• Robin Toner, the first female national political correspondent for The New York Times died today at the age of 54. • A study of female sex workers in Cambodia found that women who are new to the sex industry are twice as likely to have gonorrhea or chlamydia. • Death Metal Puppy! (Warning: don't watch this at work without headphones.) • Meanwhile, a woman in Florida is trying to get a zoo to capture and adopt a healthy albino raccoon living in the woods because she fears someone will shoot it. • The Toronto police have charged a 34-year-old woman with making prank phone calls to local parents on December 4, telling them that their child had been sexually assaulted by a school employee. • While in prison in Italy, Amanda Knox recited the famous "to be or not to be" monologue from Hamlet for a small Italian film. • A recent survey found that 46% of women would rather go without sex for 2 weeks than go without Internet access for that amount of time. • An AP probe has found that at least 129 ambulance attendants have been accused of sex-related crimes, on duty or off, for the past 18 months. • A new study reports that men inherit the tendency to have more sons or daughters from their parents. • Shaggy, a reindeer from England, had to be given fake antlers for a Christmas performance after his own antlers fell off three weeks ago. • Staircases for pets have been gaining popularity in response to increased interest in tall, thick mattresses and beds. • The Saudi city of Dammam has held the first privately organized but public forum about divorce reforms to protect Saudi women in the event of a divorce. •

[Image via The Poop]

Like many big dogs, Indy's hips gave out on him, and the last night of his life, he couldn't come upstairs to sleep in my parents' room. So what did my dad do? He slept on the floor next to Indiana, and the next day, brought our ill-behaved fur mountain to the vet, crying copiously. The death of a beloved pet will make any macho dude break down and cry, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

When was the last time you saw a guy full on weep? And tearing up secretly at the end of a Hallmark commercial doesn't count.

10 Things That Make Blokes Cry [BBC]

Brescoll points out that the only way for an angry woman to enact damage control is if she explained why she was angry. Observers tended to be more lenient towards women who explained themselves, and, perversely, they were less lenient when angry men deconstructed their behavior. It's unclear why observers were less understanding of men who explained themselves, but Brescoll believes it's because it might be seen as a sign of "weakness."

Brescoll's research was in the news before, back in October, when there were several articles showing that men are taken more seriously when they cry than women are. "An angry woman loses status, no matter what her position,'' Brescoll concludes. So next time you're seriously pissed at work, it might be better for your career to do a primal scream in your car under deep cover in the parking lot than show anyone how you're really feeling. Sad yes, but true.

Studies' Message To Women: Keep Your Cool [EurekAlert!]

The women we surveyed (meaning: ourselves) cried more than the men. Three of us, in fact, are huge weepers who will cry at just about anything, while others tear up at things like photos of Harry Connick, Jr. and his daughter, or the injustices of the world. But: almost all of us cry when we're angry or frustrated and can't express it.

As for the dudes, well, most of them (5 total, one gay) fit the Daily Mail's own assessment: two cry in regards to general bereavement (friend who passed away, sick mom); one says he cries over heartbreak, two weep nostalgically about the good old days, and a whopping four dudes say they well up over cliché sports movies: Rudy, Best of the Best and Stomp the Yard among them.

But you know what? Not one guy said he cries because he is angry. We (Anna and I, that is) think it's because male anger is something that's more culturally encouraged and accepted, while women are never really taught how to express their frustration or disgust in a productive way, instead stuffing such unladylike emotions until they explode into weeping.

Personally, I hate that I cry so much. I don't feel like I have control over my tears, and often they derail real discussion; those little salty rivulets can get in the way of real progress. But what about you? Do you cry because your poll numbers are down? Because your boss just denied you a day off? Because you're marinating in your own hormones? Do you get down on yourself for crying, or, do you subscribe to Dodai's philosophy — "Better out than in," which she admits she might have stolen from Shrek. I'd be curious to know.

Tears Are Every Woman's Most Powerful And Manipulative Weapon, But Can Hillary Weep Her Way To The White House? [Daily Mail]

Earlier: Democratic Tear Ducts

Then comes crazypants Camille Paglia, who hates on Hillary in a screed in Salon. Because of Hillary's upbringing alongside feckless male siblings, Paglia posits that Clinton hates all men: "Hillary's willingness to tolerate Bill's compulsive philandering is a function of her general contempt for men. She distrusts them and feels morally superior to them...Hillary's disdain for masculinity fits right into the classic feminazi package, which is why Hillary acts on Gloria Steinem like catnip."

Possibly to balance out Camille's rant, Salon also runs a far more sane and well-argued piece by Frances Kissling, who says that while Clinton intelligence is to be respected, she's bothered by Hillary's "stereotypical male" posturing. "In [Hillary's] own mind it is only a certain kind of man who is qualified to be president," Kissling writes, "and she will be that man: tough on everything from war, flag burning, kids' access to video games, illegal immigrants and Palestinians. She has missed the opportunity to talk about what it really means for women to be equal in this country."

Finally, Gail Collins in the New York Times has a different spin on why women in New Hampshire were possibly affected by Hillary's show of emotion. "This week, Hillary was a stand-in for every woman who's overdosed on multitasking," Collins says. "They grabbed at the opportunity to have kids/go back to school/start a business/become a lawyer. But there are days when they can't meet everybody's needs and the men in their lives — loved ones and otherwise — make them feel like failures or towers of self-involvement. And the deal is that they can either suck it up or look like a baby."

For Crying Out Loud! [Guardian]
Hillary Without Tears [Salon]
Why I'm Still Not For Hillary Clinton [Salon]
Hillary's Free Pass [New York Times]

MOE: Okay so Hillary choked up and suddenly it's the meme to end all femememes. the Femmeme fatale. Before we get all "sincere" I would like to know what they are saying "inside the Beltway" about this. I thought Givhan hit the nail on the head when she asked Would she have been more persuasive if she'd shed one perfect tear like Demi Moore in "Ghost"? The problem is that then you get into the backlash to the imagined backlash part, which is a lot easier to do than actual genuine reaction.
MEGAN: I think there is significant debate as to whether is was real, staged or the result of exhaustion.
MOE: Of course, because they are such good triangulators, it now seems like it's ALL of those things!
MEGAN: Can you be all of those things?
MOE: Staged so the small government big gun contingent can feel free to yell "Iron my shirt" and other highly original epithets at rallies and then President Bubba can swoop in and defend his short, old, FEMALE wife and play the loyal husband and then we can all rush to judge both "reactions" with our own, "shut the fuck up, MEN" reactions.
MEGAN: I'm voting exhaustion.
MOE: Well you WOULD say that.
Being exhausted.
And a woman
But the thing is, when you are exhausted to the point of choking up, don't you actually CRY?
That was not crying.
That was some steely motherfucking resolve.

MEGAN: True. But I get emotional in basically three circumstances: hormones, exhaustion and frustration.
No, she held back the tears but her voice broke.
MOE: AND THEY ALWAYS ALLY THEMSELVES TOGETHER.
WE ARE ALWAYS FIGHTING THREE FRONT WARS.

MEGAN: Can't be a man, don't be a girl.

MOE: I guess her voice broke, but I was like, "wait I thought she was supposed to cry in this video?!"
This is one of those moments that, if I were covering the campaign, I would be so exhausted and frustrated I wouldn't even notice Hillary.
MEGAN: True. I think everyone's exhausted. I mean, just because she didn't actually break down-break down, she definitely got choked up, and at a very opportune moment.
And she's being dragged over the coals for it, for being (according to the Edwardses) not a tough enough person to lead this country.
MOE: Right, Edwards has got to be exhausted too.
MEGAN: 2 weeks ago, she was frigid and too manly or something, and she gets a little choked up and no one says that anymore, but it's a whole new round of criticism,

MOE: Otherwise he is just a supreme tool for saying that.
MEGAN: I think he might be a tool.
MOE: Right, which is why Edwards is such a dumbass. The thing I have trouble is that we are all REACTING to this against the media perception of Hillary as this Machialesbian iron woman. And I guess that's what she wants us to react to. Or does she? I dunno. She can't win. And maybe that's just it: she can't win. But can we?
Let's go back and watch the video one more time!
Or let's not and say we did.
MEGAN: I watched it like 3 times yesterday, so I'm done.
Technically, she chokes up, gets it together and then chokes up again.
Weak, exhausted or calculating.
MOE: Yeah, and the first time she chokes up it's unexpected, but by the second time she chokes up you're like, "Work it girl!"

MEGAN: Which she does.
MOE: Well yeah, because I would never actually tell Hillary to "work it girl," I am actually just articulating the voice in my head that is imagining the voice inside the head of a Hillary supporter or an undecided underloved middle aged single mom with a month's supply of 100-calorie snack packs and a copy of eat pray love or a flamboyant gay man or some other stereotype now that I am at home during daytime television hours and I am thinking, "What Would The Stereotype Think?"
But when I watch it as myself, my reaction is, "Oh good lord it's not a CRY unless SNOT is present."
MEGAN: Well, those 100 calorie snack packs are pretty good.

No, I can cry briefly without snot!
I only get snot when I start legitimately sobbing.
MOE: I HATE hundred calorie snack packs. They are not RATIONAL.
MEGAN: I broke up with my boyfriend of 4 years less than 6 months ago. Believe me, I know ALL the stages of crying.
MOE: Have you checked the UNIT PRICE of those snack packs?
MEGAN: Yes. You're paying for the packaging.
MOE: Well yes I understand.
MEGAN: They are for people with no self control, who would, say, eat an entire bowl of popcorn.
The packaging cost is our self-flagellation.
MOE: Hey, don't worry about the bowl of popcorn! You eat an entire bowl and get all the self-loathing of a bona fide food binge and you've really only consumed somewhere between 240 and 350 calories, tops! That rationale doesn't really work on me anymore. Also, the hands. You can't type and eat popcorn at the same time! When I'm hungry, I grab a snickers. 290 calories. Wait did I just expose myself as some other sort of prisoner of media images and perceptions? Probs yeah. Anyway, CRYING. I don't think what Hillary did should have counted as crying because she kept it in check like a total pro. On the other hand, she's a pro! It's so hard.
Hey, did you cry at Atonement?
MEGAN: I haven't seen it, but, um, well, I cry when the Beast dies in the cartoon Beauty and the Beast. And when Demi Moore does in Ghost. And, um, really drunk after my college boyfriend dumped me I cried when Tara Reid lost her virginity in American Pie. So, let's just say that, when I see it, I definitely will, which is why I'll be glad that movie theatres are dark.
MOE: Oooh, I cried at the movie Jersey Girl — but I was on a plane. I cried at Traffic. I cried reading Eat Pray Love though I had just broken up with my boyfriend so it doesn't count. But it's hard to cry when you're talking. That's why Hillary did it so good. When she said "I have so many ideas for this country" that was totally an awesome teary statement. Like when you're moving out of the house you shared with your boyfriend and looking out at all the stupid $3 Ikea possessions you acquired together and you're just like "I had so may IDEAS about how we were finally going to make this place look not like a dormroom-meets-crack den. Woe are the limits of the human condition for landing us here!!"
MEGAN: Yeah, I can't cry and talk.

But I'm glad to know any post-break-up crying at stupid shit doesn't count!
MOE: Well the thing about crying is that i think it activates your imagination. Like "omg I have so many IDEAS guys just give me a chance!!" When we do have a woman president I hope she allows herself to cry and get those kinds of notions and ideas that men only get when they get high.
MEGAN: Men also get all those notions after sex, and then forget them all when they wake up.

I think it's because crying relieves so much stress and personal frustration, it's like the snotty equivalent of a deep tissue massage.
MOE: I wish I could cry right now.
MEGAN: I'd rather have the massage, personally, but partly because my masseur is named Antoine and he has a sexy French accept.
MOE: but no. I don't care enough anymore.
MEGAN: Er, accent. Freudian slip.
MOE: I have to go re-watch Atonement.

"Women are not making it up when they say they're damned if they do, damned if they don't," said Stephanie Shields, the psychology professor who conducted the study. "If you don't express any emotion, you're seen as not human, like Mr. Spock on Star Trek," she said. "But too much crying, or the wrong kind, and you're labeled as overemotional, out of control, and possibly irrational."

'Big Girls Don't Cry,' But Big Boys Can? [USA Today]

[Los Angeles, June 8. Image via INF]