I believe there is something irrevocably ruinous about a culture in which women are expected to go around with their lips in a permanent state of shiny readiness, a perennial Marilyn Monroe moue of glistening sexual receptivity, hinting at the possibility that they, like Monroe, sleep fetchingly in the nude.Click on the link at your own risk. It's long, name-dropping, and philosophicalish.
Is "philosophicalish" a word? You might well ask, as, indeed, I did. And in this wonderful world that contains Google, I found 421 uses of the word, including one by D.H. Lawrence, describing his own writing in "Reflections on the Death of a Porcupine and Other Essays":
This volume contains what Lawrence himself called "philosophicalish" essays written in the decade 1915-25. The topics range from politics to nature, from religion to education; the tone from lighthearted humor to mordant wit, to spiritual meditation. For all these contrasts, however, the essays share many of the underlying themes of the mature Lawrence: "Be thyself" could be the volume's motto. As far as possible, this edition restores what Lawrence wrote before typists, editors, and compositors made the extensive alterations that have been followed in all previous editions of the texts--on occasion entire passages removed by mistake or for reasons of censorship have been recovered.Required observation: Lawrence was a blogger!
Irresistible chance connection: The same issue of the NYT that contains the Merkin essay that led me to talk about D.H. Lawrence, also has this piece about D.H. Lawrence's bohemian New Mexico, which leapt immediately to mind because I had looked longingly at this photo of his desk in front of a window:
I need to move my desk in front of a window, you're thinking. Aren't you?
Or are you thinking: What exactly is a "merkin"? Or:
Did you steal my lip gloss???
पोस्ट्स
१० टिप्पण्या:
Is "philosophicalish" a word? You might well ask, as, indeed, I did. And in this wonderful world that contains Google, I found 421 uses of the word, including one by D.H. Lawrence, describing his own writing in "Reflections on the Death of a Porcupine and Other Essays"
Name-dropper.
Surely some one named Merkin could find a different topic than sexuality...
I couldn't do that. I'd spend too much time staring out the window rather than doing work.
Merkin's article seemed like she just puked a series of incoherent thoughts onto the page.
I could not detect much in the way of logical flow in that article, but, then again, this is the NYT style section. In the spirit of the Times, I will write a similarly incoherent comment:
Is this article an indication that post-modernism finally dying? Have people had enough of "my truth, your truth", perception-is-truth?
Probably not. This article is nothing more than a rail on artifice, particularly the false advertising of women with regard to their own sexual readiness and fertility. Which is ironic, of course, because since the dawn of civilization, men have competed through the appearance of wealth and power, and women have through youth and beauty. It does get more real than that.
I guess the NYT has exhausted its list of Things in American Culture that Cause Us to Despair. Lip gloss will do--until the day after elections.
George, I think Fox's generous use of lip gloss is a conscious decision of its production staff. Fox announcers are all robustly optimistic (in stark contrast to the rest of the media) so maybe the gloss adds to that ethic? I think I'll buy some and see what happens...
Derve:
Good catch - I meant to say "It doesn't get more real than that."
And if you believe the opposite is true, well, good luck with that, let me know how it goes. Fighting biology is admirable, but usually futile.
Ha! I love lip gloss. I'm not sure what Merkin means by "shiny readiness" though; my husband despises lip gloss. I rarely ever wear it around him. He doesn't want to kiss me and come away wearing it. Shiny unreadiness maybe.
Somehow, at an early age, I read that lipstick began as the lubricant used by, er, courtesans and have always been discomfited by it. Someone please tell me differently so I can embrace my full femininity!
It isn't true.
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