I am not going to go to town skewering the Herald's story today concerning the tendency of certain women to drink decent cocktails. Why? Because Ryan Weaver beat me to it!
Like me, Weaver is a fan of the good works of LUPEC (Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails), who are profiled in the story. I have Misty Kalfoken to thank, personally, for the joy that egg drinks have brought into my life. It's so dismaying to watch people who are good and decent and newsworthy even without their female bits get sucker-punched by a Women Do story. Here's Weaver's take:
...We have riffed with the genius Misty Kalkofen at her former post at Green Street, and rubbed elbows with Toro's Kirsten Amann (the female Scotch drinker in this piece) at Eastern Standard. Which is why we think they deserve better than a very belated Herald's article (which amounts to "dude, girls drink something other than melonballtinis?!")...
...Here's to more coverage of Boston's cocktail scene in general in 2009—in which the women who are the backbone of said scene aren't seen as exceptions, but rather the rule.
Right on.
Also, "Raising the bar"???? That the best you got, nameless Herald headline-writer? Feh.
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Harris, I am flattered.
ReplyDeleteI also say, here's to more smart media criticism from you, and more media annoyance in general over ridiculous "women + ubiquitous thing = trend!" stories masquerading as journalism.
Thank you for your kind mention of Women Do!, and also for the mathematical formula. To describe a thing with mathematics is to begin to understand it. And to understand it is to begin to seize power over it. I just made that up, but I think it's true.
ReplyDeleteWell, I think your point by point rubric for evaluating Women Do stories is adequate without getting Math involved, which journalists of course hate almost as much as Data and Science. For example:
ReplyDelete"The perpetrators of the classic Women Do story will inflict on us any number of stale puns, cliches, slogans, witticisms and bons mots. They will lard headlines, subheads, captions and ledes with great glops of insufferable cuteness. They will, in their gormless way, encourage girls to go."
If we accept this as true, then I think the pun "Raising the bar" and the use of the word "sassy" qualifies this story, beyond a doubt, as a Women Do! piece.
Also, next time I go to Drink, I'm asking Misty for a Peanut Malt Flip. Thanks for that, too!
ReplyDeleteI give this story a 4. One point for Irrelevance, one for Bullshit and two for Perkiness. Not the worst of the lot by a long shot, and it was really focused more on LUPEC than OMG WOMEN DRINK. But that first sentence really sticketh in the craw.
ReplyDeleteShould we start a list of banned words? "Sassy" is sure to be on it.
Hmm, I wonder if I can purposely do one of these stories just to get recognized in this blog. The parameters are very clear. Now to think of clever title, say, for a story about women enjoying Vietnamese food. How about, "Banh mi, bonne amie?"
ReplyDeleteOh dear. How meta. Clearly, this blog is not immune to the law of unintended consequences.
ReplyDeleteBut you should really do Korean food, so you can call it "Seoul sisters."
Perhaps! I hear that women who dare to eat manly spicy food is becoming a trend.
ReplyDeleteSpicy food is detrimental to one's babymaking abilities, and is to thus be avoided utterly.
ReplyDeleteThat explains why you were egging me on at Hell Night last year, er, Marty.
ReplyDeleteIn all fairness, I probably ought not have eaten The Death Banana while four months pregnant.