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Not a Good Match
At London’s Pride parade this year, CNN
reported spotting a banner representing the terrorist organiza-
tion ISIS. The implied message seemed to be: ISIS is every-
where, even in a gay pride parade! Only later did someone point
out that the flag was adorned not with Arabic letters, as is the
jihadist flag used by ISIS, but instead with what appeared to be
sex toys or possibly sex organs in silhouette. CNN was roundly
ridiculed in the media, including in a sketch by Conan O’Brien.
In the network’s defense, the flag was clearly intended to re-
semble the jihadist banner of which it
was a parody. Still, it was a pretty crude
knock-off; and then there’s the fact that
ISIS throws suspected gay people off
tall buildings, which should have been
a red flag for CNN right there—and the
fact that images on the banner were
foot-long naughty bits.
Dress Envy
A 57-year-old woman name Annette Kielhurn was
arrested in St. Petersburg, Florida, after allegedly striking her
girlfriend, Gamze Capaner-Ridley, 47, in the face with a dildo
(as reported by
Metroweekly.com ). Apolice officer witnessed the
altercation while monitoring the removal of the couple’s be-
longings from their erstwhile residence. The women reportedly
started arguing over ownership of a specific dress. Given the
choice of weapons that presumably lay at hand—vases, ashtrays,
lamps—the victim might consider herself lucky that Ms. Kiel-
hurn reached for that firm yet supple hunk of rubber, which did
not, in fact, inflict any real injury. Just why the perp grabbed this
object—out of sheer habit?—is not entirely clear. For that mat-
ter, why
was
there a dildo lying around when they were supposed
to be sorting their stuff in the presence of a police escort? Any-
how, Kielhurn was arrested for domestic battery and released on
$500 bail. No word on who got the dress—or the sex toys.
Metamorphosis
It was the media
event of the summer: the transforma-
tion of Olympic triathlete Bruce Jenner
into “Call me Caitlyn.” For years the
butt of late-night jokes due to his ex-
tensive plastic surgery, Bruce
qua
Cait-
lyn was suddenly an object of curiosity,
awe, possibly even respect. Anticipa-
tion turned into va’voom when Caitlyn
appeared on the cover of
Vanity Fair
looking like a total babe. Sure, a few feminists complained that
all the ogling was just another case of reducing women to their
physical looks. But the mainstream media settled on a narrative
that this was an act of great courage for which Caitlyn was to be
lauded. And so she was, with accolades that included a special
ESPY Courage award, complete with an international telecast at
which she gave a thirty-minute speech. When the latter turned
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