Cheetahs: F that!

Today in Broadsheet*, Mary Elizabeth Williams discussed a recent New York Observer article about the new wave in subtly degrading women: cheetahs! I'm not linking to the article, and I didn't want to read the article, but apparently a cheetah is a woman who gets you drunk, goes home and seduces you, and spends the night? Is this news?

Two important points were raised in the comments: 1) if a woman takes you back to her own house, she has no choice but to spend the night; 2) if a man is so drunkenly incapacitated as to be "taken advantage of" by a woman, he probably won't be able to have sex. Soooo, does this thing exist at all? If so, why is it a problem? Have women come up with a cute name for men who get them drunk and take them home...besides "my new boyfriend"?**

But that don't matter, because for these writers it's "time to trot out the old 'sexual taxonomy of women' satire... You can fart it out before your first latte has kicked in, and the thing will pay for itself in outraged comments and blog links."

True. LaZy WrItiNG aLeRt!

Williams breaks down the six reasons this is annoying, and it's so great. One good point:

"5. Pop rhetorical quiz time! Why is it that gay men can classify themselves as bears and otters and all other manner of creatures and it seems cute and sexy, but female sexual animals are somehow just pathetic?"

And:

"Because the funny thing -- funny strange, not funny ha-ha -- in each eager new spin on the women-as-cougars-and-cheetahs-and-pumas-and-kittens-and-ocelots story is the same old criticism of us for our sexual choices and erotic initiative. Whatever species you name it, it's all just catty. Mrrrreeer!"

*I like Broadsheet way more than Jezebel, and way way way more than The Frisky (almost goes without saying, but I want to make myself clear: I hate The Frisky), and of course much more than The XX. As a "women's issues" column, Salon has really won with Broadsheet.

**Obviously there are other names for this behavior, like "rapist" and "felon." But I'm talking about what happens every weekend at most bars in the world. Sans tranquilizers, plus low self-esteem.