Before I begin, I just wanted to say "Amen" to D's post below! Ughhh nothing's worse than an unwelcomed grinder.
Speaking of grinding, did you happen to catch Burger King's lastest commercial?
I just happened to see it on TV and found it really disturbing.
Instead of dancing to Sir Mixalots' "I like big butts," dancers were booty shaking it to "I like square butts" with square boxes stuck atop their deriere, all the while promoting flame-broiled goodness. Naturally the King was all up on the dancers, grinning like a pervert. First of all, what the H do booty dancers have to do with my hamburger??!??
Second-and here's the kicker-this commercial was for the BK Kid's Meal. Booty dancing and a creepy King for a Kid's meal commercial? This perverseness is not new when talking about BK. They have been putting out a slew of contraversial commercials. Remember when they taste tested the Whopper with people from the most isolated part of the world in order to get their pure, untainted opinion of it? Div wrote a great blog on it a whiles back. I'll post it when I find it. They also promoted their miniburgers, the BK stacker, by using midget actors.
What do you think of BK's line of ads recently? A bit much?
Monday, April 20, 2009
Baby When We're Grinding It's Not Delighting
Remember that 90s jam from Next, “Too Close?” Need a refresher? It goes something like this: “Baby, when we’re grinding/ I get so excited/ Ooh how I like it/ I try but I can’t fight it.”
And then the girl goes: “Step back you’re dancing kinda close/ I feel a little poke coming through/ on you.”
I’ll admit, as an innocent grade schooler at the time, I had no idea what this song was Really about. I just thought it had a nice beat. This song’s been getting a lot of airplay recently on the Rockford station 97ZOK. And as a grown woman, I have to say, this song perfectly describes the awkward experience that is grinding.
I’ve been meaning to write about this for quite a while now but haven’t had enough time to hammer out a post that would do the topic justice.
As a woman, how many times have you been innocently getting down on the dance floor with your girls (or whomever) when all of a sudden, your backside has been assaulted by a desperate male. He might start off just dancing up on you, which at first, I’ll admit can be flattering, in the way that getting hit on can be flattering and (not always) kind of gross at the same time. But then he gets into it (and gets hornier) and next thing you know, he’s grinding you, essentially humping your butt, no longer to any sort of rhythm.
“Dude, step back. You’re dancing kinda close,” might be your reaction. But just like in the song, desperate guy likes the sensation too much and refuses to move. You walk away, dance all up on your girls, try every possible method of diversion you can think of, and he still doesn’t get it. He persists in his awkward humping. What’s a dance-loving girl to do?
I’ll share an experience. When I was in Austin, my girlfriends and I went out to this really fun bar on 6th Street that featured a huge dance floor. Shortly after I got there, a dance partner found me. At first, I was flattered. “Alright, I still have it” I thought. But after a while, this guy turned into a nuisance. He was aggressive, thrusting into me, wandering with his hands, and he kept twirling me around in attempt to kiss me. This guy was the definition of desperate. I pushed him away several times, turned my face away from him many more times, and just plain rejected his lunch date offer. This guy really didn’t get the hint. I rejected him more than I’ve ever rejected anyone in my life but, he just kept coming back and grinding up on me. At some point, I just gave up and allowed him to do this behind me while I danced to the actual beat and focused on having a good time with my friends.
I in no way felt I was leading this guy on. Yet someone later commented that this desperate guy came to dance floor with clear intentions. By dancing with him, I was somehow the guilty party. Or maybe just by dancing provocatively, I was inviting this kind of behavior. I like to booty dance; I won’t apologize for it
.
On another occassion, my coworker and I were talking about going out to dance. She mentioned that dancing for single twentysomethings is all about finding a sexual partner at the end of the night. Now that she’s older (and married), dancing’s about having fun with one’s friends. But I take issue with that.
If at the end of the night, I’ve meet a decent guy on the dance floor (is this possible?), I would entertain the idea of going on a date with him or seeing where the night leads us. But when I go out dancing, I have no intentions other than having my desire to dance fulfilled. Generally, I just want to have fun with friends. Honestly, I’ve just got a dance itch that needs to be scratched.
What’s your take on grinding? Does it turn you on? Do you find it annoying? Is it just whatever? Something you’ve gotten used to? When you go out dancing are you just going out dancing? Or is the goal of your night to hook up with a stranger? Is it different for men and women?
As a woman, I’m generally left grossed out by the exchange, based on the type of guy who chooses to grind up on me. Maybe if the guy made himself more attractive to me, I wouldn’t feel so dirty. Maybe it’d turn me on. But I have yet to find a grinder I could be attracted to.
- D
And then the girl goes: “Step back you’re dancing kinda close/ I feel a little poke coming through/ on you.”
I’ll admit, as an innocent grade schooler at the time, I had no idea what this song was Really about. I just thought it had a nice beat. This song’s been getting a lot of airplay recently on the Rockford station 97ZOK. And as a grown woman, I have to say, this song perfectly describes the awkward experience that is grinding.
I’ve been meaning to write about this for quite a while now but haven’t had enough time to hammer out a post that would do the topic justice.
As a woman, how many times have you been innocently getting down on the dance floor with your girls (or whomever) when all of a sudden, your backside has been assaulted by a desperate male. He might start off just dancing up on you, which at first, I’ll admit can be flattering, in the way that getting hit on can be flattering and (not always) kind of gross at the same time. But then he gets into it (and gets hornier) and next thing you know, he’s grinding you, essentially humping your butt, no longer to any sort of rhythm.
“Dude, step back. You’re dancing kinda close,” might be your reaction. But just like in the song, desperate guy likes the sensation too much and refuses to move. You walk away, dance all up on your girls, try every possible method of diversion you can think of, and he still doesn’t get it. He persists in his awkward humping. What’s a dance-loving girl to do?
I’ll share an experience. When I was in Austin, my girlfriends and I went out to this really fun bar on 6th Street that featured a huge dance floor. Shortly after I got there, a dance partner found me. At first, I was flattered. “Alright, I still have it” I thought. But after a while, this guy turned into a nuisance. He was aggressive, thrusting into me, wandering with his hands, and he kept twirling me around in attempt to kiss me. This guy was the definition of desperate. I pushed him away several times, turned my face away from him many more times, and just plain rejected his lunch date offer. This guy really didn’t get the hint. I rejected him more than I’ve ever rejected anyone in my life but, he just kept coming back and grinding up on me. At some point, I just gave up and allowed him to do this behind me while I danced to the actual beat and focused on having a good time with my friends.
I in no way felt I was leading this guy on. Yet someone later commented that this desperate guy came to dance floor with clear intentions. By dancing with him, I was somehow the guilty party. Or maybe just by dancing provocatively, I was inviting this kind of behavior. I like to booty dance; I won’t apologize for it
.On another occassion, my coworker and I were talking about going out to dance. She mentioned that dancing for single twentysomethings is all about finding a sexual partner at the end of the night. Now that she’s older (and married), dancing’s about having fun with one’s friends. But I take issue with that.
If at the end of the night, I’ve meet a decent guy on the dance floor (is this possible?), I would entertain the idea of going on a date with him or seeing where the night leads us. But when I go out dancing, I have no intentions other than having my desire to dance fulfilled. Generally, I just want to have fun with friends. Honestly, I’ve just got a dance itch that needs to be scratched.
What’s your take on grinding? Does it turn you on? Do you find it annoying? Is it just whatever? Something you’ve gotten used to? When you go out dancing are you just going out dancing? Or is the goal of your night to hook up with a stranger? Is it different for men and women?
As a woman, I’m generally left grossed out by the exchange, based on the type of guy who chooses to grind up on me. Maybe if the guy made himself more attractive to me, I wouldn’t feel so dirty. Maybe it’d turn me on. But I have yet to find a grinder I could be attracted to.
- D
Monday, April 13, 2009
Maybe Texas Should Just Leave the Union
Texas Representative Betty Brown has requested that Asian-Americans change their names so they are "easier for [other] Americans to deal with."
This story offends me on so many levels. First of all, as an Asian-American with a supposedly unpronounceable name, I dare anyone to make me change my name. Not happening. Second, to force people to change their names for voting purposes is a clear civil rights violation. And third, well, I just came back from Austin and had a great time there (though I must note that I observed Austin to be pretty White-washed).
Read about it here: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6365600.html
Good old Democratic Party (as well as The Organization of Chinese Americans, and I'm sure several other Asian-American groups) demanded an apology. Brown gave one a few days later, and made some other stupid statements about "diversity" and "enrichment." Ya right, if you really appreciated diversity and felt that different ethnic backgrounds enrich a state, you wouldn't have made those comments in the first place, would you?
_ D
This story offends me on so many levels. First of all, as an Asian-American with a supposedly unpronounceable name, I dare anyone to make me change my name. Not happening. Second, to force people to change their names for voting purposes is a clear civil rights violation. And third, well, I just came back from Austin and had a great time there (though I must note that I observed Austin to be pretty White-washed).
Read about it here: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6365600.html
Good old Democratic Party (as well as The Organization of Chinese Americans, and I'm sure several other Asian-American groups) demanded an apology. Brown gave one a few days later, and made some other stupid statements about "diversity" and "enrichment." Ya right, if you really appreciated diversity and felt that different ethnic backgrounds enrich a state, you wouldn't have made those comments in the first place, would you?
_ D
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Kumar (Minus Harold) Goes to the White House
If you're a House fanatic, 'scuse me for potentially spoiling last night's episode for you. Relax, I'm not going to tell you what happened. All I will say is that Kal Penn is working for a different House now. The White House! Read about it here: http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2009-04-07-penn-white-house_N.htm.So apparently Kal Penn and the prez got to be friendly on the campaign trail (you may have noticed their embrace at Obama's inauguration jam). And now Penn's going to be representing Asian-Americans as the associate director in the Office of Public Liaison.
Who would have thought this guy, essentially the only Indian-American actor to get lead roles in somewhat mainstream films, would have ended up helping to running our country? Well, I hope he doesn't muck it up. I'd love to see more Asian-Americans in future administrations.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
How 'Bout a Lump of Racial Dialogue with Your Morning Coffee?
This link sends you to a segment from Good Morning America that played Thursday morning. http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=7237067
It's not that long, so I urge you to watch it. It's not need-to-know news or anything. However, this clips provides some insights into the racial climate of today. Ugh, a conversation about race, that's too heavy for me, you say? Believe it or not, it's actually kind of precious.
Basically, Diane and Robin chat with one panel of White children and one panel of Black children about their thoughts on race and racism.
Again, you can watch it here (sorry, ABC wouldn't let me embed the footage):
http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=7237067
So, what do you think readers? Are kids today less racist than kids from the previous decade? Or rather, have 21st Century kids grown up in more tolerant, liberal times? Have attitudes about race shifted so severely in the last 10 years that kids think of skin color as just a mere afterthought? How have they been influenced by the election of a Black president?
My thing is, how reliable are kids anyway when it comes to measuring attitudes about social constructs, like race? Racism and prejudice are not inherent; nobody's born racist. Intolerance is something you have to be taught - by your parents, society, schools, etc. As a kid, I lived in a large apartment complex and played with a multi-racial crew of children. Save the fact that I spoke a different language from them, I never thought of them as different from me.
So while I think it is awesome that these kids seem unaffected by race (save the fact that
they have noticed that there are a rainbow of skin colors in the world), I'm not going to jump to any conclusions. I'd like to see Robin and Diane have another convo with these kids in about 10 years. And if they maintain the attitudes they displayed as children, then I'd say we're on our way to achieving the post-racial America dream.
One thing I will say is that there has been a noticeable change in power dynamics in the last 20 years. Those kids are perceptive; Oprah and Will Smith are two of the most powerful people in the world. And how cool is it that they consider Michelle Obama to be one of the most beautiful women in the world?
It's not that long, so I urge you to watch it. It's not need-to-know news or anything. However, this clips provides some insights into the racial climate of today. Ugh, a conversation about race, that's too heavy for me, you say? Believe it or not, it's actually kind of precious.
Basically, Diane and Robin chat with one panel of White children and one panel of Black children about their thoughts on race and racism.
Again, you can watch it here (sorry, ABC wouldn't let me embed the footage):
http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=7237067
So, what do you think readers? Are kids today less racist than kids from the previous decade? Or rather, have 21st Century kids grown up in more tolerant, liberal times? Have attitudes about race shifted so severely in the last 10 years that kids think of skin color as just a mere afterthought? How have they been influenced by the election of a Black president?
My thing is, how reliable are kids anyway when it comes to measuring attitudes about social constructs, like race? Racism and prejudice are not inherent; nobody's born racist. Intolerance is something you have to be taught - by your parents, society, schools, etc. As a kid, I lived in a large apartment complex and played with a multi-racial crew of children. Save the fact that I spoke a different language from them, I never thought of them as different from me.
So while I think it is awesome that these kids seem unaffected by race (save the fact that
they have noticed that there are a rainbow of skin colors in the world), I'm not going to jump to any conclusions. I'd like to see Robin and Diane have another convo with these kids in about 10 years. And if they maintain the attitudes they displayed as children, then I'd say we're on our way to achieving the post-racial America dream.One thing I will say is that there has been a noticeable change in power dynamics in the last 20 years. Those kids are perceptive; Oprah and Will Smith are two of the most powerful people in the world. And how cool is it that they consider Michelle Obama to be one of the most beautiful women in the world?
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