British Feminism Is Totally Effed, Says UK Observer

The Guardian's Sunday magazine, the Observer, devoted almost every article this past weekend to the state of feminism in Britain, and the picture they paint is pretty bleak. The lead essay, by 39-year-old Rachel Cooke, claims that the gains made by earlier feminists are quickly losing ground. "Are we going backwards? Are we not waving but drowning? Yes, in a word," Cooke writes.

Washington Post Magazine Runs Livejournal-y Cover Story By Unemployed Male Blogger. So Where's The Sultry Photo Shoot?

Because one can never get one's fill of first-person newspaper Sunday magazine stories by unemployed people in which nothing much happens, I read a cover story in the Washington Post Magazine called "Terminated," wherein a man named T.M. Shine — and, you will be shocked to learn, he blogs! — gets laid off from his job and watches life collapse into a long malaisey mope-rock montage involving blueberry pancakes, paperwork, tear-inducing episodes of Extreme Makeover, and feeling like a john while meeting his old office manager in an abandoned Krispy Kreme parking lot to pick up the possessions the corporate overlords wouldn't give him time to pack. Unlike Emily Gould, Shine is not pictured in revealing loungewear, or at all. We learn he is: "a little older than Prince and not nearly as old as Jerry Seinfeld." We also learn that Laura, the office manager, is concerned his age/looks make him somehow unappetizing as a prospective hire. More »

Dear Rupert: If This Is Your Idea Of Appealing To Women…

Change is afoot at the Wall Street Journal: the storied newspaper (and my former employer) has launched a site for women that aims to draw in more readers from the sex that shops. Perhaps surprisingly, I'm not actually sure how I feel about this. On one hand, it's kind of genius that there is now a place for blog digressions on how the fuck that recently profiled Lehman Brothers executive manages due diligence in those stripper-height stilettos. On the other hand, pairing a week-old story about "curbing mindless eating" with a pic of Hillary Clinton is probably the type of cheap traffic driver that would offend me if I weren't lacking that reflex. And on that note, here's an amusing screengrab from today's Wall Street Journal I thought I would share with my women readers. More »

WowOWow is like Jezebel for women who actually know what a literal douchebag looks like. And it can be kinda infuriating! One post today is an elegy to the "ladykiller." ("Most lacked money, status, stability and looks. Italian poet and adventurer Gabriele D'Annunzio, the celebrated 'Don Juan' of the fin de siecle, was short, 'ugly' and usually poor, but the queenpins of Europe fainted at his feet.") Um, we are pretty sure those dudes still roam the earth. Then there is this thing about how Hillary Clinton reminds the author of this one time she got dumped for a less-intelligent young thing and she couldn't let it go and spent the next five years writing "articles, nominally on other topics, but really about him and the way he dumped me." Um, and this pertains to Hillary... ah whatever. I figure if I can't think of a good way to piss you guys off today, you might as well check them out. [WoWoW]

Heather "Dooce" Armstrong Makes Kathie Lee Uncomfortable

Talk about ice queens on the Today show: This morning, Heather B. Armstrong met with Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford to talk about her award-winning, groundbreaking blog Dooce — is it just me or doesn't it seem a bit unfair to call it a "Mom Blog"? — and sat on the couch with her arms crossed the entire time, looking cold. (In temperature, not in spirit.) Maybe she was simply preparing herself for Kathie Lee's line of questioning. About three minutes into the interview, Kathie Lee admitted that she has "mixed emotions" about Armstrong's chosen line of work, then quickly changed the subject to tease the show's next segment about home decorating. Clip above. More »

New Canadian Dudeblogger Seems To Hate Dudes Just As Much As We Do

Edward Keenan writes a new blog called "Act Like A Man." He is one of those guys who feels superior to all the meatheads and misogynists and Maxim and insouciant unemployed selfish stoner types and psychotic hyperassholes modern masculinity comprises these days but he doesn't really derive much satisfaction from feeling superior so he's chosen to attack the problem with a blog aimed at deconstructing the various symptoms of this societal cancer and redefining manhood. (Pick-up artists, the bros before hoesism, etc.) It all started sarcastically, before he sort of swore off sarcasm, with Don Corleone-inspired column he wrote called Ask An Angry Man to a fictional emo depressive dude:

My advice to you, Deep Funk, is the same as The Don's — you could act like a man! I'm gonna write a self-help book for all the people like you who are always coming crying to me — "Oh, Angry Man, my parents were mean to me and now I'm screwed up." "Oh, Angry Man, I'm depressed and I can't leave the house." "Oh, Angry Man, I'm addicted to heroin and I can't stop taking it." "Oh, Angry Man, I started a war in Iraq and now everyone knows I'm evil."

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Atehay Uckfays...

"I tend not to date liberals, for a reason. Politics is so important to what I do and I follow it so much. I can't respect a guy who's liberal all that much because it makes me question his intelligence. So, that's a big minus because I'm thinking how smart can this guy be if he thinks John Kerry is a great politician? If he thinks Barack Obama would be a great President, I think, gee, how bright could this guy be?" That's conservababelogger Cassy Fiano, and there are five more eligible conservative bloggers dishing on dating and sex (Women hate men too much! Don't see movies!) if you click her pic. It's all thanks to the latest installment of Right Wing News's deep dive into the world of GOP pussy. And don't be too dissuaded! Some of them do date liberals, they just "convert" them... More »

Claudia Kishi Of The Baby-Sitters Club: My First Fashion Muse

Someone named Kim has founded a blog analyzing the outfits of Claudia Kishi of the Baby-Sitters Club. Every single post is stirring these long-dormant emotions. Emotions that formed the basis of my very identity. Seriously, Claudia...where to begin? She was Japanese-American. She was only 12, but her awesome ensembles made her look at least fifteen. Claudia was wacky, unfiltered, studied and deliberate and sophisticated and truly outrageous all at once. Claudia was Harajuku before Harajuku; ahead of her time. Leggings! Feathers! Beads! Boots! I am glad Claudia was in middle school when I was eight, out of the age range of working at American Apparel. Claudia was a free spirit. Once Claudia was shown up by Stacey's friend Laine, who lived in Manhattan and dressed all in black. Laine looked at least nineteen. But Laine was sad, there was something tragic and vulnerable in all her snotty minimalism; Claudia possessed the carefree Whatthefuckery of the suburbs. I was never a Claudia girl; in fact, most of my post adolescent life has been about rejecting Claudia's sort of zany excess. As a kid I fancied myself more of a Dawn, actually. Remember when Claudia helped Dawn get dressed when they went on that Disney Cruise in the first Super Special? You will... More »

Disgraced Glamour dating blogger Mike Cherico is back in the news. He is looking for an agent to sell a book "about the rise and fall of a dating blogger." Because, not to rile up the simile pedantocracy, but being a shithead to girls and writing about it on the internet really is sort of like the Third Reich of our age. If you missed the saga, you can read the testimonial of the woman who blew the whistle on Cherico's genocidally bad manners here. (Fun fact: she scored 1500 on her SATs!) Cherico's predecessor, Alyssa Shelasky had this to say about him: "I think we had one proper date. It consisted of him drinking 15 margaritas and me paying the bill." Cherico has been replaced at Glamour by a coalition government of one male and one female blogger. Please read their efforts so we don't have to. [NY Times]

New Glamour Blogger Amanda Carpenter Is Totes Hasselbeck 2.0

We totally missed the launch of Glamour's awesome political blog "Glamocracy" a few days ago, which is actually okay since I really needed to post something and I'm glad it doesn't have to involve constructing a more complex thought than "yay hate!" You see, they have a multitude of bloggers at Glamocracy, among them a Latina, a black...and a red-haired Hasselbeck! Her name is Amanda Carpenter, and she is not a fan of the poors:

Gains among the Gennifer Flowers set aren't surprising—Hillary has doggedly pitched programs (which are obviously unappealing to a conservative like me) such as universal healthcare, universal paid leave, and even $5,000 "baby bonds" to rally the low-income, uneducated women she enjoys strong support from. Her campaign even has a special name for them: "women with needs." Labels like this make me think Hillary is the woman in "need". As in, she "needs" taxpayer money to give to the women she "needs" votes from.

Oh, is that how that works? Too bad she never learned from your party how not to be so beholden. More »

Is John McCain's Daughter Beholden To Special Interests Supplying Her Ugly Boots?

John McCain's daughter has a campaign trail blog we've been scouring, and the most salient thing characteristic is "Boy is she blonde!" (Also: what's with the purple suit on her mom? Why do people in Phoenix always seem to be the ones keeping Dallas-era fashion alive?) Anyway, Meghan McCain's blog is mostly unmockably anemic, right down to a Jeff Buckley/Dandy Warhols/Kanye West iPod playlist that can only be described as NOW That's What I Call Music They Play At Retail Outlets! But one thing was kinda bothersome: she can't quit it with the product placements in the captions! "Top by Elie Tahari," says one. "T-shirt by Viva La Glam." "Boots by Giuseppe Zanotti," adds another. And we're gonna skip over the obvious joke for a minute — which is to say, the fact that you could give a fuck where she got those fugly boots and by the way, those headbands are so over already — and wax a little earnest for two seconds. More »

Where Have All The Pregnant 'Glamour' Girls Gone?

First, the good news: Glamour editor and leukemia survivor Erin Zammett Ruddy, who pens the magazine's "Life With Cancer" blog, just got her latest tests back and is reporting she has made it through her nine months of pregnancy cancer-free, sans drugs. Mazel tov! We are all very, very happy for her. But we're worried too. Because not only is Erin due any day now, the magazine's other knocked-up vagina monoblogger, Storked!'s Christine Coppa, is about to pop out a wee one as well. And if 2 out of 2 the magazine's pregnancy bloggers are no longer pregnant, what will all the Glamour-reading bump-fetishists do with their energies now? Read Suze On Style? Maybe Glamour will just hire new bloggers who are in the family way. (Perhaps they can outsource the job to poor Indian women!) Or maybe editorial assistants will clamor to see who can get knocked up "by accident" first, since, clearly, it seems like the fastest way to a promotion around there! More »

'Glamour' Magazine's Gyrating Seeds And Edgy Exes

The lives of the internet's vagina monobloggers are nothing if not hectic and emotionally-charged — sometimes too hectic for any of us to keep track of. That's why Intern Cheryl does it for us. In this edition of Vagina Monoblogs, Glamour's Storked! blogger Christine Coppa learns about the dangers of being pregnant in a pool, and Edgy English Teacher learns the dangers of allowing "The one that got away" to illustrate why, exactly, she got away in the comments section of one's own dating blog...

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In Which We Give Christine Coppa Our Seat On The Subway And Immediately Regret It

Glamour's defunct dating blogger Alyssa Shelasky moved in with her parents. Now Glamour's new preggo blogger Christine Coppa is moving in with hers too! What's the difference? Christine's having a BABY. Alyssa was more like a 29-year-old BABY herself! See how one's a little more worthy of mockery than the other? Also, we can sort of relate. Sometimes we imagine what it would be like to have a baby without another person with a better credit score to help out, and we think: well, obviously we would be pretty fucked. Sure, we'd save a lot of money not drinking for nine months, but between you and us we haven't heard great things about the Gawker Media maternity leave policy. Anyway, there are a few other reasons we're still having trouble getting it up to hate Coppa. Namely her father, "Poppa Coppa" (pictured), and the fact that she relishes buying condoms while she's as big as a house, and the fact that her posts don't even approach Shelasky standards of suck. However. More »

Why Are Mike Cherico's Feet Prettier Than Ours?

Because the new Glamour dating blogger (also known as 'Edgy English Teacher') got a pedicure! His mother made him do it. But he's conflicted. "Am I too metrosexualphobic?" Well, maybe kinda? Replies former Glamour dating blogger (and onetime Cherico fuckbuddy) Alyssa Shelasky in the comments:

Cute that you went w/ you mom. BUT I'd never date a guy who got pedis. That's what I'd call a major ITO (Instant Turn Off). But love you anyways.

Aw. We're so glad that Alyssa, who gave birth to this blog and is its rightful mother, is allowed to stay on and nurture metro Mike. It's almost like he has two mommies! After the jump, a picture we took of our feet, to represent, you know, the imagined" before" shot. More »

Meet Mike, 'Glamour''s New Alyssa. Please Find Us A New Word For 'Douchebag'?

Meet Glamour's new Alyssa Shelasky. (He used to bone Alyssa Shelasky!) Mike Cherico — aka 'Edgy English Teacher' — has not only taken over blogging responsibilities for Alyssa but he is soooo bummed right now because he watched The Break-Up last night just after — what is it summer or something? — enduring a break-up with the exotic beauty pictured here!

Jennifer looks great, Vince, not so much. Am I destined to look like Vince while she gets off looking like Jen?

Um, judging from his April post about their relationship Mike's being a little optimistic! More »

Will 'Redbook' Blogger Trade Anal For Home Furnishings?

We've heard Redbook Magazine is trying to reach out to younger readers. In a development that has succeeded in wooing at least one of those, they have replaced their last blogger, "Sex And The Single Mom"'s Emily Listfield, with the real-but-anonymous "Jane," who is married but, er, just ever-so-slightly more forthcoming about her bedside manner. As she herself points out, "all the wine, Pilates, and little bits of Xanax I scrounge from my friends cannot free me from my stress like a big O can." Don't we know how it is! But she's not hopping into everything: More »

Moe's Date With 'Jane' Magazine's Virginal Dating Blogger Sarah DiMuro

Last Thursday I had a date with Sarah DiMuro, the 30 year old virgin-on-hiatus from her role as the Jane Magazine 30 year old virgin. We didn't have sex, though she gave me a hug (I think I initiated it) but she's not the kind of girl you really want to hug, not because she isn't warm and genuine, but because she's really fucking skinny — like, sub-100 pounds skinny, and I didn't want to break her with any help from my tremendous heft. Of course, she's also one of those skinny people who will make the flagrantly-false statement "But I'm the same size as you you!", which is the sort of assertion so absurd that anorexics know not to make it. So I'm going with "naturally thin." More »

'Glamour' Editors To Vapid Starfucking Dating Blogger Alyssa Shelasky: One Of These Days Some Dude Is Going To Call Your Starfucking Ass Out On How Vapid It Is... Oh Fuck It Already

We're not sure what's wrong with Alyssa Shelasky's love life since she stopped actually writing about it, but the editors of Glamour sure seem to have some ideas! Last week, Glamour enlisted Alyssa to present the three leading guy candidates to replace longtime dating columnist "Jake" to present them with a challenge that would offer readers a window into the respective prospective Jakes', uh... problem solving skills? Understanding of the Human Condition? Whatev. More »

Vagina Monoblogs: Examining The Mystery Of Alyssa Shelasky's Breakup With The One Guy She Respected Enough Not To Bestow A Gay Nickname Upon

Alyssa Shelasky has just announced on her blog that she has inexplicably broken up with her boyfriend of a month and a half (and she's making a valiant effort not to equate it with the Virginia Tech tragedy!). In light of this surprising romantic development, and Alyssa's unsatisfying lack of explanation for it ("It didn't work out") we've come up with a few theories as to why things went south. More »

Vagina Monoblogs: Mel B (Not The Spice Girl!) Abdicates Post, Alyssa Shelasky Remains Inimitably Alyssacentric

Melanie Boyer is mysteriously leaving after two years as the dating blogger for Washington City Paper, which made us vaguely sad, since even though she never writes anything obnoxious/unself-aware enough for us to feel compelled to blog about, we actually just sort of enjoyed reading it for pleasure. Until we asked someone we knew in Washington if they knew anything about it, and got the terse response: More »

Vagina Monoblogs: Alyssa Shelasky Reveals That Glamour Dating Blog Is Part Of A Larger, Malevolent Plan

When retired US scribe Alyssa Shelasky took a gig blogging about dating for the Glamour website last summer, we sort of thought we understood what everyone was getting at: Conde Nast needed to beef up the "content" on its magazines' websites so as to continue deluding themselves that women's magazines remain relevant in the 21st century, and Alyssa, a tiny, self-centered, nomadic er, princess type with a few dozen publicist friends to keep her prose laden with product placements, had a relatively eventful — which is to say, pretty meaningless! — love life she was all too happy to share with readers. More »

Vagina Monoblogs: Real Estate Mogul Alyssa Shelasky Moves In With Parents

• Virgin Chronicler Sarah DiMuro's BFF thinks Cute Blond May Be 'The One.' Which means: 1. Her blog is about to become even more boring than Alyssacentric 2. She will get laid in time for....the Beijing Olympics?

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Vagina Monoblogs: Alyssa Shelasky Not Only A Bad Writer, She Also Has Bad Taste In Writing!

• Alyssa Shelasky, to whom we will heretofore refer as Real Estate Mogul Alyssa Shelasky since she is no longer really a dating blogger since she does not actually ever blog about dating, excerpts this new book by the frigtards behind Collegehumor and she quotes her favorite lines:

  People will generally be happy with free booze and snacks, no matter how they taste. Unless you give them all food poisoning, then you're on your own.

  Fucking LOL!

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Vagina Monoblogs: Dear Dana Vachon, Julia Wants To Bend Over That Fence And Get Plowed

Excuse!! Did that sound COARSE?? Even for us??? Uh, yeah, well, crapavision personality, erstwhile dating-or-something blogger and VORACIOUS self-promot...er, reader Julia Allison is not exactly subtle in the 92-word "review" of your zeitgeisty Wall Street book Mergers And Acquisitions: More »