"Implied consent" is a term that comes up a lot in discussions of sexual misconduct and female bodies.  For example, most recently a woman was judged to have implied consent for having her top pulled off by a man wielding a camera.  How did she imply this consent?  By being in a bar where signs were posted that a camera crew was filming.  

And if you watch the video, she implied consent by refusing to take her top off, saying "no," and turning away.

That's the thing about "implied consent."  It's ridiculous, and it's only ever trotted out to excuse the actions of someone who has misbehaved.  The thing about "implied consent" is that it is not consent.  Consent is when someone says "Yes you may do X."  Implied consent is when "Well I did X and then she complained that I hadn't asked her, but I could totally tell that she wanted it, so her short skirt implied consent."


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O'Reilly vs Rachel Maddow = No Contest

Bill O'Reilly thought / probably still thinks that he's in a league with Rachel Maddow and is capable of sparring with her. O'Reilly is a minor league player, who has bigger cable ratings, because he follows the FOX News formula of playing to the fears, prejudices and hates of the American fringe.

Ms Maddow, on her show last week, pointed out Fox News' role in promoting and distorting the Shirley Sherrod story. Fox News, observed Ms. Maddow, is different from other news organizations. "Just like the ACORN controversy, Fox knows they have a role in this dance. That's not new; that's not actually even interesting about this scandal. Fox does what Fox does."

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In 2005 a woman goes to a bar, planning to drink and party.  Turns out the "Girls Gone Wild" video team is there.  Signs are posted.  However, she refuses to sign the consent form.  If there is a more clear way to signal "I do not consent" than refusing to sign a consent form, I can't think of it.

As she's dancing, the video camera is moving through the crowd.  As she turns away from the camera, a hand reaches out from behind it and pulls off her shirt. 

She says "No no no no," pulls it back up, and turns away.  Again - that's a pretty clear sign of not giving consent.  Saying "no" and putting your top back on.  

But somehow she ends up on the Girls Gone Wild tape anyway.  And when she sues?  The jury finds in favor of Girls Gone Wild.


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Personal Lubricants Can HelpI was charmed by the film “Superbad” starring Jonah Hill and Michael Cera. Seriously, who doesn’t love movies about young virgins trying to get laid?  

At one point in “Superbad”, the characters of Seth and Evan are in the parking lot at the liquor store waiting for the much-loved McLovin’ to buy booze with his questionable fake id. As the two are talking, one busts out a bottle of lube and the other chucks it across the parking lot. His reasoning? Lube is only necessary for old ladies- not hot high school girls.

I beg to differ.


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Apparently a lot of people do!  But why?  The hysteria over the state of her hystera is perplexing to those of us who have little interest in the reproductive decisions of complete strangers.  The rumor mill has been churning overtime in Aniston's case, who has been reported to be pregnant by various random sources and tabloids for months now.

The first thing that's problematic about the constant Aniston pregnancy rumors is that most of them rely on visible confirmation.  In other words, the fabled "baby bump."  In an actress as greyhound thin as Jennifer Aniston, a large meal could end up looking like a baby bump, given the right sheer top and a fortuitous gust of wind.

Since when has it become acceptable to stare at someone's slightly-less-than-concave belly and proclaim her pregnant?  For pity's sake, people.  Get a grip!  And stop assuming that a half pound weight gain indicates pregnancy!


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Tomorrow, July 24, is the day everyone gets to sigh with collective relief because they don’t have to come up with new jokes to entertain people with. Okay, maybe those of us who aren’t comedians don’t really lose sleep over such things, but there is a joy in recycling old jokes, isn’t there?

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Bar Scene: Pick Up Artists at WorkOverheard recently in my hood:

“So, he was, like, what’s your favorite number? And I was like, 22 and he said, oh my God, that’s my favorite number, too!”

Wow, it must be true love. The same favorite number and everything. Time to move in together perhaps? Not quite.


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As much as I normally hate parody movies—they’re just usually not done very well, are they?—I am absolutely, irrevocably, utterly, and any other word Bella Swan might use describing Edward excited about this summer’s parody, Vampires Suck. It’s—you guessed it—a parody of the Twilight series, with a few other films thrown in, of course. You can view the trailer here.

I really wish I’d been consulted for this parody! We make parodying Twilight our business around this house; in fact, I might say that it’s one of our top five favorite forms of entertainment. So I’m hoping that they might use some of our favorite poking-fun-at-Bella-and-the-Cullens devices in the movie, such as…

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What an abysmal waste of Amy Adams, is all I can say.

I was really looking forward to this movie. I don’t know why; I guess after the string of highly enjoyable romantic comedies we had over the past couple of years (Definitely, Maybe, Penelope, PS I Love You, etc.) I was expecting, I don’t know; some sort of quality. And I absolutely adore Amy Adams—in everything from Enchanted to Doubt to Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day—so there was that factor of expectancy as well. (Spoilers ahead.)

But I should’ve known better. Didn’t I suffer through The Proposal, Valentine’s Day, and several other rom-com flops (well, flops in my opinion—many did very well at the box office) this year? Didn’t I already decide that 2010 was not going to be the year of the decent tearjerker, but of the banal, humorless waste of reel?

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Twilight Barbies- Bella and EdwardI am not a Barbie fan, nor a Twilight fan, but it doesn’t take a fan of either mega-franchise to realize that Twilight Barbies spell one thing: M-O-N-E-Y. So far, the two franchises have gotten together to create a Bella Swan Barbie and an Edward Cullen Barbie and a Jacob Barbie. To further capitalize on the Twilight franchise, Mattel is going to market Alice Cullen Barbies and evil Victoria Barbies as well.

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