Slipped through the cracks

A new men's group fights reverse sexism on campus. Plus: A gay male prom queen and facials with ... human sperm?

Published May 29, 2009 9:30PM (EDT)

This week, we met our new Supreme Court nominee and watched as the California Supreme Court upheld Prop 8. We learned about New York Times columnist Ross Douhat's weird take on unhappy liberated women and memoirist Elizabeth Wurtzel's weird take on losing her looks. Maybe we spent too long wrapped in dangerous hugs, because here are a few stories that we missed:

Is reverse sexism running rampant?: A new University of Chicago organization, Men in Power, thinks so. The group will be the first men's advocacy group on campus (there are nine for women) and hopes to bring in speakers, make ties with alumni and even mentor children for their Little Men in Power program. Critics, often pointing to its name, feel the collective is promoting not-so-subtle misogyny and that such a club is unnecessary due to men's longstanding strength in the workplace. But one defender puts it this way: "It's like saying 'is it OK for the Yankees to keep recruiting new players because the Chicago Cubs have not won as often?'" To be sure, men are feeling the pinch of the recession, with an unemployment rate of 10 percent as compared to women at 7.6, and it's issues like these the group hopes to address. "If we have good men in our society, everyone benefits," said founder Steve Saltarelli.

A queer kind of prom queen: Fairfax High School crowned an openly gay male student, Sergio Garcia, as prom queen last weekend. In a speech that struck a chord of both tolerance and novelty, Garcia promoted his candidacy by admitting he wasn't the typical candidate: "I will be wearing a suit," he confidently stated. "But don't be fooled, deep down I am a queen."

Priest breaks celibacy, ditches Catholic Church: After photos surfaced of Father Alberto Cutie canoodling with a female on the beach, he was removed from his position in a Miami Catholic Church and has admitted to breaking his celibacy vow. "Father Oprah" has since been received into the Episcopal Church, raising questions about the practice of celibacy and straining relations between the two church groups.

Jessica Simpson loves her body (or at least the money it makes): Capitalizing on what might be her last fumes of relevance, the pop star is shopping a new road trippin' reality show about body image to networks, entitled "The Price of Beauty."

It puts the spermine on its skin!: A new anti-oxidant discovered in (that's right!) human sperm is being used for facials. The skin-smoothing process will run you $250 at New York City's Townhouse Spa, but we've heard eternal beauty is priceless.


By Joe Coscarelli

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