NBC has apparently run out of original, creative, or even funny material for their fall line-up. Whitney, a new series debuting this fall, is a sitcom about "a happily unmarried couple" that "tries to have a relationship... in a world that expects a more traditional approach". Not the most original premise for a sitcom. The offense of this series however, is not its unoriginality in the plot department, but the sexist message NBC is sending in promoting the series. Trailers for the sitcom found on the NBC website are of the main character Whitney providing relationship advice to women on sex, wedding etiquette, and to how to truly punish your man by making him listen to you. Billboards for the show can be found stating that "[w]omen are like emotional ninjas. 'I'm fine' means I'm going to stab you in the neck". In other words, take what women say with a grain a salt, because they never say what they really mean. NBC might think that having sexist dialogue come from the mouth of a female character excuses it from being misogynist and offensive; but it doesn't, it makes it worse. Masquerading the message that "women never say what they mean" or that "women don't know what they want", as a tutorial how-to for women in relationships, sends a message that women actually believe that they are indecisive, feel bad about it, and therefore feel the need to provide men with the secret to deciphering female speech! Just because the offensive speech is coming from the mouth of a woman, promoting a sitcom with the messaging that women are indecisive and never speak their mind, is not the same as reclaiming the word cunt or dyke; it's the exact opposite. It creates a hostile environment and implies that the decision and voice of a woman should be ignored; that what a woman says has little bearing on what she actually means and therefore can be interpreted at will. But to what extent and at whose expense is this message meant for interpretation? Beyond creating a pattern of miscommunication, messaging like this belittles a woman's right to her own autonomy. Whether in public or in private, the message sent puts women in danger of sexual harassment and violence. A “no” no longer means “no” if women are portrayed as never saying what they really mean, and that is a scary message for a sitcom to be endorsing. It’s doubtful that NBC had any of this in mind when promoting their new series; but that’s not really the point. What matters is that the negative portrayal of women in the media should not be the norm. It shouldn’t be the light bulb idea that goes off in some exec’s head when thinking of how to best promote a sitcom. It should never be the “go-to” in any form of media. Whether you're dressing women in leopard print bathing suits to sell cars or portraying women as being chronically indecisive to launch a sitcom, it’s all the same. It's all sexist, no matter whose mouth it comes from. But it makes you wonder this: where is the line drawn? Where do images produced in the media, go from being profitable, to socially irresponsible?

Where is the Versatility?

Maybe I'm getting old, maybe I'm getting bored with the city, or maybe I wish there was more than one lesbian bar that was centrally located, somewhat my kind of crowd, and special enough for a friend's bday. There just aren't a ton of options. Ok, I know that there are options, but not a ton.

A woman once told me that the reason that they aren't any lesbian bars, or that the lesbians bars don't last, is because lesbians pair off, shack up, and then never go out again. I think she was only partially right. I on the other hand, and my partner, and our small group of friends for that matter, prefer to pack ourselves into a tiny bar where it is guaranteed a sloshed faux hawk will spill beer on your foot. It's a good thing that we are more the flipflop kind of lesbians and not the manolo blahnik type, am I right?

I'm not alone in my obsession...

Lesbian Pulp

I'm on Yelp!

Hilarious Sweetener on Yelp!

Pigeoned...

We've officially been pigeoned. Pigeoned? Yes, pigeoned. As one half of a good Elmhurst-dwelling lesbian couple, my girlfriend, has dutifully been trolling our fire escape window box in preparation for our sunflower/herb/catnip garden. This afternoon, to her dismay, a pigeon perched itself smack center in her beloved flower box. I would love to say that lesbian conqueored nature in this case, however it was not to be. Catnip will have to wait, at least for 18 or so days, for in front of my hysterical girlfriend yelling at the damn pigeon to get out of her flower bed, the pigeon looks me square in the face and lays a friggin' egg. Yes, an egg.

Great Gelato!!!

I am a firm believer in the majestic powers of chocolate. And when it comes in the form of creamy gelato in a little cup with a tiny spoon, those magical powers are even all more consuming. I like my gelato and I my chocolate, I just swoon over any establishment that offers me the choice of three different chocolates when I order, and this is exactly what you should expect at Grom (a gelato shop on the corner of Bleecker and Carmine in the West Village) - chocolate, dark chocolate or extra-dark chocolate.

when the pretty collegiate inquired to my taste I boldly went forward and chose the extra-dark chocolate and am glad I did. The picture taken on my phone does not do it justice. But take it from someone who knows their chocolate (and believe me I do), this gelato is a perfect balance of intense dark creamy frozen chocolatey goodness, minus the bitter aftertaste that so many dark chocolate bars tend to have. West Village story short, definitely a NYC food to eat and love.