What Is Sexy?
Doug Emhoff, soon-to-be FGOTUS (pronunciation anyone?)
Catherine Rampell’s opinion column in today’s Washington Post says out loud what so many of us have been thinking FOREVER: “Hello! Men who support women in their careers = super sexy!”
Enjoy this fabulous article about Doug Emhoff, soon-to-be First Gentleman, or will that be FGOTUS? Pronunciation on that, anyone?
Washington Post, Opinion / Doug Emhoff, modern-day sex symbol, by Catherine Rampell
Read it here: https://wapo.st/4fOD9m6
Link for those with a WaPo subscription: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/08/23/emhoff-harris-sex-symbol/
NOT SEXY…. JD Vance and his “guyliner.”
How about THE MAN
The maga meltdown! The schadenfreude!
Chris Andrews: The Vance image is enough to remind any woman why they should (permanently?!) put "Men on PAUSE."
It never hurts to take a pause . . .
As far as the Second, soon "First" Gentleman. at your challenge, I have tried to voice "FGOTUS" -- usually comes out with spit or obscene. Hmm. Alright, you have "Fig" and you have the name "Otis", or the combination "Fig-Otis". Not too pretty, but it takes the abbreviation at face value.
Why not "President of the United States, Kamala Harris and the First Spouse, Doug Emhoff."
That is both accurate and corresponds with English as spoken everyday.
"First Gentleman" sounds rather artificial.
Look at the House of Representatives. We use the terms "Gentleman" -- usually WAY too polite for the particular Congressman -- for the Men in the House.
Now, generally, in common day speech it is "a Lady" and "a Gentleman".
So, in the House, the logical address would be, respectively, "The Gentleman from North Carolina," or "The Lady from North Dakota."
But the House had to reciprocate.
So, the House came up with awkward neologisms.
"The Gentleman from North Carolina. " "The Gentlelady from North Dakota."
Now, Chris, WHEN in daily life would you address one of your girlfriends THAT way.
"My Gentleman friend, Jim, . . ."
"My Lady friend, Jane . . ."
But would you EVER:
"My Gentle-Lady friend, Jane . . ."
Hmm. Doesn't sound right, somehow.
But that's how they do it in the House.
No wonder the House is NOT in order . . .
Want to think about something frightful?! "What-me-Worry" Michael Johnson (alias Alfred E. Neumann with a Bible) is THIRD in line for the Presidency.
Joe Biden; then Kamala Harris, then . . . Alfred E. Neumann ("What me Worry?!" -- alias Michael Johnson).
Now THAT should keep one up at night.
Michael Johnson is a creep. Maybe one could call him, from "Falling in Line of Accession: Third [for Presidency] of the United States", whose abbreviation would conveniently be FLATUS.
Well, the First Lady is "FLOTUS," which is a lot better than the abbreviation for Johnson, above, because it sounds like she keeps us afloat. Like, Float-Us.
For Edna Wilson, wife of Woodrow Wilson, she did keep America afloat for the League of Nations when her husband was suffering behind the scenes from life-threatening health upsets.
For the husband of the President, I think we ought to break from unsightly symmetry and just call him "First Spouse." I cannot make the First-Gentleman of the United States thing work phonetically.
Symmetry works only if it is pretty. Lady and Gentleman. Very good. In the House: "Gentleman; Gentle-Lady." At best, this usage is rigid and unnatural. No danger that nomenclature will catch in any new songs coming out.
First Lady. We are used to that.
President's Spouse -- that works well for me. "First Gentleman." I could live with that. "FirGet-US" -- that might not be the message you want to send -- "Forget Us."
Let's not corner ourselves into an uncomfortable symmetry.
For what it is worth, that occurs to me. "FGOTUS" comes out "forgot us." Let's try something different, after all.