
©AGJ
You’re circling the drain
Take back the message
Yeah, it takes work
Focus and vigilance
The lowest common denominator takes seconds to achieve
Overriding decades of work
You’re discouraged?
OK! Let’s work with that
No, you say
And throw a party
To make you feel better
The theme?
Your own degradation
You invite your friends
Go Wooo!
Flash the boys
You love that they love it
Well, some of them do …
You ignore the rest
And get more provocative on your Facebook news feed
See how many comments you can get
What’s that?
I can’t hear you. You’re whispering
You feel stung by the aggressive feedback?
A little confused?
Well, here’s how we handled bewilderment
Back in the eighties
I’m talking, but you’re texting
OK, you say, tell me how it’s different today
It’s a global stage
Your mistakes are stored
But the basic dynamic hasn’t moved an inch
Waddya mean?
I get caught-up in the web-like complexities of the male/female dance
Shit
I’ve lost you
Your phone rings
You leave the room
And up the ante
Installing a webcam in your bedroom
Misting up the lens with your open mouth
Flashing. Again
Who taught you this?
Not Naomi
Not Gloria
Not Betty
The Hollywood sleazebags, I guess
Those cigar chompers who put the highest premium on your fuckability
“Would you do her?”
If that’s a yes around the casting table
You get the call
Mom, I got the part!
You don’t tell her what’s involved
You take the money
Fill the hole inside yourself with more purses
More shoes
Lots of stuff
Ignore the sacred whisper
On your own terms, it says
Yeah right, you sneer,
Turning out the light, and spooning your pillow.
*For more on this “hot” topic, see this week’s cover story in Maclean’s, “Outraged moms, trashy daughters,” by Anne Kingston.