intellectual properties

i’m a flexifeminist

speaking of hyperbolic publications, i have been quoted over at Jezebel.com on the subject of flexisexuality:

As for the word “flexisexual” itself, it’s also not new, despite the Mail’s headline (“the new word for the women who refuse to play it straight”). If we want to get liberal with our definitions (flexilingual), blogger Amy LeBlanc wrote a post dropping “flexisexual” back in March 2004, using the word as a potential synonym for a metrosexual vegetarian who ate free-range and organic meat (“flexitarian”). More relevantly, our friend the Urban Dictionary lists several like-minded definitions of flexisexual dating back to March 2008, when an anonymous Noah Webster-type defined it as a “straight, heterosexual person who flirts with gay homosexual people. Usually seen at clubs, part of the hipster scene.” A few months later followed a new definition: “a girl that is bisexual only on weekends.” Finally, a third person chimed in with, “a person of flexible sexual orientation.”

the piece then goes on, predictably, to discuss how the term degrades women.

.::.

semi-related, on the subject of what i perceive as an issue with having feminism as a focus point for a revenue generating website, namely whether or not that sometimes taints your ability to stick to a positive “empowerment” message and not resort to making things up/exaggerating for hits: Feministing vs. Jezebel:

“Althouse wrongheadedly (in my opinion) insinuated that feminism and public displays of female sexuality are mutually exclusive (totally chauvinistic aside: Althouse ain’t a looker). Feministing thinks otherwise: Tits, ass, and sex are all part of womens’ lives, and as such, belong front and center on a blog about feminism, where the issues revolve around sex-specific topics, like reproductive rights, violence against women, and gender equality. By injecting sexual candor and a scintilla of humor, Feministing makes feminist issues palatable for those who might otherwise be turned off by the more radical approach…

…As a site devoted exclusively to feminist issues, I occasionally find that they strain to detect sexism in places where it may not necessarily exist … for the sake of adding material. When you’re life revolves around feminism, it’s easy to get myopic about it. Moreover, when something really gets stuck in their craw, the writers can occasionally (though arguably justifiably) lose their sense of humor…

That’s not the case with Jezebel. The feminist writers over on Jezebel have the opposite tendency: To sacrifice their message for the sake of a good quip.

i read both of these blogs, but i roll my eyes a lot.

Filed in blogging, culture and random linkage | Tagged with feministing, NaBloPoMo | Comment (0)