When opposites detract
Over here in Straight City, it’s easy to toss off phrases about luring the opposite sex and such, and nearly as easy to overlook the fact that a small but not insubstantial portion of the audience isn’t looking toward the “opposite sex” at all.
The language, of course, adapts eventually, and not by the brandishing of ugly-sounding terms like “heteronormative,” but by simple substitution. I have to admit, though, I wouldn’t have expected to see an example of such in Motor Trend. Still, there it is, on page 84 of the March issue, in a paragraph about Oldsmobile’s rise to the top of the sales charts in the middle 1970s:
Olds’ Cutlass muscled in on the best-seller action for 1976 thanks largely to strong sales of the Supreme coupe, which, along with the Ford Thunderbird, Chevrolet Monte Carlo and Chrysler Cordoba appealed to optimistic Baby Boomers who were single and looking to lure the attractive sex with a flashy long-hood/short-deck two-door with all the bells and whistles.
Why, that’s downright … inclusive.
McGehee »
19 February 2010 · 11:44 am
Inclusive!? Straight, gay, whatever — I’m out no matter how it’s defined.
CGHill »
19 February 2010 · 11:47 am
You’re supposed to see yourself in the role of the Cutlass owner, trying to lure that Other Person.
McGehee »
19 February 2010 · 8:33 pm
Well, there’s the trouble. I was driving a Vega that hadn’t been repainted since the engine fire.