Conservative syndicated columnist Mona Charen takes her 14-year old son to the supermarket. He asks her, "What's up with Cosmopolitan? What is that?" She replies of the mass-market monthly (circulation 2,903,000), "It's a magazine for sluts."
Of course, I'm not going to mount a defense of Cosmo, which is vapid. But seriously. What more approval does a boy need to call women "sluts" for the rest of his life than his mom signaling to him that it's okay? Mona's son: If you're reading this, you should know that "slut" is a slur for which there is no companion term to refer to men. Calling women "sluts" will not endear you to the intelligent, self-confident ladies you may want to date someday. (If you're into ladies. And if you're not, that's okay too! No matter what your mother might say.)
--Dana Goldstein
