Getting Your Man Panties in a Bunch

This probably is a good example of why I'm not a "real" feminist.



I thought that was one of the funniest commercials of the Super Bowl.

Yup.

An old lady getting tackled in the mud had me damn near screaming with laughter. But it's Betty White and she's always been about the physical ("slap stick") comedy.

And then they tackled Abe Vigoda, too, so, you know what? Stuff it.

You should know I have something to say about that commercial. I'm not linking to it or posting it because they don't need any more publicity.

You might not know this about me because I've simmered down about it in the last few years, but I have always been (and am still) vehemently pro-choice. It is a hot-button issue for me and something I take very seriously.

To me abortion rights are a women's health issue and the fact that there are still people who believe abortion should be illegal are directly tampering with a woman's right to make her own decisions regarding her health care. You can tie the issue up in whatever kind of offensive, provocative language you want and drag whatever red herring arguments you want into it, but at the end of the day, what the issue comes down to is whether or not a woman can make her own decisions regarding her health care.

Which the woman in that commercial did do. Because she had a choice.

Can you even imagine the outcry if the restriction of choice went the other way, and she had been mandated to have a dilation & curettage procedure after the doctor declared the fetus she was carrying was not viable? Even if the doctor had been right, any woman should have the right to make that choice for herself.

I will share with you the Planned Parenthood rebuttal, which I think is awesome and speaks so strongly not just to the issue of choice but to the larger issue of trusting women to be able to make their own decisions regarding their health.



*whew*

I got off on a little tangent there.

What was up with all the underwear commercials?

I'm talking mainly about the "man up and put your man pants back on" commercials:





But, also, this one:



I mean, I know we Americans are both obsessed and repressed when it comes to sex and sexuality, but ohmygeez, really?

Also: totally it's time to get the fuck over this thing where we act like you have to act a certain way to "be a man" and that if you're not acting like that then you're a sissypants and wear a skirt. Or just plain no pants.

Let me throw this out there. I know I've got a fair handful of butch women and about four men who read on a regular basis, so riddle me this manly people:

Does it actually make you feel more manly to follow your girlie woman (or whomever) around while she has a good time but - oh, ho! - you've got a teensy portable television to watch the Big Game on?

So you're not really pussy whipped as long as you're still watching the game?

Help me out here.


*Clearly my larger issue is whenever anyone acts like I'm "inferior than" or "unable to" just because my package came with a vulva as a standard feature. I didn't trade my brains for the mascara, y'all. Really.