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Asshole Frat-Boy, My Ass.
For those of you who are into blogger politics as I am, there is all sorts of controversy erupting over David Lat’s (formerly of Wonkette) new blog, Above the Law. It seems that Lat tried to introduce a series called ERISA Hotties that would’ve seemed otherwise normal on Wonkette, which gained some notoriety for its Hill Intern Hotties contest. Unfortunately for Lat, the legal blogosphere often tends to take things a bit too seriously, as he learned when the Feminist Law Professors blog took him to task.
It seems that Lat had obtained a disproportionate number of male candidates for his ERISA Hotties contest, and has asked for more female applicants, to which the Feminist Law Professors responded, “it’s easy to understand why women might prefer not to participate. Possibly Lat doesn’t understand that being celebrated for her looks is not known for being a ticket to career success in the legal world for a female attorney.” They continue by stating, “all of this blogging-in-drag is bewildering and appalling. I just don’t understand the prurient interest some have in watching an otherwise impressively credentialed or politically opinionated ‘woman’ degrade ‘herself’ by trivializing her politics or profession.” In response to Lat’s alter-ego as a female conservative on his first blog, Underneath the Robes, the Feminist Law Profs continue, “Speaking as a female blogger, who writes a ‘blawggish’ blog at that, I am personally offended. I think these poseurs, cheeky and satiric as they intend to be, bring down the image of serious female bloggers everywhere.”
Ann Althouse weighs in as well, appropriately (I think) wondering if the Feminist Law Profs have “considered whether this grim, censorious, humorless — nay, humor-phobic — attitude helps women.” Althouse also speculates whether “frat boy asshole” is really the right stereotype for Mr. Lat? And speaking as an “asshole frat boy” I’m a little offended that Althouse would lump me in with Lat. I mean, seriously: Do asshole frat boys attend Yale Law School and drop out of large firms to work in the Attorney General’s office? Of course not. We’re too drunk to achieve that level of success, and a real asshole frat boy would hold Wet T-Shirt contests with the Ladies of the IRS, thank you very much.
