When Did Individual Anecdotes Like This Become Worthy of Worldwide News?

[queerbychoice]

Do tell.

Lately CNN reads oddly like The Onion, except that the punchline never quite arrives.

The only time I can recall burned female sex organs ever making news headlines was when that woman sued McDonalds years ago when their coffee gave her severe burns when it spilled in her lap. Those were worse burns, but the only public reaction was to ridicule her for filing a supposedly frivolous lawsuit.

John Wayne Bobbitt's story made worldwide news, yet I've personally met several women whose vulvas were slashes and disfigured with knives, and their stories never got that kind of attention.

Comments

[ex-digitalis869.livejournal.com]

Oh sure. He just *said* he was wearing trousers and underpants because he was embarrassed to admit he wasn't *really* writing that "business" report.

Guh. Humans are stupid. News is stupid. Do you know of any good independent news sources online?

[queerbychoice.livejournal.com]

Hee, I like your explanation. And yes I do - check the news section on the sidebar of my journal hoepage.

[sammka.livejournal.com]

wow, would you believe that is exactly what I was going to comment about? It's a good thing that right before I sent the comment I decided to check out that one other comment that'd already been sent.

And how the hell do you NOT notice your penis getting uncomfortably hot? I mean, doesn't heat get really uncomfortable well before it burns? Isn't there this common sense thing in most people's brains that says "look, if it feels really hot, don't touch it for prolonged periods of time"? Because MY brain sure has that thing, and I thought that everyone did.

[queerbychoice.livejournal.com]

With any other body part, I'd agree with you. But in this case . . . maybe he was circumcision-scarred on the burned portion, and lost some of the nerve sensitivity. You have to remember, many penises get some pretty disturbing things done to them when they're young.

Re:

[sammka.livejournal.com]

This is true.

[socialismnow.livejournal.com]

I have noticed the nice warm feeling one can obtain by putting a laptop on one's lap, but I can't imagine leaving it there long enough to do harm.

The odd thing is, although they're called laptops, it doesn't seem that they're really designed to be used in that way. Almost everyone places them on a desk, table or other flat surface where one is available.

I wasn't circumcised myself. In Britain it's mainly practised by Jews and Muslims, for whom it's a religious matter; Christians were freed of the obligation to circumcise several hundred years ago, but my family are all non-believers, anyway (mostly atheists, thank God).

[madcaptenor.livejournal.com]

I have very occasionally used a laptop on my actual lap.
And yes, they're warm.
But I use my *legs* as the surface. Besides, it would be harder to balance the laptop on certain less flat areas, and then I'd drop the computer, and I'd feel really stupid then.
But there's a reason that we feel pain. Pain is our body's way of telling us "don't do that!" but some people don't seem to understand that.

and Christians used to be required to circumcise?
I didn't know that. It makes sense, seeing as how it's Biblical - but I always assumed that that was one of the things that Christians stopped doing very very early on.

[socialismnow.livejournal.com]

Yes, very early on - I don't know when exactly, but it was a subject of debate in the days of the early church. I was unable to find the date, so I just said it was a long time ago... I may have made it sound like less long ago than it actually was.

[sashajwolf.livejournal.com]

Council of Jerusalem, ca. 50 CE, reported in Acts 15.

[queerbychoice.livejournal.com]

You are very educational to have around! As my thanks to you I shall present you with this amusing religious tract titled "Jesus Shops for Sandals."

[sashajwolf.livejournal.com]

*grin* Thanks. It helps to have done a theology degree in a previous life - I don't remember dates, but I know what to Google for!

[sammka.livejournal.com]

I think part of John Wayne Bobbitt's attention may have been his already-present semi-fame. But I agree, the media totally ignores female genitalia. It pisses me off.

[elfbabe.livejournal.com]

I think, due to anatomical issues, it would be easier to get sex organ burns on a laptop as a male than as a female.

Woohoo! naked laptop time!

This is news?

[ex-infidel.livejournal.com]

Blah for the media.

[heron61.livejournal.com]

Underneath the obvious sexism, I'm guessing we are also looking at the bread and circuses nature of modern media. If all the happy consumers are sufficiently distracted by stories of burned penises and gory murders, they hopefully will remain happy consumers and won't notice the our country is turning into a fascist police state.