In his acclaimed new book “The Evolution of Beauty” (Doubleday, 428 pages, $30), Richard O. Prum theorizes that evolution is not just about what we need but what we want. And that has profound implications for gender issues, including what I describe on this blog as “the beauty trap.”
The hourglass shape and youthful facial features, such as large eyes, of the female and the particular characteristics of male genitalia (boneless phallus, large scrotum, small testes) are beyond what is necessary for reproduction, Prum writes. Rather, he says, these features are what each desires in the other.
But it is not a level playing field ...
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Read MoreTexas Congressman Blake Farenthold is alleged to have harassed his former communications director, Lauren Greene, in part by talking to her about a female lobbyist who had propositioned him for a threesome.
Have you seen Farenthold? It’s hard to believe any woman would proposition him at all, let alone for a threesome. But if she did, she wouldn’t have to look far for a third party. There’s enough of Farenthold to make two guys.
That might seem a low blow, but you know what, it’s a new day. And one of those signs of that new day is that Senate hopeful and mall exile Roy Moore lost to Doug Jones in Alabama’s special election Tuesday. ...
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Read MoreAl Franken, a Democrat from Minnesota, is resigning from the U.S. Senate, and many folks are none too happy about it – not the least of whom is Al Franken himself.
In a farewell address that was nothing less than bitterly ironic, Franken wondered why he was going while the P-Grabber in Chief remained in the White House.
He’s staying and you’re going, Al, for the same reason that men harass women: One has the power. The other doesn’t. ...
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Read MoreIt’s the season in which we give thanks for our blessings as a nation and as individuals. But that’s not what prevails in certain quarters.
Here we must begin at the top. Usually, American presidents use the Thanksgiving holiday as an opportunity to express how grateful we all are. Instead, El Presidente Trumpet, issuing a decree from his cell phone at the Winter White House (Mar a Lago) in Florida, is using the holiday to complain about how ungrateful certain people are toward him. Namely LaVar Ball, father of LiAngelo Ball, the UCLA basketball player picked up for shoplifting in China. ...
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Read MoreIs there any man left in America who hasn’t groped, assaulted or raped some girl/boy/woman?
From Capitol Hill to Hollywood, they’re dropping like proverbial flies. The latest to drop – Democratic Sen. Al Franken, who apologized – awkwardly to say the least – for groping a woman in 2006.
Question: What is the difference between a Democratic assaulter and a Republican? No, it’s not a setup for a joke. ...
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Read More“What a week,” Robert Costa, moderator of PBS’ “Washington Week,” sometimes begins his broadcast. But really, he could just say that every week. Another mass shooting. Another celebrity – or 10 – accused of sexual harassment. Puerto Rico still mainly without power. It’s sort of like an evil “Groundhog Day.” ...
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Read MoreAmong the questions to emerge from the Harvey Weinstein scandal is one that human beings of conscience have been grappling with forever: Is it ethical to support the work of a scoundrel?
At first glance, the answer would appear to be simple: Art transcends biography. You wouldn’t rebuff a child because his father was a murderer, would you? So why hate the brainchild of a Weinstein or a Woody Allen – who, tellingly cautioned about a “witch hunt” against Weinstein – or a Mel Gibson or any other artist/athlete accused of heinous behavior?
But it’s more complex than that, isn’t it? ...
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