Question 4:
Most of you have commented on some of the public resistance you've encountered in writing about sex. Have you also received flack in your private lives, and have all the sacrifices been worth it?
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I didn't weigh in on the brief flurry from
Daphne and
Betty
about whether it's "incorrect" to like the movie Pretty
Woman since I've weighed in on it before. But
Susie's comments
about the sometimes brutal rejection she's faced made me want to say it
again.
I have a lot of minor complaints about the movie, but the one that sticks in my craw and never fails to upset me is when Richard Gere defends himself by telling Julia Roberts, "I never treated you like a whore." He's a good guy, a Prince Charming, because he treats a woman like a woman, a person like a person (sort of, if you ask me). But how would he defend himself against the charge of treating hookers badly? Easy -- he doesn't have to defend against that. It is so telling about our fear of prostitutes, the cultural belief that they are less than human, deserve less respect and protection, and can be treated differently. I don't know if anyone has seen Deconstructing Harry yet -- which I think condemns, rather than defends, misogyny and misanthropy -- but the one sane, healthy, happy person in the movie is the prostitute. She likes her work ("It sure beats waitressing") and is good at her job and doesn't apologize or mold herself to fit others' expectations. Refreshing! But somehow Pretty Woman is supposed to be about empowering women and Deconstructing Harry is sexist. How we treat prostitutes is how we treat all women. |
Question 1 Susie Bright Betty Dodson Nancy Friday Daphne Merkin Sallie Tisdale Question 2 Susie Bright Betty Dodson Nancy Friday Daphne Merkin Sallie Tisdale Question 3 Susie Bright Betty Dodson Nancy Friday Daphne Merkin Sallie Tisdale Question 4 Susie Bright Betty Dodson Nancy Friday Daphne Merkin Sallie Tisdale Question 5 Susie Bright Betty Dodson Nancy Friday Daphne Merkin Sallie Tisdale Question 6 Susie Bright Betty Dodson Nancy Friday Daphne Merkin Sallie Tisdale |
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