Jezebel: tad safran

Women Around The World Swear That British Men Suck

dodai — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:40:00 EST

This one goes out to Tad Safran (you remember, the guy living in the UK who wrote that British women were unkempt fatties?): Women who move to the UK from abroad find British men highly disappointing, writes Julia Llewellyn Smith for Telegraph. Jennifer Rohn moved to London from Idaho. She says British men are "witty and charming" but terrified of women: "Basically, they charm the pants off you but then they run away when they see your knickers."

Vanessa Muscara, 31, hails from Rome but lives in on and off in London. She says she she'll never settle down with an Englishman: "They never flatter you," she points out. "However much of an effort I made for my ex, he never said, 'You look great.' The best I'd get was, 'You look well.' It drove me crazy. Women complain about Italian men being sleazy, but what's wrong with a 'Ciao, bella' when you're looking your best?"

Ms. Llewellyn Smith calls British men "emotionally constipated" and notes that they have fully "embraced the cowardly art of text-messaging." The women she interviewes do try and muster up some praise for the Brits: "British men are more articulate and amusing than Americans," Jennifer Rohn admits. Adds Maryam, 31, who moved to London from Iran four years ago: "They have what we call 'clean eyes.' They don't stare at other women when their wife isn't there - unlike the Spanish." She also says: "If they weren't so lazy, they'd be fantastic." So what's up across the pond? Are the guys really so terrible? Do we have James Bond to blame for our unrealistic image of the Brit as a dashing charmer? Sure, it's a sweeping generalization, but between Tad Safran, Jude Law and the men the ladies in the article had the misfortune of encountering, are British men the worst? Guess a foxy accent isn't nearly enough.

The trouble with British men [Telegraph]
Earlier: British Lass Responds To Lady-Basher Tad Safran
"Sexist Of The Year" Tad Safran Has No Shame
Man Named "Tad" Insults Women On Both Sides Of Pond

British Lass Responds To Lady-Basher Tad Safran

dodai — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 18:00:00 EST

Remember Tad Safran? He wrote that British women are ill-kempt fatties who don't spend time or money on "obligatory beauty maintenance." Then he let everyone know that he did not regret what he'd written, though it earned him the title "Sexist Of The Year." Well, Carol Midgley, known as The Bargainhunter, has penned a response to Tad for the Times of London. Of the poorly dressed, badly groomed, "chunky" chicks Mr. Safran recoils from, she writes: "All I can think is that that's exactly the type of woman I'd like to be friends with: unmanicured nails, an aversion to gyms, crap skin caused by alcoholic late nights, non-Cowellesque teeth, a belief that only lap dancers should bother with intimate waxing." Oh, Ms. Midgley, you would love hanging out with us! She also points out that the kind of things Mr. Safran expects from women just don't make any sense:

Safran claims his US female friends spend £350 a month on "obligatory beauty maintenance." Really? How dull. Much more refreshing to read of this new survey by the British Skin Foundation which reveals that half of people in the UK don't remove their make-up before going to bed, mostly because they are too knackered, perhaps from looking after their kids or - imagine! - having a good time. Even better, it says that 46 per cent of us pay more than £7 for moisturiser, when a £3 non-branded product does the same job. So, instead of spending more on our beauty regime we should actually be spending less. Ha. High five.

In addition, she notes that though Mr. Safran may know American women who pluck, wax, manicure and exercise themselves into perfection, those women are by no means the norm. Prompts Midgely, has he ever "noticed those other few million American women who weigh 200ls and wear drawstring shorts and a scrunchie in their hair? For every SJP, there are 10,000 Roseanne lookalikes." Touché! Hey Carol, can we buy you a drink?

Long Live The British Slut [Times]

Daily Mail Columnist: American Women Are "Mindbogglingly Stupid"

Jessica — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 11:00:00 EST

Writer and Sexist of the Year Tad Safran, who has spent the past month insulting both British and American women (and in some cases, American women playing British women, like Renee Zellweger in Bridget Jones), is ostensibly the subject of a column in today's Daily Mail called The Man Who Called British Women 'Ugly' Goes On A Date - With Liz Jones. Who is Liz Jones? A writer (pictured here with Tad) who spends the first half of her article slagging American women. Why does she hold such a grudge against the Yankee birds? Because her ex-husband cheated on her with one, naturally!

Jones's cuckold, "Daphne" is an example of everything that's wrong with what she calls "mindbogglingly stupid" American women. (How charming that, instead of damning the man in question, Jones takes the tried and true tactic of blaming the woman.)

The dreaded Daphne, who lived in Brooklyn in what was probably a 3sqft bedsit, spent a lot of money on pedicures (I know this because I intercepted his texts to her, in praise of her toes), was incredibly self-obsessed (oh dear God, the e-mails about how she wanted to work for a non-profit organisation stretched to five pages), not funny at all, and obviously in possession of a very loose set of morals.

But that's not all! Jones calls American women — specifically women who work in fashion and media and live in New York and L.A. — "incredibly, earth-shatteringly, want-to-eat-your-own-arm-when-they-are-talking-to-you boring." She also accuses American women of being simultaneously overeducated and dim. "They all have several masters degrees, which makes me think the American version must be multiple choice, are fearsomely ambitious, despite having absolutely zero talent (have you read the super-sycophantic dribblings in New York Magazine? Ohmigod!), and obsessed with staying young and marrying rich." (Shortly afterwards, Liz discusses the Chanel polish she uses for her manicure, the Dolce & Gabbana cardigan she wears, the Alberta Ferretti dress she dons, and the Bottega Veneta shoes she puts on — all for her date with Safran.)

When she finally gets to her date with the Tadster, you feel like this Liz Jones character deserves the asshole. And how did the date go? Not well! Says Liz: "His three words to describe me were 'bitter, driven and forward-looking', which would have been the most damning words of the evening ('Well, you do talk about your ex-husband all the time'), had he not then gone on to say he only fancies blondes. Charming."

But even after all that, Liz "did quite like him," and wonders why Tad doesn't ask her about New Year's Eve plans. Why doesn't Tad want to see Liz again? I'll go with the Daily Mail commenters on this one: "She sounds like a miserable old bag with bad attitude."
The man who called British women 'ugly' goes on a date - with Liz Jones [Daily Mail]

Related: Liz Jones's Diary [You Magazine]

Earlier: "Sexist Of The Year" Tad Safran Has No Shame Man Named "Tad" Insults Women On Both Sides Of Pond
Why Do Wives Blame The Other Woman For Their Husbands' Wandering Weiners?

"Sexist Of The Year" Tad Safran Has No Shame

dodai — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 10:30:00 EST

Last week, an American screenwriter named Tad Safran claimed that unlike American females, British women simply do not take care of themselves. "When British women get to the age where they have to make an effort, they appear unable, or uninterested, in rising to the challenge," he wrote for the Times of London. This week, Tad returns with another column, in which he states, quite accurately, "I'm never getting laid in Britain ever again." He explains that his article "exploded into a national furor" and the Guardian named him Sexist of the Year. But Tad has no regrets! He says that many of the comments his piece prompted were from women who pointed out that "they'd rather be frumpy with wonderful personalities than Barbie dolls with nothing between their ears." His take? "This argument is so patently absurd that I can hardly believe it."

It is not binary: you can have a personality and an arse that doesn't take up two seats on the bus. If you can retain your wonderful, cheerful, sweet, fun personality and be beautiful is that not better? Or, Anna L from Kent, is your sweet personality inextricably tied to your being a size 16... like Samson's strength is to his hair? I don't suggest that British women take the money from your education fund and put it towards plastic surgery. Nor do I suggest you take the hours per week dedicated to cultural and intellectual pursuits and use them for beauty treatments. Just take the time you dedicate to sitting on the sofa eating femur-sized Toblerones while watching EastEnders.

Tad suggests British women think that stepping up their beauty regimes would make them seem fixated on their looks. But, he counters, a "healthy interest" is not an "obsession." He also notes (in what seems a deliberate effort to offend) that women in the UK "don't have the curves of the Italians, the simmering sexuality of the Spanish, the sophistication of the French or the openness of the Scandinavians." What they do have, he points out, is the top spot on the European obesity chart. Here's a thought, Tad! Maybe women in the UK are driven to drink (and eat?) because men like you continue to connect their worth with their looks!

Oh Please, You Lard-Butt British Frumps Have Got Off Too Lightly [Times]
Earlier: Man Named "Tad" Insults Women On Both Sides Of Pond
Related: American Beauty? [Times]

Man Named "Tad" Insults Women On Both Sides Of Pond

dodai — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 13:30:00 EST

In today's Times of London, Tad Safran argues that American women are more well-groomed than British women. "When British women get to the age where they have to make an effort," he writes, "they appear unable, or uninterested, in rising to the challenge." Safran, who is American but has lived in England since he was 3, claims that, "UK girls, in my opinion, are the greatest natural beauties in the world... When they're 17 or 18 years old." Safran went away to the United States for college, and upon his return to the UK, he wondered: "What the hell happened to all the beautiful girls I knew? My first assumption was that one half of them had eaten the other half and washed them down with a crate of lager." While American women spend time and money on "obligatory beauty maintenance" — things like haircuts, highlights, manicures, pedicures, waxing, tanning, make-up, facials, teeth whitening etc.; Safran claims that British women do not.

He admits that beauty treatments are "vastly more expensive" in England, but puts the blame on proper English manners:

American women have no qualms about telling their friends, in no uncertain terms, when they look like crap, or have put on weight, or are dressed like a bag-lady. They talk of the top aestheticians with a reverence usually reserved for Nobel laureates and trade cosmetic surgeon business cards the way that boys in playgrounds trade football cards. In Britain, women are too polite to set their friends straight. For some reason, being seen to make an effort with one's appearance is regarded as shameful among British women.

Safran does think, however, that while American women are obsessed with their looks, their social skills are lacking. In the end, he says, "British women are, without a doubt, the best to have a pint and a laugh with" but cautions that a first impression could be "I'll bet she was really hot ten years ago."

So who is this misogynistic, sexist slug known as Tad Safran? "The author is a screenwriter (single) who divides his time between London and Los Angeles," the Times tells us. Single? You don't say! A quick search reveals that Safran was one of nine writers credited with the screenplay for a crappy animated film called Doogal, which IMDB user "stinkyuu" claims "was the all-time boringest movie I have ever seen in my short life." 'Nuff said.

American Beauty? [Times]