Comments on: The St. Valentine’s Day Blog Massacre

By: Cam

Cam — Wed, 02 Mar 2005 19:56:34 +0000

Heh. I’m glad you liked it!

This discussion has opened my eyes in at least one respect: it’d never occurred to me that anybody could use the reminder that they could take a relaxing bath on a bad day.

By: Leah

Leah — Wed, 23 Feb 2005 14:22:43 +0000

It’s me–the massacred one–lifting my bloodied head to say that I chuckled at the title of your post, and like your take on the subject. I had to mention it back at the source today. Hope you don’t mind.

By: Cam

Cam — Mon, 21 Feb 2005 23:43:10 +0000

Hooray! I’d like to know what’d go on that CD.

By: ferneyes

ferneyes — Mon, 21 Feb 2005 22:39:47 +0000

I think I will use “Bubble Bath of Strength and Freedom” as the title for my next compilation CD.

By: Ted

Ted — Mon, 21 Feb 2005 18:25:32 +0000

Good point about widows. There’s a woman in our office whose husband was killed in Afghanistan last year. I cannot imagine what Valentine’s day must have been like for her.

I wish I’d thought (or read) about a bubblebath. It probably would have been better than what I actually did.

By: Wim

Wim — Mon, 21 Feb 2005 02:01:39 +0000

Mmm, I love it when I’m given a whole bunch of women’s energy. Next Valentine’s Day I hope to collect enough to fuel a whole fleet of yoni-powered phallic patriarchy projectors.

citrine: AFAICT, men do essentially the same things, just without magazines to tell them what they are. There’s “Wah, I’m soooo aloooone, I’ll do something indulgent”; there’s “Hah. I don’t need a woman to be happy! I’ll do something unusual”; there’s “I’m in a relationship and it’s SOOOOOO GREAAAAAT”; there’s the usual silent majority…

By: Cam

Cam — Mon, 21 Feb 2005 00:40:19 +0000

“Blog massacre” refers to the bitching on that blog I linked to, btw. Perhaps I should have made it more clear that that’s the thing I find most interesting: that for some “critical”, “educated” readers, taking that V-Day bubble bath becomes a bad subject when there’s somebody joining you.

By: citrine

citrine — Mon, 21 Feb 2005 00:10:39 +0000

What’s funny is I saw that ‘relax’ thing more as meaningfully applicable to people IN relationships, though not necessarily purely romantic ones (ie, dealing with other people and many kinds of love is difficult on any day of the year.)

The ‘How to Find Mr Right’ focus is probably the most aggravating media slant for me, worse than ‘celebrating one’s personal relationship/values that may or may not happen to be in line this year with something celebrated by the dominant culture’. What do men without partners do on Vlaneitne’s Day, or do they just not read maganizes?

By: Canyonwren

Canyonwren — Sun, 20 Feb 2005 21:43:33 +0000

Well, maybe because ice-climbing is a little less accessible for the average woman, who may or may not have the knowledge, equipment or be in a location to do it.

I do see your point–bubble bath articles are boring and old news–but they’re also easy and sensual, which is sort of a V-Day thing. The kind of women who go out adventuring are going to do it anyway, but that doesn’t mean they still don’t get depressed facing V-Day. Sometimes, the simple pleasures really are the best. I love hanging out on the top of mountains, but if I’m feeling deprived *right now*, fixing up a Lush bath bomb experience with a candle and a glass of wine can be a lot more satisfying than planning on doing yet another hike alone.

By: Cam

Cam — Sun, 20 Feb 2005 21:35:20 +0000

It’s professional and semi-pro writers I’m talking about, not Suzy Random Blogger. Thus the use of “markets”, and of “article” rather than “post”.

Nothing is particularly wrong with it except that it tends to be the stuff of serious cliché. In my experience, it’s rare that a writer brings anything individual to it. Where are the single women who celebrate V-Day by going ice climbing? Now that would make an interesting article. But no, it’s almost always the Bubble Bath of Strength and Freedom. Every year around this time I can count on opening up a magazine or newspaper and seeing some reference to that damn fool bubble bath. It is as much a Valentine’s Day tradition as flowers and candy.

The combination of triteness and rapturous pseudo-radical self-puffery strikes a goofy note, especially in a professional publication.