Men’s Lib
Tina called my attention to a Wapedia entry about me.Â
“Her work has been the subject of academic study (1). Content analysis of the Twisted series reveals Zafra’s disdain for men in general, and Filipino men in particular, whom she finds “stupid and weak” (2). Most of her positive descriptions of men were reserved for foreign celebrities like Mel Gibson (3), David Duchovny (4), Goran Ivanisevic (5) and Sting (6).”
(1) I do not participate in academic studies of my work because I already spend too much time talking about myself, plus it is not for me to pass judgment on my own output.Â
(2) This is what happens when the academic study does not factor in the most important ingredient in my work: Irony. But I guess a sense of irony cannot be taught. I’ll say this once: I love men. Maybe not you in particular, but I am a great admirer of the male of the species, regardless of nationality. All my friends are men, straight and gay. It’s women friends who have almost vanished from my directory, because they’re all busy saving the world. I see my gay guy friends everyday, and what do we talk about 70 percent of the time? Men.
I feel for you guys. I think you should be liberated from having to carry your wives/girlfriends’ handbags (You should offer to carry laptop bags and heavy packages because you are physically stronger, generally), or from waiting outside fitting rooms and being ordered to fetch clothes in other sizes or colors. I would not mind at all if you always picked up the tab, after all you’re hardwired to be the hunter-gatherers (while we discover agriculture, quantum physics, etc).
You should also not be compelled to discuss your feelings unless you’re ready to go full Oprah. I know how ooky it is to discuss your emotional state, especially when you’re watching sports. This emo thing has gone too far. If someone wanted to discuss our, ugh, relationship while I was watching the fifth set of a Federer-Nadal final, there would be blood. Women should realize that your obsession with sports is totally about feelings. Don’t they notice how much crying goes on at sporting events?
(3) That was the 90s, I was young and stupid. I don’t deny I loved Mad Max II and Braveheart but I have already renounced his fundamentalist ass.
(4) He’s so 90s, I was young and stupid, but there’s nothing to renounce.
(5) Love him.
(6) If you’re doing a proper academic study, could you read past Twisted 1? There are eight volumes, you know, plus Flicks and Travels.
I want these glasses from Fabulous Fanny’s, NYC.
P.S. According to Ricky, it is apparently the fashion these days for boys to carry their girlfriends’ handbags. It is a public announcement that (1) They are getting some, and (2) They are secure enough in their masculinity to be seen toting girliness. I think that (3) If it makes you happy to carry your girlfriend’s handbag, go ahead and be happy, (4) She would have two major accessories, the bag and the carrier, and (5) It’s her public announcement that you are her territory. Also, (6) You can buy your own designer bag, you know.
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
November 19th, 2008 at 06:56
One gets the feeling that your wikipedia entry was edited by the author of that study him or herself, just to get published outside of a journal that no one can find anywhere else.
But seriously, what an honour! Who gets put through a content analysis other than Shakespeare? Maybe they suspected that your canon was the work of more than one writer, including at least one woman? And didn’t they know that you divorced Sting after getting sick of having no surname and carrying a stack of albums in lieu of ID?
Cheers.
November 19th, 2008 at 07:22
I would love to give you those glasses because I’m 10 blocks from where Fabulous Fanny’s is located. But alas, I have no money to shell out. I would love to see you wear it though.
A long time ago I wanted to write a paper about you but the only book we had in the Library was Twisted II at the Filipiniana section (which I can’t check out for a week). I had to read it there in the library everyday after classes. So I switched to write about something else instead. But I have most of your books up until Twisted V including your audio cassette.
illicracker
November 19th, 2008 at 12:55
I can’t even remember the last time I carried a woman’s handbag. See, many of us are not that stupid, or weak. In the first place, there are a few of us who are actually smart enough not to go with the girlfriends/wives when they go shopping. Also, we have girlfriends/wives who know better than to take us with them when they go shopping.
Frankly, this “men are like this” thing is getting a bit tiresome. People resort to generalizing, and most of us men resent being put in one basket, together with all the other stupid and weak Filipino men out there. We like to believe that our stupidity is different from anybody else’s.
Our stupidity is ours alone; it is unique, like the country’s political system, and there’s not anything resembling like it. God forbid that our girlfriends/wives should mention to our face that we are like some other men they know. As to discussing one’s feeling, why, we do that all the time with our girlfriends/wives! We say, “Yes, that makes me feel good…,” and “It feels so good, let’s do it again.” We also do not have problems listening to our girlfriends ‘ or wives’ feelings.
You know, I agree the wikipedia entry is based on old material. It has not been updated. I do not see Jon Stewart’s name, or that Russian tennis player dude.
November 19th, 2008 at 12:56
Oy vey, a pig in shades! Lovely… So okay Duchovny I root only on account of that “poolside hang out” controversy. The rest I don’t give a hoot.
November 19th, 2008 at 13:02
Sometimes Gibson figures into some wild imaginings though…
November 21st, 2008 at 13:46
I was joking around with some friends who were buying bags for their girlfriends. The main basis as to what bag to pick would be how it would look with you since the girl would hardly carry it anyways. Haha.. Make it match with the Guy’s outfit instead.
November 23rd, 2008 at 21:17
By the way, here’s a screengrab of that tell-tale bulge in red Speedo. Or here.
September 7th, 2009 at 10:01
oh well.
What do you expect. Just unverified information. Wapedia is the mobile version for wiki, isn’t it?
I guess so. I read the same thing on Wikipedia. You should be proud though. You have a soon to be corrected profile in Wikipedia! Although they got it all wrong, you still have a profile! WOW. You are now in line with Mel Gibson and Britney Spears. You have an internet profile not made by you but by some person who rejected proper information flow. Wow.
Check my blog here.
link to my blog