why there should NOT be a biblical basis for laws than an idiot who would push for one like this?

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10. Loy Fucking Mauch. The South will rise again! Er, no, it won’t. And it never will hold its head up as long as nutball idiots like this one are still talking about the “War of Northern Aggression” and claiming slavery was A-okay just because the Bible didn’t denounce it. Once again: This is why there should be NO biblically-based laws on the books. ANYWHERE.

11. Andrew Fucking Napolitano. Government regulation doesn’t cause meningitis outbreaks. But corporate “self-regulation”, i.e. failure to regulate a goddamned thing? That’s another story. And it’s one whose facts this FUX Snooze bozo can’t be bothered to get straight. Wonder how much the drug companies are paying him to spout that kind of lethal gibberish.

12. Roger Fucking Rivard. I have yet to meet a girl who “rapes so easy”, whatever that means. If it means “cries rape so easily”, it’s also untrue. A lot of girls try to put it out of their mind, pretending it didn’t happen. And they can make it through an entire unplanned pregnancy that way, too. The idea that they would “cry rape” to get back at the guy who impregnated them is ludicrous. And the idea that this silly warning makes a strong case against premarital sex is also ludicrous. Didn’t any of these old fogies ever talk before they got laid, and make sure that what was about to happen was intentional and consensual, and that their prospective partner was actually old enough to consent, not to mention at least breaking out a fucking condom? Jesus H. Christ, what a bunch of useless fuddy-duddies.

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13. Bill Fucking Skuby. No, of course it’s not racist to witch-doctor a photo of Barack Obama. Because you’d totally do that if the Democratic incumbent were a white guy…right?

14. Kirk Fucking Cameron. Dude. You’re not Jesus. No one is interested in crucifying you. All anyone ever did was call your homophobic bullshit by its right name. We’d all be quite content if you would only shut the fuck up, go the hell away, and never be seen or heard from again.

15. Jonathan Fucking Phelps. Once again, the case against biblical law is made…by yet another bigoted, racist, sexist, homophobic proponent.

16. Jon Fucking Hubbard. Someone who calls slavery a “blessing in disguise” has no business violating Godwin’s Law. Especially since slavery was a leading feature in Hitler’s concentration camps.

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17. Rick Fucking Santorum. Oh noes, human rights will “disintegrate” society. Yeah, sure…if by “society” you mean bigotry, sexism and a fucked-up political system where corporations and fetuses enjoy more rights than actual, born human beings.

18. Rob Fucking McKenna. His opponent is gonna whop-whop-whop him Gangnam Style. PS: You’re supposed to do that horsey-riding dance with your legs apart, doofus. Nobody rides sidesaddle anymore!

19. Terry Fucking Jones. He tried to bring his book-burning hate into Canada this week. DENIED! Thank you, border patrol agents. More of the same, please.

20. John Fucking McKay. Fetal personhood is not “innocuous”, nor does it fill any legal vacuum. If a fetus is a person from the moment of conception, we would all be celebrating the day our parents had sex, not the day we were born. Oops! Looks like I just poked a huge vacuum in your specious legal argument. (And to think you call yourself a Liberal. It is to laugh.)

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21. Abigail Fucking Fisher. If your crusade against affirmative action is really legit, dear, and it’s really all about how “everyone will be able to get into any school that they want no matter what race they are but solely based on their merit and if they work hard for it,” shouldn’t you yourself have worked harder, too? Like, at improving your SAT scores, for one thing? Because that’s what got you denied admission in the first place — remember?

22. Courtney Fucking Stodden. OMFG SHE’S NOT RILL! Sky falling. Film at 11!

23. Sarah Fucking Palin. First she chases the media until they give her some token attention, then she accuses them of bias against her. Hello, is there an echo in the room? Why yes, there is! She’s only done this about a hundred thousand times. Sarah, stop waving those tinfoil pom-poms. If you don’t want media attention, then just sit down and shut up!

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24. Michael Fucking Brutsch. Speaking of attention-whores who can’t take it when the hard spotlight of truth hits them square in the eyes, how about him? Reddit’s ugliest troll has been exposed, and he was in thick with the admins. And now he’s whining about how he was “betrayed”. Yeah, Reddit, great job protecting his “freedom of speech”. It makes people who actually care about silly things like common courtesy, decency, and integrity want to stay the fuck away from your fucking site, which is fast becoming the anus of the Internet, and not its “front page”, as you call it. Tolerance for trolls will only lead to troll-shit everywhere. Ever thought of that? And yeah, smooth move barring Gawker from linking to you. How embarrassing it must be to know that Adrian Chen is the good guy here. He used his freedom of speech to denounce what is obviously an abuse of the whole concept, facilitated by shitty moderation and administration, and a general rot at the heart of Internet corporate culture. In short: Fuck you, Reddit.

25. Alison Fucking Redford. If you’re really serious about getting to the bottom of the E. coli outbreak at XL Foods, one might think that a public inquiry would be a good way of going about that. Not so Alberta’s lovely Conservative premier, who apparently thinks that’s not the government’s job, and that it’s better just to “learn from it”. Learn what? That Conservative premiers are do-nothing buck-passers who can’t be called upon to act in the public interest, which is what they were presumably elected to do. What else?

26. Jerry Fucking Eller. Lie about the nonexistent dangers of same-sex marriage to create “chaos and doubt” in voters’ minds. What could possibly go wrong? Oh yeah: The truth emerging, and your bullshit campaign backfiring.

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27. Mark Fucking O’Mara. Yeah, sure, racism played no part in George Zimmerman’s assault and murder of Trayvon Martin. We’ll just pretend the words “fucking coon” were never uttered while Zimmerman was on the phone with the 911 dispatcher, and that he didn’t go running after the kid in spite of explicit orders not to do so. See? No racism. Therefore no murder. Therefore, acquittal. Easy peasy.

28. Clifford Fucking Russell. How pro-life is he? Well, he wants to execute all the “illegitimate families on welfare” and forcibly adopt out their children to God only knows who. Charming, eh?

29. Wyclef Fucking Jean. “Pay yourself first” applies to regular, for-profit businesses. NOT charities. No surprise, then, that Haitians saw little to nothing of help from the guy who made such a big deal about being one of them. It’s safe to say that he isn’t anymore. When you get too busy flying celebrity endorsers in on private jets, it stands to reason that you have no time — or MONEY — left for the Little People.

30. The Fucking Nobel Peace Prize Committee. How they could award the prize to Europe, when the place is in a monetary crisis and people are committing suicide in Greece, rioting in Spain, raping in France, and flooding Germany with job-seekers, is beyond me. Anyway, a paltry million or two won’t fix that, so STFU, David Fucking Frum.

And finally, to this dude right here:

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Uh oh, somebody forgot to add the swastika armband. Grievous oversight on the part of the Mittens/Munster campaign merch salespeople!

Good night, and get fucked!

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Festive Left Friday Blogging: Who’s got numbers to kill for?

Posted on October 12, 2012 by Sabina Becker

Riddle me this: Who’s got approval ratings that either one of the US presidential candidates would kill for?

Give up yet?

It’s this guy:

And here’s the story, from Contrainjerencia:

The Bolivian president, Evo Morales, has a 64.2% approval rating, according to a poll published by several media outlets in that country on the 30th anniversary of the interruption of democracy in Bolivia.

The results of the Study on Political Culture and Democracy in Bolivia, Americas Barometer 2012 of the Latin America Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) reflect the fact that the Bolivian head of state has the support of the majority, which considers his leadership very good since he arrived at Palacio Quemado in early 2006.

The study, which was conducted by Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, found that 52.4 percent of the population believes that the government protects and promotes the rights of indigenous peoples.

The same study also reports that 47.8 percent consider that Morales succeeds in the politics of the protection of Pachamama, or Mother Earth. Also, 45% of respondents view the president’s economic leadership favorably.

48 percent of Bolivians support the work of the Plurinational Legislative Assembly and the Electoral Commission of Bolivia.

In the anti-drug fight, only 37.5 percent consider the government’s leadership effective, despite its battle against illegal coca plantations throughout the country.

Ever since Morales took power, and following the country’s exit from co-operation with the US DEA, the government has logged record figures in the destruction of illegal coca plantations, and in the confiscation of narcotics. In the first months of 2012, the Bolivian Special Forces against narcotrafficking have confiscated more than 460 tonnes of drugs. Eight percent of this was cocaine in various forms, including hydrochloride and base paste. The rest was marijuana.

Thanks to the launching of the state-run Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos, re-founded as part of the nationalization of hydrocarbon resources, controlled single-digit inflation is one of the successes of Morales’s monetary policy.

The finest political moment for Morales, including the time he led the coca-growers’ unions in the Chaparé during the 1980s, is the strong growth of the GDP, from $9 billion US in 2005, to nearly $26 billion US in 2011.

Translation mine.

Heavens. If I were His Barackness — or Mittens, for that matter — I’d be putting out feelers toward Evo, and finding out how he does all that. Just 30 years ago, Bolivia was a miserable dictatorship, and just 10 years ago, it was a weak, poor, and unstable democracy, riddled with corruption, drugs and debt. Now it’s well on its way to showing the US a thing or two on how to reconcile regional differences, fight drugs and corruption, and kick up the economy. Not to mention rewriting its constitution to better serve the people and the planet, instead of permitting it to go on being abused by big capitalist interests.

It’s still very much a work in progress, but at least Bolivia is moving forward. I’m not at all sure about the direction of the United States of Amnesia, though.

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Posted in All About Evo, Economics for Dummies, Environmentally Ill, Festive Left Friday Blogging, Obamarama!, The United States of Amnesia | 2 Comments

Quotable: Isabel Allende on writing

Posted on October 12, 2012 by Sabina Becker

Translation: “Writing is like making love. Don’t worry about the orgasm, concern yourself with the process.”

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Yeah, yeah, Slutever. Now fuck off.

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Sabina Becker

Urgh. What have we here? Bad sex advice on an ostensibly feminist news site? Oh Jezebel, what have you sunk to?

People — women in particular — really need to get over the “is this degrading?” thing. If you have to stop and think about whether something is degrading or not, then it probably isn’t. I understand there are complex emotions involved in sex, so everything isn’t always black and white, but I also think that sometimes girls’ brains become so clouded by bullshit “feminist” ideals — “thou shall not be treated like an object,” “thou shall always be offended by men’s pervy remarks” (as if we are not equally adept at dismissing them, and dishing them out) — that we spoil our own fun. Don’t take yourself so seriously. In the midst of doing something you want and enjoy, why stop and think, “Wait, should I be getting off on this less and feeling exploited more?” It’s pointless.

Or how about this?

In my experience, guys are generally more open to new concepts, and trying out new things, when you have their dick in your mouth. (This is because fellatio slows their brain down to a point of temporary retardation, which means their guard is down.) This is why mid-BJ is a great time to bring up things like, “Are we official?” or “Can I please borrow your car and $700?”

So, while you’re sucking, start playing with his balls and then slowly move moving your fingers back in the desired direction. Be conscious of how he’s responding to your touch. If he flinches as soon as you start poking around in that area, that’s not a good sign, but don’t give up hope just yet. Wait a minute or so, then do something fancy with your tongue to distract him and try again, rubbing lightly around the outside of the hole, as not to scare it. It might take a while to “feel out” (lol) if he’s going to be down for butt stuff, but even if your first attempt is a total failure, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s never going to happen. Maybe it just wasn’t the right time, ya know? (To be honest, even if you’re someone who’s generally into anal, sometimes you just don’t want someone back there, like if you have to go to the bathroom or if you’re hemorrhoid is acting up or whatever.) Basically, never give up and remember that with a little perseverance you can do anything you put your mind to, Susie!

Ugh. That sucked. (Pun fully intended.)

But(t), fortunately, the commenters at Jezebel called that hipster-sexist shit out. As did Meghan Murphy and the commenters on her excellent article. So I won’t duplicate their good work. Instead, I’ll dedicate a few words to Karley Sciortino, alias Slutever, the giver of this craptacularly dim-witted advice.

First off, how about that nom de plume: Slutever. As in blah, blah, whatever. This makes perfect sense when you consider what the original, nonsexual meaning of slut was: “A slatternly or slovenly woman”, according to one old dictionary of mine. In other words, a female slob. Someone who can’t be bothered to think through her responses any more than she wants to bother analyzing her sexual shenanigans, or even use archaisms like “thou shalt” correctly. Someone who not only leaves her turdnuggets of Teh Stoopid lying out in the open, but doesn’t care if they grow stringy green fur for the winter.

Meanwhile, everyone else is holding their noses and trying not to gag at the stench. Sex is not “the real world”, with no real-world consequences or political implications? You’re not supposed to ask a guy if he wants a finger up his butt before you go ahead and try it — just surprise him in mid-oral, and keep trying even if he’s all no, no, no? What kind of woman utters (or believes) such bullshit?

I don’t know about you, kiddies, but to me, Ms. Sciortino sounds an awful lot like a female chauvinist pig. If you doubt me, just try a little switcheroo on the genders and pronouns. Pretend she’s a guy, advising a man not to bother analyzing his sex life from a (straw-)feminist “bullshit” perspective, or telling another dude to stick his fingers into his girlfriend’s vagina (or anus) in mid-oral without first finding out if she really wants that. And to just try, try again, even if she’s all no, no, no.

Sounds awfully sexist all of a sudden, doesn’t it?

That’s because it is. She’s basically telling women to submit unreflectingly to “whatever feels good”, and also to digitally rape a guy’s butt. In every instance, she is telling us to stop using our pretty little heads. (Or our pretty big ones, rather.)

We would never take this kind of advice from a man, and we would be rightly outraged if we heard a man giving it to other men. So why take it lying down when it’s coming from a woman? Since when is it “empowering” to either play into a pornographically constructed fantasy world (according to some unenlightened men, anyhow), or to turn around and apply the same dubious principles from that world, but with genders ever-so-hiply and “ironically” reversed?

Look: there is nothing empowering about not-thinking-things-through, or not-asking-in-advance. And just proceeding without reflecting is more often awkward than hot. But thinking and talking about sex with your partner? Making sure you’re both clear on what you want and why you want it, and being determined to give one another that, in safety and comfort, with full and enthusiastic consent? Hotter than Hades.

And empowering and lovely, too.

But hey….Slutever. If you don’t care about your readers’ well-being enough to give them sex advice worth taking, you shouldn’t be surprised if nobody cares about YOU, either. Nor should you be too surprised if your fifteen minutes of fame-whoring saloperie end rather sooner than you’d expected, and with a loud chorus of boos and fuck-offs. Now how ironic would THAT be?

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Posted in Isn't It Ironic?, Morticia! You Spoke French!, Stupid Sex Tricks, Uppity Wimmin | 4 Comments

Quotable: Dietrich Bonhoeffer on social justice

Posted on October 8, 2012 by Sabina Becker

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Music for a Sunday: The night of the Sun

Posted on October 7, 2012 by Sabina Becker

Hamilton’s working-class heroes, paying tribute to another. I figured this was only fitting, in light of who’s going to win the elections in Venezuela today. ¡Viva Chávez!

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Posted in Canadian Counterpunch, Huguito Chavecito, Music for a Sunday | 2 Comments