Last week I wrote about the column about Tucker Max in the Dallas Morning News by Jaclyn Friedman, a writer and activist. She criticized him for promoting a sexual philosophy where women are "insulted, tricked, coerced, traded, and then discarded."
There was a flurry of responses to her column, some supporting her stance and others taking her to task. And I guess that is one of the benefits of living in the United States. We are free to voice an opinion, even a dissenting one.
Of all the letters that have filtered in to the Op/Ed section of the paper this week, one really stood out. It was written by a 17-year-old boy.
He wrote that he knows that as a teenage boy he is supposed to see Max as "the coolest guy in the world. But get real. Max is a user."
He went on to write, "The only thing sadder than his view on life is the women he exploits."
It did my heart good to read this young man's letter and know that there are teens out there who are not buying into the philosophy that Max is promoting. I'm glad that there are teens who realize that casual sex just for the thrill of it doesn't measure up to real love.
I just wish there were more of them and less of the ones who are following Max from venue to venue degrading themselves.
Showing posts with label Jaclyn Friedman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jaclyn Friedman. Show all posts
Friday, October 09, 2009
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Paint Me Green
Sometimes I'm jealous of other writers' success. There, I said it.
When I hear about another sale, especially for big numbers, there's a little piece of me inside that just wants to whine like a child who didn't get a piece of the pie. And I'm sure I'm not the only one to have such feelings, but we work hard to keep those childish impulses at bay and even sincerely help someone celebrate good news, whether it be a big sale or winning a prestigious prize or maybe even getting a movie deal.
However, I refuse to celebrate the huge sales and movie deal that Tucker Max received for I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell, which has been on the New York Times best seller list for over 100 weeks.
If you are like me, you may never have heard of Tucker Max. He is a young man who started writing a blog that centered around bodily functions, drinking, and womanizing and it quickly had a large following. That led to his book and now a movie.
I hadn't heard of him until I read a recent column in the Dallas Morning News by Jaclyn Friedman, a writer and activist. She took him to task for promoting a sexual philosophy where women are "insulted, tricked, coerced, traded, and then discarded."
What Jaclyn found even more alarming and disgusting was the fact that as Max tours the country visiting colleges and other venues, over half of the people who show up to hear him speak are women. And these women apparently adore him. They will also do some of the most disgusting things to gain his attention, and many of them are apparently willing to sleep with him. One woman did, and then "tattooed an explicit sentence commemorating the event just below her hip bone, thus earning the Holy Grail of any Maxite; an original Tucker Max blog entry featuring her."
I'm sorry Max. While I can wipe off the green and celebrate the success of the Harry Potter series, and even give James Patterson his due, I refuse to support your success. I'm not sure I even want to call you a fellow writer.
When I hear about another sale, especially for big numbers, there's a little piece of me inside that just wants to whine like a child who didn't get a piece of the pie. And I'm sure I'm not the only one to have such feelings, but we work hard to keep those childish impulses at bay and even sincerely help someone celebrate good news, whether it be a big sale or winning a prestigious prize or maybe even getting a movie deal.
However, I refuse to celebrate the huge sales and movie deal that Tucker Max received for I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell, which has been on the New York Times best seller list for over 100 weeks.
If you are like me, you may never have heard of Tucker Max. He is a young man who started writing a blog that centered around bodily functions, drinking, and womanizing and it quickly had a large following. That led to his book and now a movie.
I hadn't heard of him until I read a recent column in the Dallas Morning News by Jaclyn Friedman, a writer and activist. She took him to task for promoting a sexual philosophy where women are "insulted, tricked, coerced, traded, and then discarded."
What Jaclyn found even more alarming and disgusting was the fact that as Max tours the country visiting colleges and other venues, over half of the people who show up to hear him speak are women. And these women apparently adore him. They will also do some of the most disgusting things to gain his attention, and many of them are apparently willing to sleep with him. One woman did, and then "tattooed an explicit sentence commemorating the event just below her hip bone, thus earning the Holy Grail of any Maxite; an original Tucker Max blog entry featuring her."
I'm sorry Max. While I can wipe off the green and celebrate the success of the Harry Potter series, and even give James Patterson his due, I refuse to support your success. I'm not sure I even want to call you a fellow writer.
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