Tuesday, July 10, 2012

I always knew I liked men

How about this:  At the end of May, I ranted on and on about how important it is to keep yourself healthy if for no other reason than for your kids' sake, and then in my last post I'm telling guys how awesome and sexy it is for them to have a belly.  In the comments section, I even went as far as to tell one male reader, Coach, to yeah, ditch that stupid weight loss program of yours. 

Don't you hate people who talk out of both sides of their mouth?

Hey, don't tell the husb, but I have had Louis C.K. on the mind these past weeks, I think because he's been in the media so much lately.  Anyway, I was thinking about how I can relate to so much of what he says, and then last night I was listening to one of Adam Carolla's podcasts and I was like, WHOA! and had a total epiphany. 

You know who Adam Carolla is, right?  He and his bud Jimmy Kimmel had The Man Show (funny as hell) years ago and he had a syndicated radio show after that, for a while co-hosted with Danny Bonaduce (one redhead I don't find attractive, but he is pretty interesting).  I've always liked Adam Carolla, perhaps because I think he's probably as big a pain in the ass as I am in the way he's perpetually annoyed about everything--he even had a segment on his radio show called "What can't Adam complain about?"  I can so relate.

Anyway, right now I'm reading his book In Fifty Years We'll All Be Chicks, in which he rants about "the pussification of America."  

"We've become self-entitled, thin-skinned, hyperallergic, gender-neutral, View-viewing little girls," he says on page 1.  Needless to say, we share the same view of helicopter parents.  In fact, I think I agree with just about everything this guy says. 

Hold on, I'm getting to my epiphany... 

Adam Carolla and Louis C.K. are both what I would call "guys' guys."  And, despite the foul mouth and love of dark beer, I identify myself 100 percent as a "girly girl."  I mean to the point of being annoying--I wouldn't dream of leaving the house without lipstick and neither my current or last husband has EVER seen me without nail polish--fingers and toes.  I use exclamation points! That's just who I am.  And I'm a real girlfriend, as in a friend to girls.  I love celebrity gossip and talking about relationships and how fat we are and all the stuff guys hate that we bring up. 
  
So here's my epiphany.  I realized that I nod my head in agreement every time Louis C.K. and Adam Carolla--and I'll throw Ricky Gervais and Larry David in there, too--open their mouths.  I'm totally with them.  But I can't think of one female celebrity that does the same thing for me.  Not Oprah, not Hillary, not Sarah Silverman... the only woman who comes close is Wanda Sykes.  And don't think it's lost on me that she's gay! 

It's weird because I always fancy myself as having such a feminine perspective (not feminist, sorry) when in fact, maybe I'm more guyish than I think I am.   How can that be???   Now I have to rethink my whole self...

So I'm wondering, whose voices do you identify with?  Who says the crap that you're totally on board with?  Anyone from the opposite gender? 

I'm eager to hear what you have to say!  (Exclamation point!) 

9 comments:

~Coach said...

Hey, I think I asked before, but do you have a twitter account? I can't find one, but you need one... :) I'm following Dane Cook, Jim Gaffigan, Dennis Miller, etc... and can't find you...

Taradharma said...

Chris Rock comes immediately to mind. He cuts right through the crap and tells it like it is.

I also like the guys you mention - they are such guy guys and I love them for that! Don't always go with their perspective, but I can still appreciate it and laugh with it. I also like comic Marc Maron.

And, finally, I would argue that perhaps you ARE a feminist. I'd be interested to hear what your definition is, because you are an independent gal with her own voice, and you make your living doing just that. To me, without feminism, you wouldn't have the opportunity to do that.

Thanks for a great post!

DuggleBogey said...

I listen to Adam's podcast every day on the way to and from work. I love the show and agree that he's interesting while disagreeing with almost everything he says.

He's brilliant...for a retard. He only speaks from his own, completely uneducated experience, and the evidence for his theories is 100% anecdotal (and usually hilarious.)

He is very thought provoking, and I enjoy his show, which is just 90 minutes of daily complaining to anyone in his studio who will listen.

Vegas Linda Lou said...

@ Coach: I do have a Twitter account--my apologies for not answering your question before. I was on it for a while when it first came out and got overwhelmed by all the inane "This bagel is delicious" Tweets and walked away. I know there's real value in it--I've realized many benefits from Facebook, including gigs--but I just don't feel like having to keep up with one more thing.

@ Tara: You have a point that without feminism, I might not be able to be me. Never thought of that. I need to look into this a little more... hmmm... I smell an upcoming blog post.

@ DugglyBogey: New commenter--thanks! And thanks for pointing out that there's pleasure to be had from listening to someone complain. That's probably why people follow this site!

~Coach said...

Ugghhh, just unfollow the bagel people... ;)

Anonymous said...

"One thousand years from now there'll be no guys and no girls, just wankers. Sounds great to me."

- from Trainspotting

JeannetteLS said...

For me, feminism amounts to being yourself and screw what others say about it all. To follow your dream and, again, screw what anyone else says about it. To be confident in all of that. Without losing compassion for people or the capacity to know that love is not about selfish gimme bullshit but about the ability to think about other people more than yourself.

Which applies to men.

Maybe opposites attract. I'm not that much into men's men in terms of hanging out with them, BUT I love Adam and Louis because it is a RELIEF to hear and watch them, if that makes sense.

You are a girlie girl who loves all man men. Makes sense entirely to me. YOu are not in the least apologetic for ditching the bastard and chasing a dream or twelve. That's feminism to me.

I am a bleeding from every pore, sick to death of dealing with make up, love to lift weights and miss doing it, sometimes kinda new agey wack-a-doodle... who loves looking like the decrepid aging hippie I am--and a gypsy with full skirts and great big earrings.

And HATE helicopter parents and spoiled, entitled people of all ages. But now that I think of it, I just kinda like lots of kinds of men, so I'm not sure what that means.

Sure am having fun reading your stuff again! (And I won't tell your husb.

Fragrant Liar said...

Well I don't know. I always in the past got along better with guys. I am not very girly girl Not ruffly. But I do think I have learned to have girl friends and BE A GREAT girl friend. It took a long time.

I ADORE Wanda Sykes and Kristen Wiig.

Vegas Linda Lou said...

@ Jeanette; Very, very thoughtful comment, Jeanette. If we knew each other in real life, I know I'd love you.

@ Liar Girl: You know, I've heard about Kristen Wiig from people with a sense of humor I respect, but I'm not familiar with her work. I probably haven't watched a full episode of Saturday Night Live since they got rid of the original Not Ready for Primetime players in 1980. I should look into her.