No. Sorry. You were denigrating sex-workers. You can feel that that’s ok; that’s your right. But, don’t deny it when you obviously were doing it. I came here from my rss-feed reader fully expecting no one else to have called you out on that. Glad I was wrong.

Keep doing what you’re doing, because you’re one of our best.

A lesbian who is your friend and is ROTFLMFAO at the thought of you being a lesbian-hater or anti-feminist,
Jenny

Other than that, I’ll just say ditto to what my buddy Steve said.

To hell with those haters.

Those sound like horrible responses, and there is no excuse for that sort of behavior. The web indeed does seem to provide a mechanism for folks so inclined to uncivil discourse to do so.

Back to your points about exactly what you wrote, when you use that sort of imagery, different readers will visualize and interpret your words based on their own backgrounds, experiences, etc. In no way does that justify the types of inappropriate responses you received, but using such a provocative analogy will tend to, well, provoke, usually in an emotional manner. Again, I think your initial follow-up comment explaining your reasoning for your opinion was a much better post, and hearing your real thoughts and reasoning are the reason I have you on my short list of bloggers whom I do read on a regular basis.

Keep up the good work – every blog needs its own controversy once in a while.

– jaf

One group of people was mad at me for not liking the iPad, period. Joe T’s opinion was quite testily worded and confrontational (and incorrect), but we can respectfully disagree, and we’ll put them aside for purposes of this discussion.

The other group of people are angry at my analogy. I can see their point, in that I am using the word “prostitute” as a negative term for the purposes of this discussion. That was intentional, the analogy made sense in my mind, and I apologize if I offended anyone’s soul.

My intent was not to offend, to objectify, or to hurt anyone. However, I feel that people completely misread and misinterpreted what I wrote and put words into my mouth (or hand, as the case may be). I did not call a sex worker an “it” (the “it” in my sentences clearly refers to the iPad, and not the prostitute in the sentence–check the grammar rules folks). I am not saying that a sex worker is a thing. I’m not saying a sex worker should be thrown away. I compared the sexiness of an iPad to the sexiness of a prostitute (or sex worker if you prefer). I’m talking about the way people feel about the experience.

Offended? OK. Feel free to register your opinion, disagree, and suggest sensitivity training. That’s OK.

But I am constantly surprised at the hatred, anger, literalness, and spite that lives in the undercurrent of the web. The comments here on the post were upset and I can appreciate the argument being made and appreciate their mostly-respectful tone. However, I’ve gotten several emails calling me a “god-d*** anti-feminist whore,” a “lesbian-hater” (what?), a “tasteless idiot,” and a “moronic f****ing b**ch.” I was even told “You should try selling your body sometime. You’ll get 1 cent, you c***.”

Do these sound like good responses? A logical way to argue a point? An intelligent argument? For anyone who knows me, they will think that calling me an anti-feminist is HILARIOUS, a lesbian-hater even more hilarious, though some might agree with the “b**ch” part. I own that.

For goodness sakes, people, see the post for what it is and please don’t over-read into it. All I ask is that people posting here, and communicating with others in general, be respectful and disagree without being hateful or disagreeable. You don’t change people’s minds by beating them over the head or hurling names at them.

I’ve held off responding to your post until now, but your comment on your own post has drawn me in. I have no qualms with your opinion of the iPad, or the better reasoning you relate in your comment on the post, even if I disagree with your opinion – that’s what discussions are all about. However, I am taken aback by your particular analogy, it seems so out of character from your writings in general. So, before shaming the folks who read and respond to you, perhaps you should re-read what you write, and know that this particular post does seem so out of place…