Of balls and ballsiness.

[Plaid Adder]

I was just looking at another DU thread that links to a Google webcast about the online response to Stephen Colbert's WH press correspondents' dinner speech. The presenter appeared to be primarily struck by how often the people who posted on the "Thank You, Stephen Colbert" site talked about how ginormous Colbert's balls must be. Now, he perhaps didn't realize that some of this is picking up on Jon Stewart's description of Colbert's performance as "ballsalicious;" but still, the fact is that this actually hits something important not only about Colbert's performance but about American politics in general, to say nothing of gender, language, and why we don't yet have a woman president.

Obviously, on one level, the people who are writing in to compliment Colbert on his ballsiness don't literally mean it. Presumably nobody believes that an act of defiance, audacity, and courage actually causes your testicles to expand. Nevertheless, I was struck by the way in which some of these comments seemed to really insist upon keeping the image concrete--imagining Colbert's tailor unable to keep up with his changing dimensions, offering to take up a collection for a wheelbarrow in which Colbert could carry them when they got to be too big, etc. etc. And I thought, in some way, this connection between boldness and balls really matters. So what does it really mean that the metaphor of choice for these qualities comes from a part of the body that women don't have?

OK, before you go hit 'reply' to flame me, at least read the following disclaimer: I am not trying to take the word "balls" or its variant forms (ballsy, ballsalicious, ballsaplenty, ballsabouncin', etc.) away from people who want to use it, or to demand that people come up with and use some kind of feminine or gender-neutral equivalent in order to make this corner of American slang 'fair and balanced.' Nor am I saying that the use of 'balls' in this context offends me. I don't think it's offensive; I think it's interesting. In fact I think it has much to teach the Democratic Party and the women who are bidding for leadership positions within it about how to promote themselves and their principles without losing popularity.

So, as someone who doesn't actually have balls, the first thing that strikes me about this figure of speech is the fact that I cannot think of an equivalent expression that works the same way for us. I have sometimes heard women try to use "ovaries" in place of "balls" when talking about another woman, but I don't think it works. Physiologically, ovaries and testicles serve analogous functions; semantically and emotionally, that comparison doesn't work because our ovaries don't mean to us what testicles appear to mean to the guys. Your ovaries are in fact intimately connected to your sense of yourself as a woman, but it's a more complicated, fraught, and indirect connection than the apparently universally understood equation of balls with manhood. Also, I don't personally associate my ovaries with daring, boldness, audacity, courage, etc., although who knows, maybe I should. I associate them pretty much exclusively with fertility--which, when you think about what's involved in childbirth, does actually denote daring, boldness, audacity, and courage, but not as obviously or visibly. And now that I think about it, the expression "to have someone by the balls," which gives us one of our the few common figures for male vulnerability that don't involve some kind of homophobic play on sodomy, might be a way of trying to communicate to the other half what it feels like to have the entire American right wing trying to seize our ovaries; but making that equivalence clear would require some explanation.

The bottom line is, I don't think that for most women there is an anatomical feature that means to us what the balls appear to mean to men. When I try to come up with a one-word non-biological approximation of what we really mean by "balls," the closest I can get is "whup-ass." I think it pretty much captures the essence, but the thing is that although the ability to kick ass is something that I like to believe I have, I don't imagine it as being localized in a particular part of my body. I mean to me, saying, "Wow, Helen Thomas, that took some serious ovaries!" doesn't make any more sense than saying, "Wow, Helen Thomas, you must have a cervix of steel!" In fact, that would make more sense, in a way, because if you wind up using it, your cervix does have to be able to stand up to some serious punishment. But of course all the work your cervix does is invisible to the naked eye, whereas the balls are, figuratively, hanging out there for all to see.

Anyway. My point is not to bemoan this linguistic discrepancy, but to try to understand what it means. And one of the things I think it indicates is how very, very, very important the attributes ballsiness are to the average American guy's sense of self. Because basically, the existence of "balls" as a figure of speech really indicates that for the average guy, the ability to see himself as bold, daring, audacious, willing to stand up to anyone even if he's the president of the most corrupt American administration in history and best buds with a guy who can shoot a 78-year-old man in the face and get away with it, and so on is as basic as his gender and the anatomical features upon which that gender identity is founded. Losing one is as traumatic and identity-threatening as losing the other. That's why the word "emasculate" means more than just "geld."

Since everyone is looking for a leader who is a mirror of himself, guys who feel this way are going to want leaders with balls--literally and figuratively. Having to vote for someone means identifying with him on some level, and so voting for someone who, from your POV, has no balls is going to take away a little bit of your own ballsiness. And that is why the right-wing attack machine has worked so long, so hard, and so effectively to present the Democratic Party as the neutered party. They are unfortunately helped along by a tribe of consultants who are teaching Democratic politicians that to demonstrate any of the attributes that make up ballsiness will piss off the swing voters and cost them the election. But anyway, if you think about what the term "liberal" has been twisted to mean, you will note that the stereotypical liberal of the right-wing imagination has no balls whatsoever. At least, the men don't have balls. The women do have balls--which just goes to show you how wrong everything is over there in Liberalandia, because of course women don't naturally have balls, so the only way for them to get balls is to steal them off their male colleagues. Hence, Hillary Clinton is monstrous and a nightmare precisely because her political ruthlessness and unfeminine ambition betray the cojones that she's not supposed to have, and which she has undoubtedly ripped from the body of her husband.

So, in a country stocked with people who are neither willing nor able to interrogate their fundamental assumptions about gender identity, how do we respond to this? Well, I would suggest that instead of listening to the consultants that have been helping them lose elections since 1992, our guy Democratic hopefuls adopt the following 2-point plan:

1) Model forms of ballsiness other than fanaticism, stupidity, arrogance, and indiscriminate violence.

Because that's basically the Bush version of ballsiness: stay the course, never question anything, never admit you were wrong, never listen, and carry around a huge fucking arsenal with which to blast the bejeezus out of anyone who has the nerve to mock you for trying to disguise your lack of true balls with this cartoonishly crude and inaccurate prosthetic approximation of them. It is possible to demonstrate boldness, audacity, courage, strength, and whatnot without setting the entire world on fire. People need to see what real ballsiness looks like, or they will continue to cling to the Bush/right-wing faux-ballsiness--because to be without ballsiness at all is simply impossible.

2) Identify and exploit the ways in which the right-wing is constantly trying to camouflage its pitifully inadequate ballsiness.

They tried doing this in the 2004 election cycle with the whole Vietnam vet vs. AWOL thing, but it didn't work because of the Swiftboating and Memogate. But ballsiness is not restricted to the willingness to risk physical harm or death in the service of your country, and there are just so many ways in which the whole right-wing agenda could be attacked as balls-less. For instance, this trading-liberty-for-security thing. What, do Americans not have the balls to risk danger in order to protect our fundamental liberties? Why, if you had a pair, would you think that allowing the president to break the law was something you had to put up with just because you're scared of a bunch of terrorists? Massachusetts, supposedly a tepid swamp of emasculated latte-drinking liberal wusses, is actually the cradle of liberty because its colonial inhabitants had the balls to stand up to the British. And it's the cradle of equality now, because in Massachusetts, evidently, straight men aren't so insecure that they have to promote homophobia and discrimination just to make themselves feel like real men. It'd be fun to see that worked into the campaign against the next Federal Marriage Amendment: "Stand Up For Equality--If You've Got The Balls!"

But seriously now: where does this leave the women? Well, the more successful the opposition is at #1, the easier it will be for women to persuade voters that ballsiness can reside in someone who does not actually have balls. However, women will always be at a disadvantage as long as courage, audacity, boldness, etc. are gendered masculine, because the more clearly they project these desired qualities the more masculinized they become, and to the unreconstructed the masculinized woman may actually be more threatening than the feminized man (I think you could make a case for either). We need to be able to mark courage, boldness, etc. as feminine as clearly and distinctly as the "balls" idiom marks them as masculine; and we're not going to be able to do it just by plugging in a different part of the body. How we do it, I don't know; if I did, I would move to DC and make hundreds of thousands of dollars selling this secret to Hillary Clinton. But that is what it's going to take before we have a woman president.

My brother and my father (both Republicans) used to have this joke together where one would say, " 'Balls!' said the queen," and the other would answer, "If she'd had two, she'd be king!" Much to unpack there, but basically I think the lesson from the Colbert Incident is that ballsiness sells. I look forward to seeing the Democrats figure out ways of making the party more ballsalicious.

C ya,

The Plaid Adder

[reichstag911]

1. This is either masterful satire,...

...on the order of Swift's "A Modest Proposal," or it's just ballserrific political commentary. I can't decide. :shrug:

[Radio_Lady]

76. I've been considering testicles in another way, besides politically.

(Obviously, I'm a woman, and never had any testicles at all.) But I have been buying underwear for three husbands, all of whom wore (wear) only briefs (not boxers). Also, until recently, my doctor prescribed a small dose of testosterone for me at menopause. After six weeks, I decided it was not in my best interests to take it.

Now, I am somewhat off topic. Basically, I am jealous of you, Plaid Adder, because I didn't write your piece. I have often wondered about the use of descriptions of these male sex organs to explain the strength of a person's positions. The usage seems to be universal, at least in the Italian and Spanish languages; not sure how to say "balls" in French, but there must be an equivalent. And the joke about the Queen being King that you shared at the end of the post was also expounded in my home.

I compliment you on your piece. I am sending the link to several other people I know.

Thanks for speaking MY mind!

Cheerio! We're off to Scotland and England, to visit the Queen. "If she had balls, she'd be King!"

Radio_Lady

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

78. Here is the link I posted last Thursday to the Google video...

I wonder if this is what got The Plaid Adder running with the balls, so to speak.

My post of last week below.

http://www.current.tv/google/GC01324

Click on the picture of Stephen's face for a very interesting TV report (called Google current) on the effect of Stephen's clip.

The clip is called "Cantaloupe" because of the size of Stephen's BALLS (highly recommended)

[Jemmons]

87. words ballsy or ballsalicios extremely precise and easy to understand

Im all for PC, which i take to mean that you treat your friends and opponents with respect and dignity. But finding a "non-gender" replacement for "balls" is just petty stupidity, which misses the whole point. Actually I find the words ballsy or ballsalicios extremely precise and extremely easy to understand, something which is a hard combination to beat.

Balls, ballsy, balsalicious refers to having a nice and effective supply of testosterone from the testicles AND feeling that certain instinctive fearlessness that the testosterone is meant to promote.

Having balls means that you have an instinctive urge to either stand your ground or reclaim what is yours when someone is occupying it. Just before a football team have a match on their home turf their testosterone levels will surge, something which is not matched by the visitors. The brain regulates this, but it does so using the testicles.

"Spine" is not a viable replacement. Spine is what Hans Blix had when he resisted pressure from the war thugs, but it is something a lot more dependent on principles than "having balls" do. "Courage" is no better, as that refers to being operational in spite of fears, not to doing something dangerous because you "feel like it".
"Heart" would be fine if it didn't signify a level of mercy that just isn't in a "ballsy" act.

"Balls" signifies something - testosterone - that is not exclusively male, its just something that males have a greater tendency for. Even if the technicalities are a bit wrong it is entirely possible for women to be "ballsy" - women have a varying level of testosterone in their body, even if the source is not testicles. But I do suspect that women actually exhibit more courage than pure balls.

And it should be pointed out that "balls" is exactly what the liars, cowards and bullies of the bush administration lacks: They are neocon theorists, not grounded in sound human instinct.

[Radio_Lady]

111. There is a Yiddish word for this used commonly by Jewish people --

However, it has made inroads in English.

It's not easy to pronounce, but it's useful, and not gender associated:

The word is: CHUTZPAH

Chutzpah is the quality of audacity, for good or for bad. The word derives from the Yiddish khutspeh (חוצפה) used by Jewish people originally from Eastern Europe. This, in turn, derived from the Hebrew word khutzpah (חֻצְפָּה), meaning "insolence", "audacity", and "impertinence"; though, by now, the English usage of the word has taken on a wider spectrum of meaning, having been popularized through vernacular use, film, literature and television.

Though originally referring to a negative quality, the word chutzpah has developed some interesting positive connotations in English usage, while generally remaining harshly negative when used by English-speaking Jews. In Hebrew, chutzpah is used indignantly, to describe someone who has outstepped the boundaries of accepted polite behaviour for selfish reasons, while in English chutzpah can be spoken in admiration of non-conformist but gutsy audacity. Leo Rosten in The Joys of Yiddish defines chutzpah as "gall, brazen nerve, effrontery, incredible 'guts', presumption plus arrogance such as no other word and no other language can do justice to."

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chutzpah

Synonyms

Though there are several near-synonyms for chutzpah, none captures the particular ambivalent blend of the Yiddish.
Some approximate synonyms are:

audacity
effrontery
cheekiness
nerve
daring
gutsiness
hubris
gall
arrogance
presumption
pushiness
attitude
ballsiness, cojones
gumption
brazenness
brass
impudence
sisu

[Captain Hilts]

2. It's the sexist version of "That's awfully 'white' of you! "

People really need to stop referring to 'balls' as being the prerequisite of having moral fortitude. It's really sexist.

[Maru Kitteh]

134. Would you believe I made it 21 years in Nebraska before I heard that

ugly expression? You are correct about "balls" as a description of courage or determination. It should be cast away and treated as oylde kyngs inglysh.

[IndyOp]

3. 'Courage' communicates more than 'balls' -

Courage, vision, wisdom, integrity --

Stephen Colbert is courageous.
Cynthia McKinney is courageous.

Al Gore has remarkable vision.
Barbara Boxer has vision.

John Conyers is a man of great wisdom.
Maxine Waters is a woman of great wisdom.

Dennis Kucinich is a man of integrity.
Stephanie Tubbs-Jones is a woman of integrity.

Using 'balls' is often intellectually lazy - just like using other too common forms of expression - shit, f***.

That's my take...

[Lance_Boyle]

4. the gender-neutral equivalent is 'gonads'

It is un-scrotocentric.

[Captain Hilts]

5. How about having a 'spine'???? nt

[Lance_Boyle]

8. also gender-neutral. n/t

[Orangepeel]

24. "guts" is also gender-neutral

as long as we are looking for body part analogies, I don't know what's wrong with that one.

[bloom]

147. It seems that "guts" used to be used more often than nowadays.

Now we seem to be in the "back to the Patriarchy" mode.

[Brazenly Liberal]

38. "unscrotocentric"?????

:rofl: :rofl:

Damn, I love a good funny neologism!

[jollyreaper2112]

135. But do you believe....

Is it possible for a woman to be a dick? I know it's possible for men to be pussies. If it's horribly ohjectifying and gender-discriminating to say that the state of being a "pussy" means feminine and weak and incapable of asserting one's self in a meaningful way, does that mean the state of being a dick (arrogant, cocky, over-confident, uncaring of the feelings of others or the harm caused by one's egotistical actions) is also insulting? Does this mean that women are incapable of being total dicks? Because I've kown some women who are total dicks, every bit as much as some men I've known. I think it's discriminating to claim that women cannot be as big of dicks as men. Or should we just call them assholes? There are plenty of assholes across both genders and everyone has one.

[Captain Hilts]

143. I don't use 'dick' or 'pussy', 'fuckhead', 'candyass' and 'bastard' work..

for me.

Anybody can be a candyass, a fuckhead or a bastard.

My friend had an Aunt Margaret who, she said, "knew no 'people', for Aunt Margaret, all of humanity fell into one or more of three categories:

God-damned fools,
Stupid sons of bitches
and merciless bastards.

[jollyreaper2112]

145. but....

"Fuckhead" could refer to a penis just as easily as a gender-ambiguous bastard. And correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't bastard usually refer to a male child of dubious paterlineal parentage? I can't recall many females given such an epithet.

I think that obsessing over quirks of language distracts from the real issues at hand. Sort of like the immigration debate... "Hey, we're hard-working blue-collar 'mericans, you're wetback illegals!" Feh. You know how the owners of capital view you? Niggers. White, black, red, yellow, blue, you work for their wages and they'll call you whatever they want. You're lower than dirt. You have calloused hands, you don't have a trust fund. You're common. Skin color is an aftertought.

[cat starbuck]

149. Bastard Male and Female

Bastard is used to refer to both males and females, for instance, Elizabeth I was called a bastard.

My guess is, we commonly refer to males as bastards (wait...I'm not going there...) because of hereditary laws and rights. A daughter gets the spinning wheel, but a male inherits the land. Thus, a male issue's legality or legitimacy meant something in a legal sense.

[jollyreaper2112]

151. ah...

I was not aware of her being called a bastard. It seems today that the gender-specific pejorative is "bastard" for the male and "bitch" for the female, the general inference remaining shared whereas the particulars can vary by gender.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

6. I think this analogy happened

because in the past, men were the ones to take bold courses; women who did so were usually called female dogs or worse; it was "not ladilike" to be strong, etc. etc.

[Vincardog]

25. As a dog kennel owner of long standing Believe me BITCH is not

a word of derision. If you are acting like a bitch you are acting like you will kill and gut anything that threatens you or yours. You know Ballsy with teeth.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

49. Oh, I agree

but it is always used as a term of dismissiveness, it seems-or at least it used to be. Sort of like "smart girls don't get husbands, so act cute and dumb" meme I heard while growing up.

[Vincardog]

used by ignorant people. Consider the source

I know we all heard stuff when we were growing up. The difference now is we have our critical factor in mind to filter the BS out.

[Katherine Brengle]

127. Me likey, me definitely likey!

That rocks, and I will tell it to the first person I come across, lol.

[Brazenly Liberal]

7. The word is dichotomizing and evolving

(Is "dichotomizing" a word, itself, I wonder?)

At the same time that it still speaks to the ultramale concept of courage being contained in the testicles, it's also seeing a lot of gender-neutral usage. I hear people say - and I've said myself - that a woman is ballsy.

Actually, ballsy women are nothing new, but there's been something of a shift in meaning. It was always a positive thing to say, but formerly positive in the sense that it implied she had overcome the obstacles of gender. Now people use it without that subtext - with no gender associations implied.

[Captain Hilts]

13. "That's 'white' of you!" was a compliment to black people also...

but it inherently demeans them by implying that being black wasn't enough.

'Balls' does the same thing to women, no matter how complimentary it is meant to be.

[Brazenly Liberal]

34. Two different things.

"That's white of you" is not a word, despite the tortuous attempt to analogize the two.

Words evolve and change their meaning - and with it, the associations they have or don't have. It's always happened and always will. If I say someone is "balls" or "has balls," I'm not demeaning women in any way. If someone chooses to feel demeaned for her own reasons, there's not much I can do about that. BTW, if you're of such a mind to get your undies in a bundle over nonexistent offenses to pc-dom, let me tell you right now that I also use the words "dame" and "chick."

This conversation is demeaning, though. It's demeaning to all the people who have been genuinely hurt by the very real harm some words or phrases can do.

[Captain Hilts]

47. No, to say 'white' of you to a black person was a compliment.

And that phrase was used into the 1950s pretty commonly. Then people re-thought its meaning: the ultimate compliment to black people is to say they're 'white' acting?

The ultimate compliment to women is to say they are 'manly'?

[Brazenly Liberal]

58. I guess you were in such a snit, you didn't actually read my original post

It said that the term "balls" is losing its gender association, coming to mean boldness in general rather than manliness.

So, no, I don't think the ultimate compliment to women is to call them manly. But calling them ballsy can be quite a compliment. Not the ultimate compliment - I can't imagine where you got that stretch from.

[antigone382]

103. I wouldn't say Mookie is the one getting in a "snit"

She (I assume that the poster is a "she") is using logic and examples to express a different point of view from yours--otherwise known as participating in a discussion. Hence the term "discussion board." I didn't observe any personal insults or snarkiness directed towards you.

It seems to me the only ones getting really upset on this thread are the ones who are afraid of having the term "balls" taken away from them. And before anybody jumps down my throat for being overly "PC," I'd like to state for the record that I use the term "balls" a lot (hell, I even use the word "bitch"--frequently, and often in reference to myself). But that doesn't mean that there isn't a sexist assumption connected to that word on some level. The fact is, no matter how the term evolves, and no matter how many times it is used to complement women, it still connects a set of positive characteristics with an anatomical feature that no woman can ever have, just like a black person can never become "white." What is that if it isn't sexist?

Of course, calling anything sexist is a dangerous thing to do anymore, liable to get one called a feminazi and worse; it's funny that the people so eager to defend one word have such a negative, hyperbolic reaction to another one (and I'm not talking specifically about you, just making a general observation). So let me make it clear that I'm not trying to make a huge deal out of this, because it isn't one. I'm not saying that women will be eternally enslaved to the patriarchy until we cease and desist all use of the terms "balls," "cojones," etc., and replace them with nice, friendly gender-neutral terms. All I'm saying--and all the Plaid Adder and most of the people who agree with the Plaid Adder are saying--is that language is a reflection of our beliefs and values, and therefore the way we use that language is something that we should consider. I don't understand what everyone's getting in such a tizzy about.

[azurnoir]

102. WTF?

Don't mean to be disagreeable but did the"60's change things that much? Never been a compliment that I know of (not at least anyone black) but sometimes meaning s can change, just try asking any (almost ) black person from MN What "Minnesota Nice" really means.

[mnhtnbb]

9. Madeleine Albright got it when she brought up the cojones factor

in regard to Cuban pilots who were congratulating themselves on the size of their balls after shooting down unarmed civilian planes in 1996.


http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/gen/resources/players/albright/

[ShortnFiery]

32. Women who work in male oriented professions tend not

to get too sensitive about this. Hell, to me it's a complement. I'd much rather "have balls" than to be called "a heartless bitch."

The strengths of our feminine character are evolving ... but sorry, it's not PC and I'm a feminist who loves to figuratively lug around my big balls. :P

[ShortnFiery]

35. Yeah, I remember that she said words to the effect "that's NOT cojones,

that's cowardice."

Therefore, I humbly submit that *muchos grande cojones* - is a good thing to Albright too. :hi: ;)

[omega minimo]

10. The measure of a man

The reluctance that some people have to using the term Backbone, rather than Balls, is based on the fact that Backbone refers to firmness, strength, length, rigidity, flexibility and ERECTNESS.

Whereas "Balls" suggests that all it takes is "having them."


:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[Brazenly Liberal]

43. I have to say I disagree

Balls has an association of boldness that courageous doesn't necessarily have. You can be quietly courageous. You canNOT be quietly ballsy.

[omega minimo]

56. Testosterone is not always the solution

Quite often, it's the problem

:hi:


"Just having" balls separates the men from the............. females. That's all.
:bounce:
:bounce:
:bounce:
:bounce:
:bounce:
:bounce:


As for "quietly ballsy" see Ray McGovern :thumbsup:

[Brazenly Liberal]

71. Maybe I should clarify

when I said "quietly courageous," I didn't mean speaking softly or politely. I meant the kind of courage people display in private.

I wouldn't call Ray McGovern quietly courageous. I'd call him one ballsy hero.

[omega minimo]

72. Missing the point on purpose

One of the hazards of "balls"

[MuseRider]

74. !

:hi: Funny to meet you here in this thread ;). A frequent topic these days. I never really thought they (balls) were all that interesting and for something so powerful they are damned easy to disable.

On edit

I wonder what the guys here would think if we were to always say, "Wow, what a set of ovaries!" Something tells me it would not go over very well except with a few who knew what we were up to.

[omega minimo]

84. Hey MuseRider!

Got Del?
:hug:

[MuseRider]

114. Not yet!

I have been sooooo darned busy I have not had a moment to even think for months now about anything entertaining really. It is getting ready to get worse but I have bookmarked the site and I will, I will one of these days. We have to work really hard now so I am doing that. We have to be able to push this state in the scary chance that the House and Senate pass a marriage amendment. So we are preparing and gaining some strength.

Don't have Del but I do have an enormous set of titanium ovaries these days!

:hug: back to you and a big :hi:

[CrispyQ]

90. lol

"A frequent topic these days. I never really thought they (balls) were all that interesting and for something so powerful they are damned easy to disable."


:rofl:
:rofl:
:rofl:

That's the funniest thing I've read all week!!

[omega minimo]

96. Must be why they're so sensitive

about "having" them

:evilgrin:








:think:
Imagine having all your gumption in a little sac!

[rfranklin]

11. Speaking of "balls in a wheelbarrow...

TIME MAGAZINE Aug. 3, 1962

Moving from the jungle was a native with elephantiasis . . . pushing a rude wheelbarrow before him. In the barrow rested his scrotum, a monstrous growth that . . . weighed more than 70 pounds and tied him a prisoner to his barrow. Few descriptions of a tropical disease have revolted more readers than this passage in James A. Michener's Tales of the South Pacific. In World War II, mumu,* or filariasis, which produces elephantiasis in its late stages, terrified U.S. fighting men in the Pacific as much as did the enemy. Some 15,000 U.S. servicemen were infected, but thanks largely to their being moved...

[Asgaya Dihi]

12. Good post, and good points

Given the images we've seen of balls over the last week or so I can definitely see your point, even if we don't mean it literally the imagery is there. I look at the term balls more like I do the term cool though, it doesn't mean temperature and I've seen plenty of women with big brass ones when it comes to balls. Steve Colbert interviewed one just a few nights ago who tried to tell the President what she thought when she had the chance to, Madeline Albright.

I think a lot of people misinterpret what cool, tough, or balls really means to people. One of the coolest things I ever saw someone I knew do was when my younger brother was in high school. Here he was at about 16 years old, six foot two inches or so and all jock as a basketball star. They were talking about modern culture and favorite movies in class and he stood in front his friends and proudly proclaimed The Little Mermaid as his favorite movie.

To me, that's balls, class, and cool. It doesn't mean tough guy, it just means being yourself and not afraid to say so. We could use a lot more of that type of thinking.

[Captain Hilts]

16. It means measuring moral fortitude in purely male terms. nt

[noamnety]

14. k & r

I find the gender implications troubling, as well.

I don't find it productive to attach masculine-specific language to qualities we want men AND women to have. It's not helpful to qualify it by saying women can be considered ballsy - a statement like that basically says even though you're a woman, you can learn to overcome that and act like a man. At the same time it reinforces in men that the way they gain respect is by acting macho (instead of courageous, intelligent, etc.).

[crispini]

15. k&r

great read!

[swimboy]

17. You've got a lotta moxie, kid!

Great essay. I myself thanked Colbert for having the globes to do what he did, and I try to be equitable and sensitive to language that can demean or divide.

But there it is. You've put your finger on it and before we begin to argue if it should mean what it does, we have to recognize that it does mean what it does to so many.

You are right that we need to model that quality in a noble way that gets away from merely posing. Practically any male idiot can walk around balls out and it doesn't benefit anyone.

I think a great body part to feature would be INTEGRITY.

[rudy23]

18. I like the alternative presented by Colbert, himself, "Huevos"

You could also say "Ladyballs" or "Thatchers" but that doesn't really solve anything. I like "Huevos" because it's the exact equivalent of "balls". Using the term takes the whole usage of "balls" from being gender specific, to being more about self-actualization.

I also believe that people just like to say "balls" because it's fun to say. "Huevos" is equally as fun to say, and you keep the Spanish effect enjoyed by those who like to say "cajones".

[poverlay]

19. How about: "Giant clanking labia"? I've been experimenting lately, and

I like the sound and shock value. What do you folks think?

[elias7]

57. too funny!!

[azurnoir]

81. So if it's

Hilary in '08 (I said if) she'd be running on her large clanking labia? Oh I can hear the L(esbian) word now! And there's way to much out there to be fighting that one. We would anyway but why bring it on ourselves














edited for spelling

[jeanarrett]

163. That made me fall off my chair laughing!

I was told I was having "too much fun at work!"

[poverlay]

178. Glad you liked it. Hope you always have "too much fun"! n/t

[Deep13]

20. Consider the reverse of this idea.

Feminine attributes denote weakness and cowardice. If someone says, "What a pussy," there is no doubt what that means. While an inability to act can be characterized as impotence.

The language, even in slang form, assumes that leadership qualities are masculine while submissive qualities are feminine even though conciously we know better.

[ShortnFiery]

51. That's OUR PROBLEM with this * Administration

One very positive genuinely feminine characteristic is "consensus building."

I find myself often mediating arguments among men.

Our * Administration believe themselves "sissy" to be moderate and compromise.

That's our problem with our leadership. They're swaggering around with their big balls and
not employing the POSITIVE typically feminine characteristics of good listening skills and finding a compromise agreeable to all parties involved in a dispute,i.e., yes diplomacy is lacking.

Our country is behaving like nothing of more depth than a Ballsy Men. NOT a good thing if that's all you have going for you.

[Captain Hilts]

55. Men negotiated Bretton Woods, Geneva Convention, Salt I, Salt II.

Men ARE capable of compromise.

It's sexist to say otherwise. And I work in a VERY male field.

[ShortnFiery]

63. But "compromise" is considered a TYPICALLY feminine characteristic. eom

[Deep13]

82. We're talking about cultural assumptions and perceptions,...

...not reality. All human emotions and qualities, including the negative ones, belong to all humans. Culture assumes gender roles. Maybe that made sense in neolithic times or in the ancient world. We know better now.

Yes, these conservative thinkers believe implicitly in a strong father figure family model for society where men are aggressive, dispassionate, tough, protective and providing. Anything that contradicts those values is seen as feminine and contrary to the strong father figure model. It is no accident that party affiliation is so gender biased. I think all of the so-called masculine values are good values to have. Yet, as previously noted, they do not make a complete person and they alone cannot be the basis of public policy. The so-called feminine values are absolutely necessary for a balanced perspective, both for a person and a nation.

[ShortnFiery]

85. And we're talking about a word that is now gender neutral - "BALLS"

You know <disappointed sigh>, go live your lives as you wish. :eyes:

However, don't be surprised if people (and society at large) think you and yours are HYPER-SENSITIVE about a really inane issue. :puke:

Now, excuse me while I lug my BIG BALLS out of this Ultra-Stifling PC joint. :-) :hi:

[Deep13]

161. Just an observation.

I'm not attempting to tell people what they should or should not say.

[Clark2008]

136. And for a word men have used often to demoralize other men,

they sure do try to get a hold of it often enough.

:evilgrin:

[nicknameless]

165. Very true.

Reading criticism of Richard Cohen's opinions on Colbert's speech, one DUer referred to him as "Miss Cohen".

Yet, which reporter did Colbert portray as relentlessly hounding the Press Secretaries for the truth? Helen Thomas.

Pretty pathetic, isn't it? I'm sure that DUer watched the video. .... Amnesia, maybe?

:eyes:

[Dr Fate]

21. Females with guts get adoration too- see Cindy Sheehan. n/t

n/t

[Captain Hilts]

26. Admiring women with 'guts' like Sheehan isn't the issue. It's the words.

And, please, let's refer to female humans as 'women'.

'Females' includes trees, cats, dogs, etc. and is not specific to humans.

[Dr Fate]

73. Exactly- words. We are quibbling over words.

Cindy is a cool chick, Colbert is a great dude.

Guess what- normal people everywhere use slang. Guess what- normal people vote.

Meanwhile, others tangle themselves in semantics.

[Mandate My Ass]

22. The Diebold elephant in the living room

They are unfortunately helped along by a tribe of consultants who are teaching Democratic politicians that to demonstrate any of the attributes that make up ballsiness will piss off the swing voters and cost them the election.

Bravo on an excellent piece. Along with everything else said in this post with which I agree entirely, I've become increasingly incredulous that with 2/3 of the country solidly against Bush and his cronies and their insane and regressive policies, our consultants are still playing the mealy-mouthed appeasers. Do these consultants and their Dem clients live in an alternate universe? If ballsiness was offensive to John and Jane Q. Public, then Republicans realistically would not have won elections in 2000 or 2002, and certainly not in 2004.

So, until and unless Dems grow a spine on BBV and a host of other issues that are plaguing Americans, nothing will change except that more people will be so turned off by the whole process and feeling exhausted and beaten down that they'll tune out entirely. I only hope my tinfoil is too tight when I say that's the exactly what I think they're trying to accomplish. :tinfoilhat:

[Mythsaje]

23. "Heart."

I used to have a martial arts instructor who, while a very talented martial artist, was actually a bit of a bastard. To put it mildly.

He seemed to believe that "heart" was that which a person possessed that another might consider "balls." He believed that having "heart" prevented you from allowing another to run rough-shod over you...from "disrespecting" you.

He was an idiot.

"Heart" can, in race horses, refer to stamina. Will to succeed. A form of strength. This is true.

But it also suggests compassion and empathy.

I think that "Heart" is something we can (but not always) possess in equal amounts--male and female. Those with "heart" can stand up under fire and do the right thing. Not only because they have courage, but because they have the compassion and empathy to understand WHY they're doing it.

Now, I'm pretty attached to my balls, but I don't quite see them the same way as many guys do. I'm not sure why. I also don't wince when I see someone on TV get it in the nards. Not sure why. Most guys I know DO.

Nice commentary, by the way. I'm not even sure why it brought my thoughts about "heart" to mind. But it did.

[Plaid Adder]

27. I think "heart" is actually close to what I was looking for

The only part of my body that I imagine standing in metonymically for myself is my heart. I don't know whether that's gender-linked because WTF do I know about men, but I think that's why it seems to me like it would be one way to redefine courage--by including not only women but the compassion & empathy you're talking about (which of course get gendered female even though I sure hope to God they are also shared by men, just as ass-kicking gets gendered male even though it is shared by women).

"Spine" would also work but to my mind the connotations would not be as rich. But like most conundrums this one has more than one solution.

C ya,

The Plaid Adder

[BrklynLiberal]

31. "Heart" is a great word. It connotes all the qualities that are admirable

without gender.

[ballsalicious]

28. Thank you for opening this up for discussion....

...I have thought about the use of this terminology and what it really means ever since my wife and I watched, jaw dropped, Stephen Colbert unzip his metaphorical pants to expose his gigantic metaphorical testicles in front of me, my wife The President and anybody else who had the privilege to witness this amazing and transcendent spactacle...

...When I heard John Stewart use the word "Ballsalicious" to describe what Colbert did...I thought that was the perfect word...the combination of "Ballsy" and "Delicious" was a perfect description...and once again proved to me why John Stewart makes the big bucks...

...I have been using the word (mostly privately within my own head, since it actually sounds pretty stupid when you say it out loud, especially slowly: balls.........a........lish......e.......us....)as a motivational term that is now a permanent part of my private syntax. The word is subconsciously conjured up (again, in my head) when I am standing up to corrupt authority or rampant abuse of power....I say to myself "what would be the "Ballsalicios" thing to do in this situation...and depending on how big my metaphorical balls are at the time, I may or may not live up to Mr. Colberts example....

...I need to go now, my boss is comming...

[ShortnFiery]

29. As a woman,

I have the biggest balls in my entire family! :woohoo:

No, I love the word!

After all, those of us who grew up on the farm always respected "the bull" with the humongous BALLS! :rofl:

[Captain Hilts]

42. This reference isn't uniform in the animal kingdom. Take cats, for ex..

The women are generally much more aggressive and do most of the hunting.

[ShortnFiery]

60. That's why when you brought this up during a Cobert thread

I also suggested that you you might be over-analyzing this whole issue?

Yes, our value as women, our positive feminine characteristics - never fail to shine through. Why do you think almost everyone Adores their Mother? Sure, we won't have as many notes in History Books, but women leaders are slowly working up the ranks - especially in Europe and the Netherlands.

Because good feminine qualities are understated, they will not ever be lauded with men or in sports oriented language.

It ain't gonna happen. So really, because society will not bend into being totally PC with either sports or business analogies, I'd suggest, for your own best interest, just "disconnect."

With all due respect, this is a small issue ... tiny in the larger scheme of society. :hi:

[kenfrequed]

30. An interesting deconstruction.

I agreed with almost everything you said. However, I wonder how useful this kind of digression is from a practical point of view.

I worry a bit more about the professional cast of campaign and political advisers that do everything to avoid sounding controversial or confrontational. And I find the lack of power in words to be far more telling then any excessive association of bodily characteristics with qualitites.

I am far more preoccupied with figuring out ways of word-screwing the CCCB (Conservative Corporate Criminal Brigade). Unsuccesfully I might add.

[BrklynLiberal]

33. Superb essay. Why does this inability to face a woman in the office of

political leader seem to be so uniquely AMERICAN?
Think of all the countries that have had women as Presidents and/or Prime Ministers. India andPakistan have had women as Prime Ministers.
Why is it so out-of-the-world-of-possibilities for the US?

Here is a partial list of women in roles of leadership in the 20th Century.

1. Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Sri Lanka
Prime Minister, 1960-1965, 1970-1977, 1994-2000.
2. Indira Gandhi, India
Prime Minister, 1966-77, 1980-1984.
3. Golda Meir, Israel
Prime Minister, 1969-1974.
4. Isabel Peron, Argentina
President, 1974-1976
5. Elisabeth Domitien, Central African Republic
Prime Minister, 1975-1976
6. Margaret Thatcher, Great Britain
Prime Minister, 1979-1990.
7. Maria da Lourdes Pintasilgo, Portugal
Prime Minister, 1979-1980.
8. Lidia Gueiler Tejada, Bolivia
Prime Minister, 1979-1980.
9. Dame Eugenia Charles, Dominica
Prime Minister, 1980-1995.
10. Vigdís Finnbogadóttír, Iceland
President, 1980-96.
11. Gro Harlem Brundtland,Norway
Prime Minister, 1981, 1986-1989, 1990-1996.
12. Soong Ching-Ling, Peoples' Republic of China
Honorary President, 1981.
13. Milka Planinc, Yugoslavia
Federal Prime Minister, 1982-1986.
14. Agatha Barbara, Malta
President, 1982-1987.
15. Maria Liberia-Peters, Netherlands Antilles
Prime Minister, 1984-1986, 1988-1993.
16. Corazon Aquino, Philippines
President, 1986-92.
17. Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan
Prime Minister, 1988-1990, 1993-1996.
18. Kazimiera Danuta Prunskiena, Lithuania
Prime Minister, 1990-91.
19. Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, Nicaragua
Prime Minister, 1990-1996.
20. Mary Robinson, Ireland
President, 1990-1997.
21. Ertha Pascal Trouillot, Haiti
Interim President, 1990-1991.
22. Sabine Bergmann-Pohl, German Democratic Republic
President, 1990.
23. Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar (Burma)
Her party won 80% of the seats in a democratic election in 1990, but the military government refused to recognize the results. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.
24. Khaleda Zia, Bangladesh
Prime Minister, 1991-1996.
25. Edith Cresson, France
Prime Minister, 1991-1992.
26. Hanna Suchocka, Poland
Prime Minister, 1992-1993.
27. Kim Campbell, Canada
Prime Minister, 1993.
28. Sylvie Kinigi, Burundi
Prime Minister, 1993-1994.
29. Agathe Uwilingiyimana, Rwanda
Prime Minister, 1993-1994.
30. Susanne Camelia-Romer, Netherlands Antilles
Prime Minister, 1993, 1998-
31. Tansu Çiller, Turkey
Prime Minister, 1993-1995.
32. Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge, Sri Lanka
Prime Minister, 1994, President, 1994-
33. Reneta Indzhova, Bulgaria
Interim Prime Minister, 1994-1995.
34. Claudette Werleigh, Haiti
Prime Minister, 1995-1996.
35. Sheikh Hasina Wajed, Bangladesh
Prime Minister, 1996-.
36. Mary McAleese, Ireland
President, 1997-.
37. Pamela Gordon, Bermuda
Premier, 1997-1998.
38. Janet Jagan, Guyana
Prime Minister, 1997, President, 1997-1999.
39. Jenny Shipley, New Zealand
Prime Minister, 1997-1999.
40. Ruth Dreifuss, Switzerland
President, 1999-2000.
41. Jennifer Smith, Bermuda
Prime Minister, 1998-.
42. Nyam-Osoriyn Tuyaa, Mongolia
Acting Prime Minister, July 1999.
43. Helen Clark, New Zealand
Prime Minister, 1999-.
44. Mireya Elisa Moscoso de Arias, Panama
President, 1999-.
45. Vaira Vike-Freiberga, Latvia
President, 1999-.
46. Tarja Kaarina Halonen, Finland
President, 2000-.


As the 21st century arrived, yet another was added: Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo - President of the Philippines, sworn in on January 20, 2001.
Mame Madior Boye became Prime Minister in Senegal in March of 2001. Megawati Sukarnoputri, daughter of founding head of state Sukarno, was selected as Indonesia's fifth president in 2001 after losing in 1999.

[antigone382]

104. Wow...that list is really eye-opening.

If societies that we typically think of as far more sexually oppressive than our own can have female leaders, why can't the U.S.?

[marions ghost]

112. maybe

because those countries don't have a big ballsalicious military. I mean women just couldn't NUKE anybody y'know.... I think that's why America cannot conceive of a woman president. They'd keep us out of wars, and as we all know wars are great for the economy. America sure is showing the rest of the world how big our balls are right now. We're really impressing them.

[Stanchetalarooni]

36. The male testicle is very sensitive to pain from a direct blow.

You don't even have to hit a man very hard in the testicles to incapacitate him.
I think that the term "balls" or its variant forms (ballsy, ballsalicious, ballsaplenty, ballsabouncin', etc.) has to do with this specific fact.
Men wear a "cup" or testicle protector when playing very physical contact sports as probably did ancient fighters such as gladiators or centurions, etc.
To wade into battle without a cup is to have balls. That is to say one has supreme confidence in his physical ability to prevail without being put out of commission by a blow to his testicles.
Achilles had his heel. Us men have our testicles.
I have been known to have congratulated women on having balls or being ballsy and it is meant as well as taken as a compliment to being extraordinarily brave.

[ComerPerro]

40. They are sensitive to pain? Really? No kidding?

:sarcasm:

And, actually, Achilles had his heel, yes. But I am sure a swift kick in the nuts would have been just as devestating...

[pitohui]

44. this person gets it

it is not an insult to say that you have the courage to wade in despite an obvious vulnerability

[ecstatic]

159. that's what I was thinking too...

There is no female equivalent because 1) women can absorb pain better than men, 2) there really isn't a part of our body that can be used to totally incapacitate us. Women are known to speak their minds when appropriate, and usually get labeled a bitch/or unstable for doing so. Men speak their mind, and its interpreted in a completely different way.

[pitohui]

37. the equivalent word for women is balls

i am a woman, i used to compete in gambling tournaments, many many many a time as i picked up my prize i was congratulated with the phrase, "lady, you've got brass ones" or "girl, you've got balls"

it isn't abt my physical equipment, it's abt my heart and my courage

people who take every word and phrase too literally are destined to waste a lot of time and angst on trivia, we got better things to do

[Brazenly Liberal]

46. Amen to that!

I love ballsy dames!

[ShortnFiery]

61. What do you think about us pushy broads? (Tease!) eom

[Brazenly Liberal]

62. I GOTTA love pushy broads!

I am one!

[ShortnFiery]

65. Oh, then "hello there" from one pushy broad to another!

I bet that I got bigger balls though?!? :rofl:

[Brazenly Liberal]

68. hahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!

(Briefly tempted to come up with a retort that uses the word "wenis," Brazenly Liberal has second thoughts and just lets it go)

:rofl:

[lefador]

66. Re: the equivalent word for women is balls

Finally! I am tired of all this PeeCee nonsense, who the hell cares about the term "balls"? I mean, we are dealing with a disastrous war, the largest level of debt in this nation's history (or world history for that matter), scandal after scandal, continuous trashing of the constitution, power usurpation and erosion of civil liberties. But as per usual, people are concerned about figures of speech. If you all must know, the term "balls" as in testicles, has been a common image associated with courage, mostly due to the fact that many classic civilizations conducted some of their war engagements pretty much naked. A lot of those battles were conducted in their totality by men with exposed genitalia. Being able to fight having one of, if not the most, sensible body parts exposed to direct injury, required a significant level of courage and commitment to the task at hand. History is not PC and neither are some of the figures of speech evolved from it. If you are offended by the term "balls" and want to waste valuable time and energy on it, it means that many people in our side don't have a clue about where to direct their energy... and as per usual, we will get screwed.

I am also tired of Americans using the term "Cajones," in Spanish a Cajon is a drawer.... I have absolutely no clue what "Having a big set of drawers" has to do with courage. However the term "Cojones" refers to the male genitalia, but it is an offensive term, the fact that you use Spanish does not stop being offensive in the same way that in English the C-word referring to the female genitalia is highly offensive, so please stop using it. "Pelotas" or "huevos" are less offensive of a term, much like screw is to the f-word. Ironically enough, having a big set of Huevos in Spanish is not necessarily a good thing, since sometimes it is used to refer to a person who is not only lazy, but irresponsibly lazy. I.e. a person who does not work while the rest of his/her peers are forced to work during to some kind of common emergency. This comes from the fact that some male animals with overly enlarged set of testicles have a difficulty to move, not a good thing.

So it is all part of the context, I guess. But we have far more pressing issues at hand...

[moggie]

86. Can you provide a cite for that?

Do you have documented examples of the term being used in ways which support your theory about warfare, or is that pure speculation? The Oxford English Dictionary's earliest example of the word being used to mean "courage" is from "Lady Chatterley's Lover", 1928. Given the nature of that novel, I think it's far more likely that it was intended to suggest potency than lack of concern for vulnerability.

[noamnety]

93. war, debt, trashing of the constitution, erosion of civil liberties

you know what you left off of your list?

354,881 rapes in America, on average, per year. Why isn't that on your list of overwhelming catastrophes we're facing in this country?

[ComerPerro]

39. Here's your answer, plain and simple

The term "balls" is constantly used to describe Colbert because its a word he used a lot on his promos, back when everyone thought that "The Colbert Report" was just a joke that the Daily Show ran, before it became a real show.

He always talks about how he admires people with balls.

Its part of his character.

And, as a matter of fact, his first promos for his show included the tagline "So watch the Colbert Report, unless you don't have any balls!"

[marions ghost]

115. yes

so it's a relevant inside joke, taking into account that Colbert's character is a rightwing clod. Going around calling attention to everyone's balls or lack thereof, seems to me on the crass side, but obviously it's useful--for men. I don't care if people say 'he's got balls,' but it doesn't work to say 'she's got balls.' But dunno...maybe women have to allow men to say that to them before they'll ever really be allowed inside the club as an equal? Because you know, balls rule.

[ComerPerro]

122. Hey. He's got big balls, she's got big balls,

but we've got the biggest balls of them all!

[marions ghost]

124. SURE you do

:)

[slybacon9]

41. I'm a straight white male (NOT a metrowhatever) and

when i wrote out my big group email to all my friends and family with Colbert's speech attached a week ago, i really paused when it came to using that word. I basically went through the exact thing you mention here. And i chose to go with courage instead. As a male i can tell you, having courage is stronger than having balls. It's the same as masculinity vs. machismo. There is a deeper masculitity that is so much stronger and radiant than machismo. One that goes far beyond whatever testosterone is accountable for. Macho is the world of surfacs and facades... and it changes all the time... today's macho is business suits and SUVs. The word balls, since its origin is machismo, deals only with the surface. As such one becomes confined by the use of a macho term. Trapped and hidden by this surface... this skin. Again, like the business suit or the SUV. I like to believe courage comes from the center.

I think courage sells. And in the end it sells more than balls.

The saddest thing for me is to see women being encouraged to develop the same macho facades that have stopped so many men short of being in themselves. There is so much courage in the core of femininity. I can tell that you know that, from reading your writing over the past years. A new paradigm is possible where men allow themselves to be men, and women allow themselves to be women. But if women become "guys" and men become whatever shaven chested primadonna thing that is in every magazine and music video... well then that is musical chairs.

I always loved this quote from nelson mandela, "For the oppressed to be free, the oppressor must also be liberated."

Otherwise we just switch places.

Democratic leaders don't need balls. They need courage. (Well, at this point maybe they need both... I'm not really sure anymore.)

[Mythsaje]

48. They need "Heart."

;)

[BrklynLiberal]

50. Very well said.

:thumbsup: :applause:

[pitohui]

54. why should i have to "allow" myself to be a woman?

you SAY--A new paradigm is possible where men allow themselves to be men, and women allow themselves to be women.

there isn't anything even remotely new or interesting abt that

i am woman by virtue of genetics and accident of birth

there is nothing i can do, nothing i can say that can change the fact that i'm a woman

however if i want to develop my machismo then it's a different matter, it's a matter of modeling a certain kind of physical courage and at times aggression, that i can do no matter what equipment i was born with

i'm interested in people who push the limits of the genotype, gender, etc.

not so interested in people who just allow themselves to be themselves, not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's not new or different, it's the default -- and it can be very very lazy

humanity is complex, for instance where do we pigeonhole the man with the "scrambled eggs" fetish -- think i'll allow you to research that one yourself :-)

[slybacon9]

142. im bored with new and different

and pushing limits and blah blah blah.

maybe i like MY eggs scrambled. maybe i'm typing to you upside down hanging from the cieling.

i knew when i wrote what i wrote someone out there would write me back this very answer. i can almost bet i know what you look like, but i won't.

the world is fucking crazy. and so is humanity. and you don't know me and i don't know you, but let's get "real" for a second.

First off, you are right. I never said you can't develop your own machismo... i said why would you? Even the way you describe it... a matter of modeling a certain kind of physical courage and at times aggression... has really nothing to do with being macho. Macho is an act, a way of looking bigger, stronger, or meaner than you are. it's not positive. It's like me saying i want to learn how to be "catty".

And... Pushing to be new or different-- at least in this country (US)-- IS the default. It's all most hear see and do. It is the very thing that runs this place and is ruining most of it. I meet like one person a year who is actually allowing themselves to just be whatever they are. It sounds like it is easy for you though. It is certainly not as easy for the rest of humanity. For most people i see, again especially americans, just being one's self is asking a person to visit a fate worse than hell. Much of the time it requires that one forgive or love oneself, which is work.

What is lazy? Ignoring our own recipe and always pushing to be something else. That to me is the easy way out. No one who is lazy is allowing themselves to be themselves. Because once you figure out who you are, there is nothing but work to do.

[pitohui]

166. so you get kicked in the nuts by japanese women to get an orgasm

because that's what having a scrambled eggs fetish means

silly me, i thought it rare

i'm glad you're enjoying being yourself but frankly my friend i will leave you to it

and if you know what i look like, blonde, tiny, skinny, it's because i've been upfront abt my eating issues etc. not because of your wonderful psychic skills

only a stupid person would desire to look weak, yes, as i am not stupid, i have to be larger than i am physically and take on some of the attributes of dare i say ballsiness, if you don't like that, if you would have me small and helpless forever for my one and only life, i say SHAME ON YOU

[radio4progressives]

45. "Have a Spine" works for me, and I fear that the premise of OP is correct

This is the problem Women in political office have to contend with ... and it is the issue that the electorate deals with.. the more Masculine Characteristics women in office possess or at least able to present to the public, the more "creds" she is given by the public to lead a nation..

the problem I have with that, is that we've seen what those types are like once in power.. they are just as undesirable as their male counter parts. Margaret Thatcher comes to mind as do others, and who among among us can forget Jean Kirkpatrick?

But in this political atmosphere, apparently it takes "balls" to speak truth to power and I'm not sure that is American legacy the founders had in mind when they created this republic, however it is exactly the paradigm they had in mind when the wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution what James Madison had in mind when he fought so hard to get the Bill of Rights included in the Constitution.

[Captain Hilts]

52. JFK used sexual analogy to explain why women weren't capable of leadership

In a conversation with GKGalbraith he said the nature of the sexual act precludes women from having what it took to exhibit pure political leadership. Galbraith differed and JFK made him provide an example of a woman who had what it took to be a leader. Galbraith mentioned Eleanor Roosevelt and JFK said, "okay, but name me another."

Suggesting that it takes 'balls' for a women to have strenth in politics follows JFK's reasoning. On their own, they don't have what it takes....

[CAcyclist]

77. Please Provide the link to that

Considering that Eleanor Roosevelt was key to JFK's 1960 victory and he knew it,and a close advisor during his presidency, that's quite an odd thing for you to be claiming.

http://www.gwu.edu/~erpapers/mep/displaydoc.cfm?docid=jfk18

MEMORANDUM OF CONVERSATION WITH MRS. F. D. R. IN NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 18, 1960
I met with Mrs. Roosevelt on November 18 to discuss the many inquiries, letters and requests which she had received about Adlai and suggestions and advice which people wanted her to pass on to the President-elect.
We reviewed briefly the campaign trips we had taken together, and I brought to her attention the many letters of thanks which I have received for the arrangements I had made for her appearances, all of which credited Mrs. R. with having obtained many votes in the areas in which she spoke. She told me that she, too, had received similar letters but that she wondered whether she was, in fact, helpful. She was pleased when I told her about the rebroadcast of many of her speeches, particularly on the religious issue, in Pennsylvania and other states.

http://www.gwu.edu/~erpapers/mep/displaydoc.cfm?docid=jfk39

Eleanor Roosevelt
Speech before Kennedy for President Rally
St. Louis, Missouri
October 27, 1960

Introduction:1 . . . a sense of honor that I present to you one of the best loved women in the world today, a woman who has given so much of herself, to her country and to the world, Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt.
Eleanor Roosevelt:
Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is a great pleasure to be back in St. Louis. I seem to come here, campaigning since the days I was in the White House. And I 'm always very happy to be here. As most of you know, I wanted very much, before the Convention, to have a ticket composed of Adlai Stevenson and John F. Kennedy.2 Those at the Convention decided otherwise. And I have watched with great care our candidate, our Democratic candidate, through the past campaign. And I've come to have great faith in him.

[radio4progressives]

79. Good ole' JFK the Womanizer Prez before Bill came along

much have been written on how the patriarchal movement (of 2000 plus years) managed to desimate (almost completely) the Matriarchal society - I believe strongly that the Abrahamic religions were created solely to serve that purpose, and it appears that is one mission that has been accomplished.

[jollyreaper2112]

129. um...

One hesitates to extend the metaphor to "strap-on" marital aids but that seems to be the direction this discussion is headed in.

The whole balls metaphor breaks down in this instance. After all, the whole concept of balls is a way of talking about determination, a willingness to do what it takes to get things done. To say that the male aspect of balls is limited only to people who actually possess the phyiscal equipment is to say that women are incapable of ballsy behavior. That would be like saying that enduring something that causes enough distress to require a cast-iron gut is literally only endurable by someone whose gut is made from iron. That's ridiculous. That's taking a metaphor literally.

Stephen Pressfield wrote a really neat book called "The Gates of Fire," a fictional retelling of the battle of Thermopylae. In a discussion shortly beore the departure of the Spartans to the fateful battle, there came the matter of the difference of the courage of women vs. the courage of men. The courage of men was seen as no mean feat but yet understandable given the context of battle, the passion of the moment, in sight of your comrades, the willingness to sacrifice your flesh, your very life in defense of your homeland. Seen as quite different is the courage of woman. There is no passion of the moment, there is the long contemplation of survival. The husband sacrifices in the moment and is extinguished, the woman lives outside of that moment and endures for years until death. Important in this consideration is the story of the Spartan mother who learned that her husband and sons died in battle. Her only question is whether the Spartans met with victory. The answer alone satisfies her. She keeps her grief private, showing no weakness. She lives with it.

To reiterate my point, to think that "ballsiness" is exclusively a male trait and that phsical dangly bits are required to possess balls is to completely miss the point. Balls are not required to possess balls.

[Der Blaue Engel]

53. I enjoyed Stewart's "Ballsalicious" comment

because it demonstrated the same thing Colbert's performance did. He says stuff that just drops your jaw and makes you laugh with both humor and incredulousness.

However, I really wish we could find a way to move on from this term in the actual political (or business, or athletic...whatever type of competition) sphere. Just because it is evolving and not meant to be derogatory to women doesn't erase what it is really doing: constantly, subconsciously reinforcing the very thing you're saying: that women (and men with "womenly" trains such as compassion) are perceived as weak and inferior.

In comedy, I love it. It's wonderful. But in the world of serious discourse it really seems no better than what others have mentioned: "mighty white of you."

I don't know where the answer lies. It certainly isn't in issuing a "cease and desist" order on the word, which would only result in "PC oppression" whining. But I don't think it's in embracing it either.

Recognizing it is certainly a start.

[truthpusher]

109. me tooooooo...

[omega minimo]

59. At the CA Impeachment Forum men were yelling "BACKBONE!" not "BALLS!"

[dave29]

64. Moxie. Guts. Fortitude. Courage.

Gender Neutral, all.

[cally]

67. I wish every Dem running for office would read your Pt. 1 and 2

Dems do lose votes because they are thought of as weak. We need to dismiss this notion and fight back. I also a woman running for President will face a very tough time if she is a Democrat. I'm not sure she'll be able to overcome the perception that she is not ballsy.

You're discussion of the implications of language and using masculine terms to define positvie characteristics was excellent. Thank you.

[CGrantt57]

69. I know lots of women with balls.

My wife is a pretty ballsy dame.

Most of the women I work with, including my direct boss, have enough brass in their balls they actually clink when they walk.

"Balls" are a metaphor.

Damn good one, too.

What else are you gonna use?

"Man, he's got some huge ovaries, yanno? He told that Republican Puke right where to stick it."

Just fannin' the flames,

[CAcyclist]

70. As a woman, I think ovaries stand in very nicely for testicles

Ovaries actually look a great deal like testicles. I do get what you are trying to say, but I am having so much fun with Stephen Colbert's success that I am not worrying about the details at this point. It is a discussion that should be made, but we women are far from equal and still suffer discrimination every day - it's not going to change overnight.

[Autonomy]

75. In that this is more than an essay on anatomy or semantics

it's a masterful insight on the base psychological assumptions that underlie our (collective) political beliefs. The questions on the use of the word "balls" in this essay are really just motif, but one where the motif is especially meaningful.

I once had a liberal-feminist-lesbian professor challenge me to "have the balls to" perform a certain task in journalism. I was shocked. Not because she was a woman, or a professor, or that I thought a feminist shouldn't talk that way; I was shocked because NO ONE I KNOW talks that way. And I don't generally hang out with effeminant types of guys. So for several months I thought she had a foul mouth. She probably thought she was talking on my level, because I am a heterosexual male. We eventually saw eye-to-eye in a profound sense, but not because she said the word "balls" in the sense Plaid Adder examines it.

And that's what I think Ms. Adder is getting at. Politics is based on a whole set of cultural and linguistic assumptions. According to Sapir-Whorf, those assumptions not only affect how we interpret what someone else is saying, but affects what we actually do, or think ourselves capable of doing. The liberal movement has always been struggling with the equilibrium between being overly confrontative verus ineffective, and the framing of the messages has often needlessly alienated the more reactive, traditional male types, who perceive some of the language as "having no balls" or being too "emasculating".

I don't really understand the preoccupation of conservative males with testicles, but Plaid really nails it. Great essay. It could really be a book.

[NightOwwl]

80. Isn't the reason everyone mentions Stephen's balls...

is because he uses the term as a recurring theme on his show? He's even got a visual aid: Stephen Colbert's Big Brass Balls (it's one of those pendulum ball-clickers.) Stephen makes a big deal out of his balls (as well he should.) I believe that is the reason for the avalanche of ball-related compliments.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

83. The Term Ballsy Is Not Gender Specific, So It Is Fine For Women As Well.

Many words have origins that end up having nothing to do with their modern context or definition. It is the definition of a word that matters, not the origin.

In this case, the origin was related to a part of male genatalia. But the definition has evolved more broadly and generically to now encompass a spirit of daringness, etc, without any gender specific connotation.

Definition counts, not origin:

balls·y ( P ) Pronunciation Key (bôlz)
adj. Vulgar Slang balls·i·er, balls·i·est
Very tough and courageous, often recklessly or presumptuously so.

[noamnety]

92. I've heard that same basic argument

from people saying it's okay to use the word "gay" to mean "substandard." They like to say it's evolved, it doesn't mean homosexual in that context.

The history of the word - and the conoctations that got us to this meaning, remain. I'm sure you could think of other examples.

So, here's the question. The history of the word is such that it derives from men having desirable gender-specific characteristics that women don't have. Knowing that, why cling to it so desperately?

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

94. That's Not Even Close To Comparable.

My original post is valid and factual. Your example is opinionated and non factual.

Nowhere is there an official definition for the word gay describing what you speak. If there had been, it would be factual. Since there isn't, it is a completely flawed analogy aimed only at making you appear to have a point that combats my factual one, but in the end it fails because they are incomparable.

I'm not giving you a definition of ballsy that is of my own 'opinion' that I twist with personal perception to suit my desire, as occurred with your gay example. I provided instead the FACTUAL definition of the word, outside of opinion (hence it being fact) and showed that there is no gender specificity within that definition. Therefore, my argument is valid and sound. When viewing the definition of the word 'gay' below, yours is not:

gay

adj 1: bright and pleasant; promoting a feeling of cheer; "a cheery hello"; "a gay sunny room"; "a sunny smile" 2: full of or showing high-spirited merriment; "when hearts were young and gay"; "a poet could not but be gay, in such a jocund company"- Wordsworth; "the jolly crowd at the reunion"; "jolly old Saint Nick"; "a jovial old gentleman"; "have a merry Christmas"; "peals of merry laughter"; "a mirthful laugh" 3: given to social pleasures often including dissipation; "led a gay Bohemian life"; "a gay old rogue with an eye for the ladies" 4: brightly colored and showy; "girls decked out in brave new dresses"; "brave banners flying"; "`braw' is a Scottish word"; "a dress a bit too gay for her years"; "birds with gay plumage" 5: offering fun and gaiety; "a gala ball after the inauguration"; "a festive (or festal) occasion"; "gay and exciting night life"; "a merry evening" 6: homosexual or arousing homosexual desires n : someone who practices homosexuality; having a sexual attraction to persons of the same sex

[noamnety]

97. You said yourself, definitions are evolving

I'm telling you that's what the definition of the word gay is EVOLVING into. I hear it used that way (to mean bad, stupid, undesirable) at least once a day by my students, whether or not you find it in a dictionary.

Same thing. People justifying language choices by claiming words have no relationship to their history.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

98. Hey, I Got News For Ya,

The homosexual definition of gay was not the original one. It evolved too. That's life. So why does the evolving of it to mean undesirable in a certain context more taboo? Is the word gay now exclusively limited to the homosexual definition, and not the original 'happy or joyful' definition?

But even in spite of that, the word ballsy not just by definition, but by wide acceptance of communication, referrs to an act of courage etc... There isn't a person I know that wouldn't understand the context of "wow, that was ballsy" regardless of the gender of the subject. Ballsy is no longer gender specific and can be used for anybody. It's just that simple.

[noamnety]

100. We have a disagreement

Obviously this thread exists because there are people to whom it remains gender specific, meaning that even if it is applied to women, the meaning is inherently gender based.

[Captain Hilts]

106. How can the term "ballsy" NOT be gender specific?

Women do not have 'balls'.

They can have:
heart
moxie
fortitude
a spine
an attitude
and guts
but they can't have 'balls'.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

113. But They CAN Be Ballsy.

As per the definition. Not really my problem or interest if you don't like the definition.

Please note, a word can have different meanings. It can have different contexts. Some literal, some not so literal. It is the context that matters. And as per the definition, stating that "wow, do you realize how ballsy that was of her to say that?" would be perfectly fine under accepted and factual definition, and everyone would know and understand its intent. It would not be a literal context, and one would be an utter fool to understand that phrase as meaning "wow, did you realize she physically has a ball sack between her legs, and just used them to say something shocking?" :rofl:

A word is not limited to one definition or one perception. They can have several. In this case, ballsy is not a literal context of a physical ball sack, it is an adjective for doing something courageous etc... It is not gender specific. The definition is what it is. Argue with it all you want, but I doubt websters is going to change it for you.

[jollyreaper2112]

130. hey, did you ever watch....?

Word of warning...stay away from hermaphadite pr0n. It might scare you. God knows it scared me.

[marions ghost]

118. ballsy--not fine for women as well

fine for men, not fine for women

The women who object are just suffering silently at the jerkiness of it...not bothering to make waves.
But ballsy men don't care about that.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

119. Sure It Is.

But I'm not going to explain again why. I posted the factual explanation enough already.

[marions ghost]

121. In YOUR not so humble opinion...

but don't hear what I have to say--take a poll:

women who don't like being called "ballsy"
women who do like "
men who don't like "
men who do like "

Since you like to deal in hard data, you might get some interesting results.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

126. See, That's Where You're Wrong. This Isn't Opinion, It Is Fact. What You

are stating is opinion. Fact is fact, and always trumps opinion.

And it IS a fact, that the definition of ballsy does not contain ANY gender reference whatsoever. Now, mind you, I didn't make up that definition, did not contribute to it and was not there when they created it. I am just stating the damn facts of the matter. If you want to attach a gender specific connotation to it, you have the right to do so, but it isn't accurate in the context of the real definition, as it simply isn't there. If you want to complain write to websters or some other dictionary source. Not really my problem. But it is what it is. The definition is the definition. It doesn't contain gender. No problem there.

Ya see, words have one purpose: To communicate a message of understanding to that listening to or reading the word. When you hear someone say "that was ballsy!", do you not understand the word as it is portrayed? As having guts per se? Even if it was said about a woman? The fact is, regardless if you like it being used that way is irrelevant in the factual basis of the definition. If you would understand the message "that was ballsy!" even when in reference to a female, then the word served its purpose. Now I would suspect that you would in fact understand that message. The word is fine. The meaning is fine. Portraying the context of the message through use of the word is fine. There is no gender attached to it, unless you attach it to it. But don't blame the definition for that.

[marions ghost]

160. whatever

if you want to use the concept of having balls to seriously describe women --OK. You're free to be you. I, and others of both sexes I know, consider it pompously male-centric to do so. Just because a word has been deemed "neutral" by Webster's and you, doesn't mean that it doesn't have other social connotations in use.

For example, look up "effeminate." In my dictionary it is gender-neutral. But we all KNOW that it is primarily applied to straight men in a negative way. It's hardly ever applied to women. Right? But the dictionary doesn't say that.

Like Colbert, nobody I know uses this balls concept without laughing. It means strutting Alpha Males (tending Republican) on Parade. It's a joke. A parody of macho. Not a real positive thing. Maybe I hang out with girly men, but they seem to get this. If some guy called me 'ballsy' in a serious way I would take it as sexist, sleezy, and not a high compliment. I would see it as a tipoff to possible assholeness.

There's also another issue. It can have a double meaning --"She's ballsy" has been used to imply that 'she's not feminine enough.' Dontcha know.

There may very well be women who like it--maybe women who are struggling to be 'one of the guys.' Maybe it only means "how manly she is" (ie. brave and strong) to them --I'd still say as a man you ought to be careful with it unless you just plain don't care how you are perceived.

But go ahead and spread ballsiness far and wide. Use it more in everyday life and see if that works for you. I think it doesn't play well in university and corporate circles. Maybe it works better where women are thrown into more physical jobs alongside men--maybe there it's more positive, less complicated--meaning "she's one of the guys," ie. she rates. (subtext --she's not one of those wussy crybaby women). See if you can encourage more women to get in touch with their inner male. I'm all for that.

Go ahead and reply if you want. I'm out. Nice chattin with ya on this hot topic, which I got sucked into being a word freak like you .:)

[Guaranteed]

88. BEAUTIFUL post.

Your two ideas at the end are DEAD. ON. You "get it."

Been trying to do that for years, now.

Call it "balls judo," if you like.

[Joe Chi Minh]

89. When I was in basic training for the army, one of the lads,

whe he heard someone say, "balls" or "bollocks", would immediately retort, "Ohh arrh, you'll 'ave some when you're a man!", in the broad West Country, Somerset kind of accent he had.

[dave123williams]

91. If you had balls, you'd understand. It's a guy thing, for sure.

[smartvoter]

95. I think the whole balls series of descriptors refers to a certain type of

courage that trumps all wisdom and really walks the line with respect to manners and propriety. When my (male) friends say someone has balls, it's usually because there is a reckless aspect to what was done. What Colbert did was ballsy because he stood in front of that room full of people and called them out on their bullshit and -- rather impolitely -- made them squirm. When Barbara Boxer stood -- by herself in the Senate, in the end -- against the tide on the Ohio issues, she demonstrated deep courage that is probably associated more with the heart than anything else. John Kerry's actions in Vietnam showed spine. Not that I have a monopoly on any of this but this is how I tend to view them when I hear them...

Even as I write this I am finding myself believing that, in general, the "ballsy" type of description has a hint of insanity to it and often deals in issues that are "poltically incorrect." Hence, there's almost a male stupidity/arrogance aspect to it... I'm quite sure my wife and I will have a long discussion about this when I bring it up (which I will). She is an editor and executive in a "man's world," so her views on these are always interesting. Ironically, her comments after seeing Colbert's excerpts werethat he has some "serious gonads" to be doing that with Bush and the press sitting right there...

[michael_1166]

99. If the name of the speaker would have been Stephanie Colbert,

I'm sure we'd have found similar words of praise for her. Not "ballsiness", but something else fitting her speech. There are ways to praise a man for an outstanding performance, and there are ways to praise a woman for an outstanding performance. Would we discuss the attributes describing Stephanie's speech here? Probably not.

[CrispyQ]

101. Your 2-point plan is spot on.

And this is a key point to make to the bully's who still hang onto the "you mess with the bull you get the horns" mentality, of which make up a significant portion of the backwash:

"...this trading-liberty-for-security thing. What, do Americans not have the balls to risk danger in order to protect our fundamental liberties? Why, if you had a pair, would you think that allowing the president to break the law was something you had to put up with just because you're scared of a bunch of terrorists?"


It amazes that these "America is the greatest, most powerful nation on the planet" mindsets are so quick to sacrifice the very things that make our country great. They are so fucking deluded in their blind nationalism.

[Skittles]

105. THANK YOU

I am so SICK of this tired, outdated, SEXIST expression and am SHOCKED by how many DUers - men and WOMEN, use it - it is PATHETIC

[jollyreaper2112]

133. What would you prefer?

There's a certain essential truth to vulgarities. I can call Bush's statements misinformation, deceitful, dishonest, but nothing cuts to the essential TRUTH of the matter so much as "bullshit." BUT OH NO, THAT IS SO VULGAR!!! THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!! Their delicate ears might be scalded by such direct exposure to harsh truth!

Overuse of such phrases can dull their meaning. Fuckity fuck fuck fuckorama fuck fuck splatterjackfuck. See, that sentence has no meaning. It could be a lyric from a rap album for all you know. But if you make your point clearly, then use sparing vulgarities for emphasis, THEN you really land your point.

I see it the same way for balls, cajones, huevos, bollocks, and any other euphamism our multicultural society sees fit to share with us.

Consider how weak these statements sound.

"It took courage for Stephen Colbert to stand up to Bush."

"Wow, it was brave of Stephen to be so confrontational."

"I am amazed at how Stephen was able to speak truth to the Bush administration."

Now consider how strong this one sounds.

"Stephen Colbert has big brass balls that spark when they clank together. You need to use welder's goggles just to look at them. He was only 10 feet away from Bush. I'm surprised his hair didn't catch on fire like Michael Jackson."

[Skittles]

139. ok that is about the weakest argument I have EVER heard

let's continue to use sexist terminology because it SOUNDS better?

[jollyreaper2112]

146. Ok, that's the weakest argument I've EVER heard from you

I don't see it as a matter of sexist, I see it as a matter of face-slapping power. George Carlin had an interesting bit about the use of euphamims and the weakening of the power of language and the ideas represented. WWI had shellshock, a brutal word that indicated the decimated state of a soldier coming off the line of battle. WWII saw the introduction of battle fatigue, a tiring phrase but lacking the visercal punch of shellshock. Vietnam saw the introduction of post-traumatic stress disorder. Gee, doesn't sound so bad now, huh? But it takes the punch out of the idea, the essential concept that killing your fellow man takes a chunk out of your soul, it dismembers your vital parts. Shellshock carries that connotation. PTSD sounds like something you'll get rid of with some antibiotics.

So fine, call it weakness. I'll use terms that still carry some power with them. But you're welcome to use sanitized, weakened words that have had their edges taped to prevent any unintentional poking. God forbid language have any real effect upon the listener.

[Skittles]

150. inferring that MALE BODY PARTS ARE REQUIRED FOR COURAGE

that is SEXIST

[jollyreaper2112]

152. read for content

Did you not read where I already explained how "balls" should be seen as metaphorical rather than literal?

Here's an interesting parody of the feminist extreme. Don't worry, the original source skewered plenty of male cliches as well -- equal opportunity satarist, the best kind. This is presented as a parody of a talk show. The transcript has typos but they're surviable.

|
| ao) Michelle Carapadis |
|________________________|

Amy: This is K-Chat, welcome back to the show. I'm Amy Sheckenhausen and next
up, we're going to be interviewing someone who's got a lot to say for
herself. A woman weho pretended to be a man and wrote a book about it. I
haven't read it, but I'm going to pretned I did. She's professer of
Anthrososiology and womens studies at the University of Vice City. And her
name's Micheala Crapis. Crapadis. Micheala. Michelle. Hi, welcome to
K-Chat.
Michelle: hello.
Amy: Hi, so michelle, you're a teacher?
Michelle: If you mean professor yes i have a doctorate, teachers are homely
women who make minimum wage to keep the teenage boys off the streets
during the day. I am very intelligent and I'd rather talk about that.
I'm trying to sell my book
Amy: Ok, now it says here that you wanted to be a man so much, you dressed up
like one.
Michelle: Well that's a load of crap my dear. more massagenistic propaganda I
hate men, can't bear them, I think they're a complete waste of time
and space quite frankly and a disaster for the planet.
Amy: Me too, I just got dumped.
Michelle: Oh well it is unfortunate you measure yourself worth in relation to a
man my dear. look at you. you could be an attractive girl. if you did
some physical labour, cut your hair short, grew out your body hair
and wore boots for example. You mustn't get sucked into their
hetropatirarcy.
Amy: But I like dating, having someone buy you dinner is great.
Michelle: Well we'll come back to you and your problems accepting who you
really are. Let's talk about me a bit more
Amy: Ok, so, tell me about your book. you hate men a lot. and you dressed up
like one, and now you've written a book about it. Right?
Michelle: more or less. as i said I'm very itelligent so i don't expect you to
understand my dear but I'll try to keep it simple. I've always been
fascinated with the world of men, revolted of course, but
fascintated. Now, as an acemdemic I can get paid to write a book
about pretty much anything as long as I give it a complicated title.
Are you with me gourgeous?
Amy: Ooh, I think so.
Michelle: Good, then hold my hand, it helps me think.
Amy: No!
Michelle: Ok, ok, sorry. don't be so weird. god, everywhere I go just like the
university, won't let me display my beutiful and sensual woodcuts in
the student comments. It makes me so angry! Where was I?
Amy: You were talking about yourself.
Michelle: Oh of course. The ego is a dangerous thing specially in my case, I'm
a jungeon, anyway, so what I did was dress up like a man and enter
into the man world. I can tell you it was more horrifiing then I
imagined.
Amy: What did you do?
Michelle: Well, the first chapter, I was a roofer. These sexist spend all day
on a roof talking about us amy. I was expected to sit around and talk
about what I had done to women, of course I had to so not to blow my
cover.
Amy: So what's the name of your book?
Michelle: Yes, as mentioned hitherto, my book has a very very obtuse title.
Being and Seeing, From Freud to the Building Sites, a Woman's Journey
into the Male Psychy.
Amy: Huh? What?
Michelle: I'll admit it's not very catchy. But Academia is not about getting to
the point. It's about exploration.
Amy: Ok, wow, I'm learning a lot today.
Michelle: So I entered the world of men, in disguise of course, I was dressed
like a man.
Amy: Ok, and you haven't changed back?
Michelle: What, what did you say?
Amy: You're still dressed like a man.
Michelle: No I'm not, these are my normal clothes. For gods sake Amy, don't
fall prey to the patriarichy's evil fashion schemes!
Amy: Oh, sorry.
Michelle: Anyway, I learned a lot when I was a man. Did you know for example
that during my time as a steelworker in Pittsburg, I learned that men
sometimes speak crudely about women when they are out of earshot. I
was horrified. Or that men regard some women, like you Amy, as mere
sex toys. Things for their amusemtn. Unbelieveable! Or that men
actually find sports intersting! It's appaling. And they run the
world my pretty, oh yes, they run the world.
Amy: They do?
Michelle: Yeah. Look at Reagan, look at Thatcher, look at Gorbechef, when we
stay home and bake cookies, well screw that sweetheart.
Amy: Yes, I agree.
Michelle: Good, don't bake a cookie, smash him in the face with a baking tray
instead. he's a brainless dolt, he's a man. Did you know men enjoy
looking at pictures of naked women, it's called pornography, it's
sick and foul. I'm giving a talk about it this weekend at the women's
centre. That's women with a y.
Amy: Hah, I think you spelt it wrong.
Michelle: Are you a woman Amy? Three of the five letters that make up your
description are M. A. N. You're too dependant on men amy. that's why
I don't call myself a woman amy.
Amy: Um, ok.
Michelle: I bet this radio station is owned by a man, white male conservatives
monopolise the media selecting right wing blondes to proporgate
conservatism.
Amy: I don't have blonde hair.
Michelle: Not yet Amy, not yet. Did you know men drink beer, smoke cigarettes
and wear hats?
Amy: Well, yeah.
Michelle: Heh well, you must have read my book. I've discovered a lot of
things. I was also a policeman and an untrained brainsurgeon. They're
all the same, all women haters.
Amy: Just because they like sports and hats, doesn't mean they hate women does
it?
Michelle: You self hating fool! Of course it does! The media, meaning you
falsely portrays feminists as bra burners, out dated combat boot
wearing, bad mothers. Why don;t you take your top off right now Amy
huh? Tell them you won't be censored any more!
Amy: No! I'm getting a little bit freaked out here, ah buh, hit the, buh
_________________________
| |
| ap) AD29 - The Military |
|_________________________|

Speaker: Do you in (interputed) we'll teach you how to make beds, march in
squares, shine shooes, clean bathrooms, kill a man with your bare
hands and do it all with pride. The military teaches you all the
skills you'll need later in life. Call 1-880-BEAHERO. And become a
real man today.
______________________
| |
| aq) Commercial Break |
|______________________|

Amy: Why are you waving you hands? Oh, I'm supposed to hit the other
commercial.
_________________________________
| |
| ar) AD30 - Yuppie and the Alien |
|_________________________________|

Speaker: This fall, a new hard-hitting police drama is coming to Friday night.
He was a well to do cop, transferred to a trouble precinct, downtown.
His new partner is a space traveller, with a passion for justice. It's
Yuppie and the Alien!
Captain: Look! You may vaporize dissidents in Alpha Centauri, but in this
precinct, we do things by the book!
Yuppie: I'm so terribly sorry, captain.
Googan: Zagh! Googan sorry!
Speaker: Don't miss this one of a kind police drama. They're fighting crime the
hard way, in designer clothes, with a quarter of a million dollar
sports car, and a UFO.
Yuppie: Partner, let's go cruise in the car and look moody.
Speaker: One tough, downtown precinct, two outsiders, doing things their way,
Yuppie and the Alien, on VBC.
____________________________
| |
| as) AD31 - BJ's Used Autos |
|____________________________|

BJ: Hi, I'm BJ Smith, tied in for the Vice City Mambas and proud proprieter of
BJ's Used Autos. Cars from all over America come to find a new home on
Florida, just like you. I moved here after the draft, football not Vietnam,
even though they do have a lot in common, I notcied there was one thing
missing from this great town, a celebrity endorsed used car shop. That's
why I founded BJ's Used Autos. Everyone of these beauties has been freshly
painted they look brand new. We have new models coming in every morning,
usually around 2 am, we can get you anything, and if you see the car of
your dreams, tell us, we can aquire it for ya! I've taken the skills I've
learned as a pro football player to the used car business, smash grab and
run like hell. BJ's Used Autos, I'm talking low prices with hot cars.
___________________________________
| |
| at) Michelle Carapardis - Callers |
|___________________________________|

Amy: If for some reason you'd like to speak to Michelle Crapper, just give her
a call on K-Chat, who's on the line?
Caller: Michelle, hi! Peace sister. I'm wearing trousers, I haven't shaved or
waxed in nine months. I left my broken hearted husband and baby behind.
Now I'm living in a comune with a series life partners having quite
simple amazing experiences, I got my inspiration from a lecture you
gave last year. Thankyou so much. You taught me a lot.
Michelle: Yes good sweetheart, but ask yourself, are you doing enough? It
sounds to me like you're living a lie. Your life is still very man
centric. You're still justyfying yourself by the I am Not then the I
Am principle. I mean really, you might as well make his bed and clean
his litter tray for gods sake. It's half hearted fools like you that
give feminism a bad name.
Caller: But, I, I even attacked by brother with the bread knife.
Michelle: You showpony! Promqueen, cheerleader, skirt wearer. You see Amy,
that's the thing about people, they're so halfhearted. Pick and Mix,
not prepared to carry out their threats. That woman, that lady, as I
bet she likes to be known, is really a self hater, a failure in a
man's world. YOu knwo, why, I bet she's never attacked a man with a
vat of boiling oil.
Amy: But she said she tried to kill her brother.
Michelle: Don't argue with me! I write books!
Amy: Ok, next caller.
Caller: Michelle, I'm a huge fan.
Michelle: Are you?
Caller: Yes, you've really change my life. Before I heard you speak a couple of
times, I was getting into the feminist movemnet, but sort of in a silly
way.
Michelle: Really?
Caller: Yeah, you know, burning my bra, beating up policeman, shooting my dad
and stuff. Just fooling around you know. I really didn't understand the
feelings I was having.
Michelle: Ah, I know the wearsome troubles of the halfhearted.
Caller: And then after listening to you, I realised what a load of crap it was.
Michelle: Excuse me.
Caller: What a load of crap it was. You can't hate men just because they're
different, you can't hate anyone just because they're different. You
have to work with them. Luckily I needed a moronically, pretentious,
over educated hairless old heriden like you to show me how stupid I was
being. I mean, we're all just people, and it's idiots like you who
cause problems in this world in the name of reclaiming some false
ideals. And going on and on about gender politics at rallys just so
you can wear leather in public.
Michelle: Why you missargenist.
Caller: No, you're insane. You hate yourself because you're a failure, you're
an appaling academic and about as interlecutal as a hermeriod, goodbye.
Michelle: Well, uh, hum, well it's nice to see my work has stimulated such
healthy debate don't you think?
Amy: Uh, Michelle? She hated you.
Michelle: Yeah, nonsense, the poor dear was in bits. Not very used to the cut
and thrust of acedemia, I thought she expressed herself poorly and
didn't know what she was saying. Proberbly burnt her husband's cakes
or something. It's important for me to confront the differences and
similarites myself and other women. I am smart, strong, I seek
liberation. Your society imposes on me.
Amy: God, this is all so confusing. Everything has two meanings.
Michelle: Exactly, apart from the word through which has five. You can choose
to be a victim Amy, after you read my book you'll realise that men
are irrelevant. Can a man have a baby? Do I need a man to have a
baby? No. We don't need men, we need more parts of town we can call
our own, more parades, more gatherings of understanding where women
can beat each other with pillows and practise judo.
Amy: That doesn't sound like fun at all.
Michelle: Oh shutup, I've had enough of you you little tart.
Amy: That makes two of us. Right, listeners don't go away. When you come back
we'll have a new guest and I promise they'll be more interesting then
Michelle Crapartist. Michelle, it's been a pleasure, I'm sure we've all
found this veryy illuminating. And why our beliefs were right in the first
place. We'll be back right after this.
_________________________

[Skittles]

153. I...................ER

goodbye

[jollyreaper2112]

157. a...... e......i .......o ....... u

*waves*

[BrklynLiberal]

172. Excellent parallel. Carlin got it soooo right!!

:thumbsup: :hi:

Love your images!
"words that have had their edges taped to prevent any unintentional poking"

[BoneDaddy]

171. Amen

The thought/word police have way too much time on their hands.

[Selteri]

107. I agree with you, though I'm a huge fan of mixing it with one other thing.

THe pure, unvarnished truth that cannot be denied by a sane person. THen again, I'm for laws making the news have to become about the news and not about entertainment.

[druidity33]

108. in Spanish people say JUEVOS!

That means you got huge EGGS...

[Berserker]

110. HOLY BAllS

what a post. I would give my left nut to write like that.

[sellitman]

116. Brass tits?

Naw.....nevermind. :P

[BrklynLiberal]

173. Actually that is not such a horrendous idea!!!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[sellitman]

177. Sound to much like a new snack food.

:rofl:

[jollyreaper2112]

117. Overanalysis

English is not a gendered language. It has been traditional to use words such as "he" in place of awkward phrases such as he/she/it which sounds like a bodily function undertaken by a southerner anyway. I always thought it was particularly affected when textbook authors made a point of using "she" for the unspecified subject of a sentence. I commonly hear women refer to other groups of women as "you guys." It's a genderless phrase now.

As far as balls go, it's morphing into a genderless expression of daring. It has a stronger connotation than courage, bravado, intestinal fortitute, and so on.

One of the silly ideas of gender politics is the assumption that just because men and women should have equal rights under the law that they are equal in every way. I'm reminded of the jewish revolutionary from Life of Brian who felt it was his right to have babies even though he lacked the proper equipment, though it was through no fault of his own, and they couldn't even blame that on the Romans.

When you get right down to it, there are fundamental differences between the male and female impulse. Whatever your gender, you tend to have a mix of both, though usually very skewed towards one or the other. The male tends to be active, violent, the destroyer. Female tends to be passive, nurturing, the creator. Ballsiness is a masculine attribute. It can be both good and bad depending on the context. Rosa Parks had balls, the good kind. George W. Bush has balls, the bad kind, that kind of balls that usually get young men killed doing stupid things. It was just our luck he couldn't have plowed into a tree while street racing as a kid, he had to go and get selected President instead.

[Captain Hilts]

120. I'm going to spare you an essay on women as the 'marked' gender. nt

[jollyreaper2112]

128. uh...huh?

I have no idea what you mean by that. Marked gender? I have no idea what you're talking about.

What I DO know is that people can get very anal about gender-related beliefs. People think that their sexual orientations are a focal point in their lives. Jocks will speak effusively and to the point of nausea about sexual conquests. They feel that their place in life is not properly defined unless they tell every sentient being in earshot about who they nailed, where they nailed, how they nailed, and why they nailed, and by God it had better be understood that the nailee was FEMALE!!! Conersely, I was aquainted with a lesbian who insisted she was gender queer and that this explained how it was possible for her to have sex with both women AND men, it was allowed because the boys were gay. You would be damned to HELL if you were to opine that she might be bisexual instead of simply gay.

Me, I take a very simplified view of things. Sexuality is a spectrum ranging from ultra-hetero on one side to flaming queer on the other. Few people measure 100% on either end, there's always a ratio. I think that falls into the same realm as the little bit of male and female in all personalities. If you fuck the opposite gender, you're straight. If you fuck the same gender, you're gay. If you fuck both, you're bi. But it's not something to get all up tight about. Maybe you prefer one gender for emotional commitment and like another just for the snogging bits. So fucking what? It's not an issue unless you make it an issue. I think that there are many people out there who are just looking for something to make their lives complicated with. That whole gender queer thing seems like one of them. You only fuck boys if they're gay? If that's the case, there are two people bullshitting themselves there.

[jane_pippin]

123. Well, from day one of his show Colbert has *ahem* held his balls in

high esteem. (Sorry about that turn of phrase). So, I think a lot of people who are thanking him on the site are playing off his own running joke as well as giving a nod to Jon's compliment.

Moving on, excellent post, as usual. This, I especially liked:
" However, women will always be at a disadvantage as long as courage, audacity, boldness, etc. are gendered masculine, because the more clearly they project these desired qualities the more masculinized they become, and to the unreconstructed the masculinized woman may actually be more threatening than the feminized man (I think you could make a case for either). "

I don't have an answer to sell to anyone either. But, I have been trying to wrap my head around equality issues, where women are at now, where we might be years from now, and things like that lately, and your post gave me a bit more to think about so thanks for that. I guess the only "ideal" I can think of at the moment is that it would be great if those qualities you mentioned weren't marked by gender at all, (meaning the words simply meant a strong, confident, etc. person), but I'm not at all sure how to get there from here either. I guess we'll just have to keep on living the words and proving we mean it for the time being.

[Captain Hilts]

125. Colbert is a comedian who makes fun of conservatives.

He uses a lot of expressions to fulfill that image.

[jane_pippin]

132. Yes, I'm well aware as well as a huge fan.

Haven't missed a Report yet. :thumbsup:

I just skimmed the thread, which was probably a mistake, and wanted to put Colbert's take on it out there is all.

[BrklynLiberal]

174. kudos. Well said, and well thought out.

:thumbsup:

[Crunchy Frog]

131. You do understand that "balls" is one of Colbert's signature expressions.

I think that all the references to Stephen Colbert's balls were a play on his own frequent references on his program.



I'm guilty of making the same reference in my sig line, and I don't have them either. I tend to see the reference more as a harmless in joke about the Colbert character, though I guess it does point out some larger issues in our society.

[Swamp Rat]

137. Interesting post... reading suggestion.

:hi:

If you are interested in gender bias in language, I recommend "The Language War" by Robin T. Lakoff. I especially liked her linguistic analysis of the Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas affair.

http://linguistics.berkeley.edu/people/fac/lakoffr.html

[MuseRider]

138. Thanks for the suggestion!

:hi:

[Swamp Rat]

141. Way'at MuseRider!

:hi: :hug:

Though I read most of it I wasn't able to finish the book because of Katrina - the book was a casualty of the storm.

[MuseRider]

144. If I get it

I will send it to you after I finish. K?

GREAT graphic! Ha Ha. My husband and I walk around imitating this jerk all the time, it has become a contest who can do the "Heh Heh" the best. Good one Swamp Rat.

[Captain Hilts]

140. Lakoff's book "The Language War" is great. nt

[BrklynLiberal]

175. Safe to assume she is related to George Lakoff

who wrote of the Elephant in the Room?

[tomreedtoon]

148. Women do talk about "testosterone poisoning," don't they?

And as a self-acknowledged wimp and geek, who still remembers beatings at the fists of schoolyard bullies (including those unconvicted bullies called "teachers") I can testify that it exists.

Just like nearly everything, an excess of testosterone is a bad thing. The curious thing is the parallel to the way some men brag about how much they can drink. The Republicans make a big thing about their macho, true. But it's like a guy claiming he can out-drink his buddies. It usually proves wrong.

The famous padded codpiece of Bush's flight suit, the tough talk from Limbaugh and O'Reilly, the stern resoluteness of the Ashcrofts...these are men pretending to testosterone overdose, but (to use the drinking metaphor) the strongest thing they drink is milk in a dirty glass.

[Broken_Hero]

154. great article

and good to see you around...

First off, i'm a man...but, my wife always uses this term "Why don't those women, grab their titties, and get down to business!"....I have to admit, it has a certain ring to it...:)

[Broken_Hero]

155. other

titty words...

"Tough Titty"...

"Helen Thomas showed just how tough her tit was today, giving Snow a run for his money!"

I don't know, I am a fan of tits, sorry...:(

[REP]

156. One Nit-Picky Thing About Colbert

"Balls" has been along running joke with "The Colbert Report," from when it was just a fake ad on the Daily Show. Colbert would sneer, "It's French, bitch" and then dare the viewers to watch the Colbert Report "if you have the balls - 'cause I do." When the concept went from fake ad to half-hour hit (ok, hit on late-night cable TV), Colbert's "Colbert" character referred to the size of his balls, and presented someone with a Brass Balls awards; he also refers to his "Colbert's Balls for Kids." His own use of 'balls' is part of fact-free swaggering macho right-wing commentator character. Stewart's calling Colbert's performance "ballsalicious" was a callback to that running joke as well as a way of congratulating his friend and colleague on a brave performance.

As for the rest of the essay - well, I agreed with it when I read it 25 years ago, and I still agree with it now.

[Demeter]

158. Plaid, I Think Democratic Women Have More Balls Than The Men!

With the occasional exception, of course. Maybe because women's lives, and their children's futures, are always first on the line when the GOP takes over.

I want to add: Maybe it's because Democratic women have more balls in the air to juggle than either their Democratic men, or GOP men, or GOP women!

[ru4truth]

162. Balls do not equal courage

I loved this post. Anyone who is familiar with the history of how women have been treated and what it has taken to advance their rights are rightfully awestruck by the courage women have.

Although I have a couple myself, I never think for a moment that they bestow on me any superior qualities other than the ability to lift heavy loads. In most other respects over the years I have been humbled by my wife's and daughter-in-law's talents, persistence, character, and capabilities.

Let's hear it for the women! We love you.

[BrklynLiberal]

176. Your wife and daughter-in-law are very lucky.

[earth mom]

164. IMO, Cindy Sheehan has a "set".

Ball, ovaries-whatever you want to call em-she is simply one of the bravest women out there right now. I respect and admire her far more than ANYONE in office right now. :applause:

Cindy is doing the right thing-not giving a damn what anyone thinks and certainly not to win favor-unlike self serving fence sitter DINO Hillary Clinton-UGH-DOUBLE UGH! :puke:

Too bad we don't have more women or men in D.C. with "sets"! Gawd knows this country would most certainly NOT be in the situation it is now if that were the case! :argh:

[Bruden]

167. bttt

[Guaranteed]

168. Most still haven't read the OP, yet they respond.

Nice, folks.

You REALLY should read it. What she is saying is extraordinarily important.

[Norrin Radd]

169. The AC DC song "Big Balls" mentions a woman having balls:

"...CHORUS:
I've got big balls
I've got big balls
And they're such big balls
Dirty big balls
And he's got big balls
And she's got big balls
But we've got the biggest balls of them all.."

[BoneDaddy]

170. And we wonder

why the Democratic party cant get a fucking thing accomplished, we worry about nonsense about the linquistic semantics of "balls".

If this was satire, I apologize. Just tired of the extremist male bashers who spout their bullshit on this message board.

We are balls deep into Bush's bullshit and this becomes an important topic of discussion. No wonder we fail.