Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Sex Wars Catfight

Yesterday, my "Sex Wars" piece ran on the Daily Beast.

At Salon's Broadsheet, the always savvy Tracy Clark-Flory offered up her typically nuanced take.

"Women might be able to make out with another girl at the bar, get spanked, called dirty and demeaning names -- but those things are hardly transgressive in our (pornographic) sexual culture. Is it OK for them to want to spank and demean a man? Is it cool if they expect their boyfriend to perform oral sex, but don't return the favor? What about if she expects an orgasm every time but doesn't care a whit about giving them?"

At Jezebel, Megan Carpentier proffered her view on the subject with the grace of a felled wildebeest stumbling to its knees on the Serengeti floor.

"The patriarchy hurts men too. Damn, that just slipped out. Sorry, Susanna, I guess I just can't stop myself from caterwauling about it. It's so easy sometimes — but I guess you probably noticed that when you were writing your story."

In the end, Debauchette twittered the true insight of the night.

"Funny how jezebel discourages men from voicing rape fantasies, then chalks up their silence to the patriarchy. Jezebel: the new patriarchy."