Work: Ur Doin it Rong...

Via Antony Pranata @ Flickr. Women make up nearly half the U.S. workforce now. And yet, in the past week, I’ve encountered three instances of men instructing women on how to fit in, succeed, and avoid distracting menfolk at the office. The New York State Bar Association will hold its Annual Meeting...

Katie Roiphe and the Great Male Narcissi...

You’ve probably heard by now that Katie Roiphe wrote an essay for the New York Times in which she lamented the loss of virile sex writing as practiced by my favourite writers-I-hate, Updike, Roth and Mailer.  Her argument, such as it is, is that the “provocativeness” of their take on sex is aesthetically...

Bitches 1, Mansplainer, 0...

Gentle readers, I know I said I was leaving you for a whole three weeks, but I simply couldn’t head off to India without sharing this story with you. Plus it’s snowing–yes, snowing–here in London and I would rather cozy up to my sister’s laptop than go out again. Anyhoo…I...

Attention, Ladies! A Man is Here to Hel...

Yesterday a man was invited to share his perspective at Jezebel on why women should not complain about women getting hit, for no reason, by men.  The title he chose was, “Why is Snooki More Precious Than I Am?“  You can sort of imagine how it evolved from there. I don’t want to rehash...

Gender Studies for Kindergarteners (and ...

The Guardian recently published a list of feminist books for five-year-olds.  Being one of those feminists who wasn’t exactly trained from the cradle, this sort of thing doesn’t tend to catch my interest; it seems to me that children either will find their way to right-thinking or they won’t,...

CEFAD: Negging FAIL...

Gentle readers, today I had a Crap E-mail From A Dude exchange that just cries out to be shared. When I forwarded it to PhDork and Pilgrim Soul–who I saw right after my first date with this dude–the Dork asked, “Did someone throw a switch on the DoucheSignal?” The first date with...

Shut up, Gawker...

I’ve been too philosophical lately.  In life, I am sort of philosophical, but I also have, as you have sometimes seen, anger issues.  Serious, foulmouthed anger issues.  So let’s get some anger on the table.  Today, I am angry about people lacking fundamental reading/viewing comprehension...

More Women Slaughtered…Yawn....

Last night, George Sodini entered his fitness club outside Pittsburgh with two guns in a gym bag and a mission to kill women.  I would say “woman,” since his (currently unidentified) ex-girlfriend was among the wounded, but he didn’t go after her specifically.  Instead, he entered...

Hipster Dudes Self-Anoint as Arbiters of...

In high school I had this awesome English teacher who was broody and hated his students but forever marked my tastes by introducing me to e.e. cummings and Anne Michaels.  There was one student in the class who offended my teacher in particular by being not only not particularly bright but unusually...

Wrongo Dongo: A Legal Primer...

We here at Harpyness have been down on professional athletes recently. And no wonder; our judicial system–financed by our tax dollars, I should point out–has spent lot of time processing these morons, all of whom seem to feel that they can behave however the fuck they want, and then whine...

On Dicks (Specifically, Michael Lewis)...

Via aesop @ Flickr. Gentle readers, I’m afraid another literary crush of mine has come to an ignoble–and rather hideous–end. The object of said crush: author Michael Lewis, whose first book, Liar’s Poker, is one of my favorite non-fiction reads ever. No one writes about money...

Early to Bed and Early to Rise…mak...

My TV, come 11:35 pm. Via videocrab @ Flickr. I have a bad late-night TV habit.  I love to curl up on the couch with my Dude or the cats and watch funny people be funny (or not).  This is bad for two reasons:  1) it is, by definition, late, especially if I stay up to enjoy my TV boyfriend Craig Ferguson,and...