feminist

I think HBO is getting turned on by tackling sex in unconventional ways. They've found recent success with Thomas Jane's male gigolo in Hung. And now HBO's nabbed the venerable Diane Keaton to star in an as-yet-untitled series about a feminist icon who tries to light a fire under the movement by launching a dirty magazine for women.

Hell, the idea of a dirty magazine for women is taboo enough for a TV show. Aren't we led to believe that women are above all that; that only men are depraved enough to prop up that entire industry? Suddenly, in two different half-hour comedies, HBO is taking a long hard look at female sexuality in a way that's even more scrutinizing than Sex and the City.

The original idea was to have a young feminist work at an existing porn magazine. Thank god creators Marti Noxon and Dawn Parouse changed their minds. It's much more intriguing to consider an older woman spearheading such an enterprise. I am interested in what name they ultimately come up with for the show. What would you call it?

You know what I hate? Articles about television that begin with the phrase "I don't have a TV..." You know right away the article is going to be off the mark and probably clueless. If you don't own a television, you have no right writing about it or even giving your opinion about it. This article in The Boston Globe is no different. She finds herself liking Desperate Housewives even though "I'm not supposed to like it. I'm a feminist, who should be (and is) irritated by the 1950s gender roles the show seems to enshrine. And I'm a Christian, who should be (and is) rankled by the blase' extramarital sex and the unblinking consumerism. And yet, I love the show." Ugh. That opening itself is so off-putting on almost every level that you might not want to click below to read the rest. But go ahead anyway.