"'Sex and the City' marathon... 'Toddlers and Tiaras' marathon... 'Bewitched' marathon... 'Worst Cooks in America' marathon... 'Jerseylicious' marathon..."
"Is it harder for women to be sports fans?"
(Bonus question: Is it harder for women to speak without sounding like everything is a question?)
February 6, 2011
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The local PBS affiliate is having an all-day BBC/Jane Austen fest. I think I'll tune in until at least the 2nd quarter.
I'm having fun de-icing my driveway today as it's finally warm enough to get the six-inch layer of ice up. It's so fun to see the huge panels of ice pop up as I wedge the shovel underneath them. I can't see how any of these shows could possibly compete with de-icing the driveway!
They should air a Brett Favre penis marathon, for the ladies.
wv - "uppet" = like a puppet, only done with your... well, you know.
I was hoping for a WWII marathon on the History Channel.
But I'll settle for WWI.
What moat women will be doing today is taking advantage of the
20% Super Bowl Weekend Online sale at Lee Lee's Valise!
Simply use the code word SUPERBOWL to get 20% off anythng on the website.
And for you skinny gals like lyssalovelyredhead we have a lot of great jewelry, handbags and accesories. Just sayn'
Geez. Women seem to have a problem with just about everything these days.
That's most women.
Moat woman are hiding out waiting to catch the unspecting Knight as he rides into the castle.
But hey even a moat women would look great in a crisp Beverly Button Down blouse!
BBC America is having a Top Gear marathon. Considerably more entertaining than the average Super Bowl.
wv - "glydr", I should learn to fly one.
Why does "sports" have to be about anything? I don't care much for sports (or toddler beauty pagents, or shallow oversexed middle aged New York women) (I like Worst Cooks in America, actually- it's cute and fun), but I hate this sort of navel-gazing.
P.S.- OK, Troop, you got me to look. Nothing I fell in love with (but I'm awfully picky about ordering online), but some cute stuff. I may come back to look at the purses. Loved those printed wrap dresses you have featured on the main page, though. (Not a great style on me, even if you carried my size, but quite lovely on many I'm sure.)
- Lyssa
What's on beside the Super Bowl?
Who cares?! BTW the Badgers are on at noon vs. MSU (CBS).
Troop, if you had a nice bag in the color of that blouse, well, I'd be all about that.
Is it possible to live in a world in which tedious questions about the proper sexual role of woman are never asked?
Yes.
I live in it. Filipino extended family. The women don't give a shit about this nonsense.
It's great.
And, Althouse says this isn't about race.
Also on:
1) Gold Rush Alaska marathon.
2) Jersey Shore marathon.
Is it harder for women to speak without sounding like everything is a question
The wife has gone to workshops meant to address this issue. It's a matter of having courage in your convictions, and believing you are correct, and not having to seek approval from the people to whom you are speaking. Apparently this mind-set comes more naturally to men in general.
Puppybowl!
http://animal.discovery.com/tv/puppy-bowl/
What's on besides the Superbowl?
I turn my TV off and the question becomes irrelevant.
lyssalovelyredhead said...
Troop, if you had a nice bag in the color of that blouse, well, I'd be all about that
Check in the spring. We didn't put up the summer bags yet.
MadisonMan (at 11:44) beat me to it.
FWIW, real men have no problem asking a question, or saying "I don't know", but there are few real men nowadays, so we get a lot of pussies using their projections as fact, or running with their assumptions, as opposed to doing the obvious. They screw everything up, start unnecessary fights, and basically being a pain to the real thing.
It's a real problem, as far as I'm concerned.
"Is it harder for women to speak without sounding like everything is a question?"
It is if they have no actual opinions generated by actual thought.
Those two are more boring than an actual sports game. They should have been forced to fight it out.
An interesting topic discussed by 2 Boring lefties.
Do you realize that less than 50% of Sports fans are women? What can we do to close the viewer ship gap? Are sports sexist?
Dull, dull, dull.
I am officially boycotting Althouse's Boringheads naval-gazing videos. In fact, I am violating my own boycott by making this comment heh.
An interesting question which might focus some of the issues involved in gender/sports interest, is who follows women's sports and why?
Attendance isn't great at WNBA games. Even avid male sports fans don't take much of an interest in women's sports. And while there are a lot more women than men who take an interest in the WNBA, it's not clear that there are more women who are interested in the WNBA than women who are interested in the men's NBA.
It's not just that the quality of play is better in the men's game. There is enormous interest in (male) college athletics, even though the quality is below that of the pro leagues.
There seems to be something deeply cultural about gender roles and sports. I think people feel uncomfortable watching women play basketball. Watching women competing in non-team sports like tennis or track doesn't make people feel uncomfortable in the same way. You almost have to be a lesbian to enjoy watching women play basketball.
Bonus question: Is it harder for women to speak without sounding like everything is a question?
There was a NPR news story a few months ago, I don't remember what question was being asked but first they had some guy answering and he gave some stupid answer but he spoke well. Then a girl gave a response. Her answer was actually very good but no one has ever taught her how to speak so everything sounded like a question. It made it difficult to listen to her response and take her seriously. I gave NPR a +1 for manipulation for that one.
If I remember correctly, he was giving a liberal view point and she a Tea Party one.
Most men don't feel "uncomfortable" watching Women's team sports, they feel bored.
That's because women's team sports are usually just pale imitations of the men's. A good Boys HS team could probably beat any WNBA team. And the bigger the gap in male-female performance for a sport, the duller the female version.
If I were to start a Basketball league made up short, slow men, who couldn't jump, but could shoot well - no one would go see it.
Of course, there always seems to be hardcore Male sports fans who'll watch anything.
I'm taping Puppy Bowl! (For the kitty half time show.)
"Is it harder for women to speak without sounding like everything is a question?"
It's bad enough that women, especially younger women, often do this (making themselves sound like feckless Valley Girls in the process); but recently I've heard more and more young men do this as well. Makes me wonder about estrogens in the water supply, it does.
When citing cute football players, Aaron Rodgers was the second player mentioned (after Tom Brady). I don't recall anybody thinking Rodgers was cute when Brett Favre was still on the team.
It seems like there just aren't many attractive men in pro sports. For every Joe DiMaggio, it seems like there are a dozen Yogi Berras.
If the point of competitive sports is to impress women, and sex is the spoils of sport, then this makes sense. Attractive men don't have to be star quarterbacks to get a woman's attention.
It could start much earlier though. Adults lavish attention and affection on cute kids. Homely kids have to be good at something to get the same response.
"What's on besides the Super Bowl?"
Says Steeler fan in the 4th quarter today.
I find myself using the tonal pattern of a question for a lot of declarative sentences. I get irritated at myself for doing it, but I can't seem to help it.
What it essentially does is add an implied question to your statements. "You do understand this, don't you?" "I am right about this, don't you agree?" It could be viewed as a sign of insecurity. But it's also a way of getting some sign (a nod or an "uh-huh") that the listener is following you.
It's more prevalent with women than men, I suppose, but it's also more prevalent with west coast than elsewhere, or with younger adults than boomers and older.
"If I were to start a Basketball league made up short, slow men, who couldn't jump, but could shoot well - "
Hey! I played in that league!
Re: up-speaking
I find it highly annoying, but I bet a lot of the people who do it don't realize they are. It has nothing to do with the confidence in one's statements -- just speech habits [like saying um, er, etc., instead of just being quiet].
People can be trained to not do that.
TheGiantPeach/
It's all derivative of "Val-speak" really. Didn't exist (as in NON-EXISTENT) prior to the phenomenon--as when I grew up and all the way thru the 60s in undergrad school (Class of '66) Also more or less implies: "...understand, stupid?"
Most men don't feel "uncomfortable" watching Women's team sports, they feel bored.
That's because women's team sports are usually just pale imitations of the men's. A good Boys HS team could probably beat any WNBA team. And the bigger the gap in male-female performance for a sport, the duller the female version.
Well, perhaps, but then again there might not be enough examples to draw any conclusions. As far as I can tell the WNBA is the only women's team sport that's ever gotten any significant exposure. It may well be that the nature of basketball accentuates the male-female performance gap more than most other sports.
Peter
On the other hand Peter, most of the them sport the full Oscar Gamble!
That has to count for something!
xenophon: It's all derivative of "Val-speak" really. Didn't exist (as in NON-EXISTENT) prior to the phenomenon--as when I grew up and all the way thru the 60s in undergrad school (Class of '66)
True, but I think this actually underscores the notion that there is a useful purpose in speaking this way. It's caught on quite quickly, and a lot of people use it, so doesn't that mean that it accomplishes something?
Then again, what does it accomplish? A lot of people express irritation, and it certainly doesn't make a speaker sound more intelligent.
So I think the purpose could be: (1) Some people are intimidated about expressing their views, and they are only able to do so in an interrogative manner. (2) It elicits agreement on the part of the listener. (3) It may be more persuasive than declarative sentence patterns, because the interrogative tone has a tendency to disarm the listener. This might be why women use it more than men, particularly when they are speaking to men. If a woman speaks authoritatively, the man, even if he doesn't particularly disagree with her, may feel threatened by the tone and his defense mechanisms may come into play. If a woman uses an interrogative tone, it is as though she is implicitly respecting the authority of the (male) listener, so the listener is more receptive to the content of her speech.
Why can't men have an sports holiday without little girls whining about not having something special set up for them as an alternative, like a small child who can't be included in the older kids activities has to have?
Men don't act like that. They are watching the game or they don't give a shit.
Puppy Bowl here, too.
Big Love.
Video of Mayor Dave explaining what he brought (besides Jim Doyle and Tom Barrett) to the White House Super Bowl party.
(No Candinas, shame on you.)
"What's on besides the Super Bowl?"
Commercials. Thousands and thousands of commercials. Kick off to start the game, show four commercials. Run a play, show six commercials. Get a touchdown, come back in five minutes for the extra point attempt. Half time, see you in March for the second half.
There is something truly compelling about watching two navel gazing bores use the term "man cave" seriously.
I mean if Boring Bob Wright is going to set up a boringheads about what women want he should have asked the right
Alyssa for crying out loud.
She would let you know "Who's the Boss."
In fact Poison Ivy 2 is on Cinemax this weekend. Just sayn'
All that may be true as it goes, GiantPeach, but please explain its TOTAL absence in years prior to the 70s--PRIOR to "womens Lib" as a matter of fact--during a time when women were supposedly EVEN LESS "self-assertive" and "self-confident?" It goes against the logic of societal and linguistic development, does it not? In those prior years it was RARE to hear even college co-eds use the F-bomb, let alone the general public. Now ALL women self-confidently swear like sailors equally as well as their male counterparts. How come the dichotomy? How come, how come, how come?
About women and sports. One VERY GOOD indicator of the level of interest of women in sports in general is seen in the participation rates of college women in intramural sports--a VOLUNTARY thing. They participate at levels FAR LOWER than their male counterparts across the board in all sports in which both males and females participate.
You are missing a bet if you don't check out the episode of Jerseylious where Olivia and Tracy get into a fist fight. Lots of hair pulling and breast heaving and all kinds of good stuff.
A prefect way to celebrate the empowerment of women. Hee.
And the episode of Jersey Shore where Snookie gets punched in the face is always good for a laugh.
Plus if you watch "Toddler's and Tiara's" you will finally get to see what AlphaLiberal looks like.
He's the dude with his hand down his pants.
All that may be true as it goes, GiantPeach, but please explain its TOTAL absence in years prior to the 70s--
Why is this any different from the total absence of microwave ovens prior to the 70s? The pattern of speech hadn't been invented yet. Once it was invented, increasingly people imitated it, because they found it useful. It's sort of like Ice-9 in Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle. As long as ice-9 doesn't exist, water doesn't crystallize in that geometry. Once the crystals of ice-9 are introduced, other water molecules imitate the pattern
About the only woman's sport that's even interesting is women's billiards.
Those broads are mean - and they give no quarter.
I speak in questions when I'm arguing like a lawyer.
What's on besides the Super Bowl?
More TV.
Not watching any of it.
Monk marathon on Sleuth.
I was hoping for a WWII marathon on the History Channel.
Isn't that pretty much EVERY day on the History Channel?
"The wife has gone to workshops meant to address this issue. It's a matter of having courage in your convictions, and believing you are correct, and not having to seek approval from the people to whom you are speaking. Apparently this mind-set comes more naturally to men in general."
I think it's a matter of not engaging in faux politness. Of course something I say is my opinion or belief. Everything I say could be in error or is subject to debate. Why the need to clutter up communication with constantly having to preface or qualify my remarks by warning you of my possible falliblity?
Lyssa @ 11:40 FTW.
Jeeez dude you are really slow.
You just figured that out?
I knew it for a while, it was bugging me. But the sheer level of ornery-ness in this commetariat is unbearable!
Isn't that pretty much EVERY day on the History Channel?
No, every other Thursday is a UFO marathon.
F. W. Murnau's SUNRISE on TCM at 8 pm Eastern. You could do much worse.
DIY Network is hosting the Toilet Bowl
But is that a man thing, too?
Poor gals, they have to make due with 51 other Sundays a year.
Modern Marvels has a marathon today and they seem to be featuring dairy products. I watched an interesting episode on making cheese at a plant in Wisconsin.
Much preferable than watching O'Reilly and Obama.
4:43cst Cheerleaders on NFL Network.
[I'm live-blogging].
When was the last time the Declaration of Independence was read on television?
I'm trying to find the Super Bowl but all I'm finding is some re-run, perhaps from the History Channel, about the Declaration of Independence, which -- while fine -- isn't football.
Meanwhile, the History Channel is showing a marathon about modern (not historic) gold miners, followed by a marathon about modern (not historic) pawn shops. Sigh. I guess I'll flip to MTV for some music videos!
WV: "ingsfun," the kind of fun you only have at weddings, christenings, and similar events ending with "-ing."
Beldar - if you have Netflix, you can watch all kinds of interesting historical programs. Rome, Greeks, all kinds of shit.
@Trooper York: Are you just yanking our chains? I can't find "Poison Ivy 2" in my DirecTV listings, which include several Cinemax channels. But it's my favorite among all "Poison Ivy" movies, so now I'm bummed out.
When was the last time the Declaration of Independence was read on television?
It might make people think "jeez, King George doesn't sound that bad compared to modern Washington".
Given the historical rivalry between the Cowboys on the one hand, and the Steelers and the Packers on the other, isn't this a bit like Athens fighting it out against Sparta on the streets of ... Rome?
Beldar - you mean Skinemax?
James, they followed up the cheese making with a history of Ice Cream. MMmmmmm. Ice Cream.
Puppy bowl captured me, too.
Heaven help me, I just tuned in to The Game.
PBS has one of its animal shows on.
Probably a bit superior to the Super bowl animal show.
(that said, when and if any Green Bay defensive thugs knock Ben Ratzoberger the f**k out....yeah)
I was wrong. I am watching the Super Bowl now.
rcocean: watching both male and female basketball teams as I do at the local U, I am struck by the hustle of the girls. The guys tend to burn up time passing around the 3-point circle.
"And the bigger the gap in male-female performance for a sport, the duller the female version."
What about wrestling?
Most women ask a lot of questions because they are intelligent, and therefore know that a man probably has the answer for them. It's the dumb ones who don't ask.
I'm starting a new hobby - sewing. I went to the fabric store today during the game and it was packed, but not even one attractive woman in the place. Still they were asking all the questions: "Can I help you find something?", "Will that be cash or credit?". And of course I had to give them all the answers. I was the only man in there and still I answered every question they all had.
Being a man is a burden, but they need us. Where else can they go for answers?
Where do you find these people???
Looking at that list of shows, it seems like its actually harder for men who don't like sports. If by harder you mean there's nothing good on TV.
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