Here at Broadsheet, we're all about making a positive difference in the world, and I'm happy to report that, today, we've succeeded. It seems our mulling of Time Out New York's "Sexy or Skanky?" feature got the magazine's editors thinking hard about chauvinism, the patriarchy and ... stuff. The result: Now its sexy-skanky survey is open to men, too. That's it! Equality has been achieved; it's time to shut down Broadsheet.
But of course, I kid. We think it's nice -- and of course, good P.R. -- that TONY's Web editor dropped us a line to inform us of the new male-appraisal feature and express "regret that the photos [formerly] depicted only women and did not allow people to judge men's often questionable springtime looks." The thing is, while men certainly do sport some "questionable springtime looks," the "sexy or skanky" sentence just doesn't carry the same weight with men. Somehow, I can't see people appraising the skankiness of this construction worker toiling away in the stifling summer heat with his sleeves rolled up. (Aw, c'mon! He's just asking for it!) Or critically evaluating the character of this bike rider wearing spandex. (What a whore!)
Promoting basic good taste -- and ridding the streets of critically ill-fitting clothing and painful panty lines -- is an honorable enough pursuit. But publicly rating unsuspecting female or male streetgoers just isn't that classy to begin with.
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