OpinionJournal - Taste

OpinionJournal - Taste

This is a fantastic column from earlier in the month. I found Hymowitz's argument quite compelling, and many of the exhibitionist trends she cited struck me as both truthful and worrisome. Do we truly live in a fame crazed society? Or are we fostering a narcissistic culture that is eternally looking inward and believes the internet and multimedia to merely be a mirror when in fact it is a window for the faceless masses to look in to matters traditionally of deepest privacy?

An excerpt:

It seems that men, despite their reputation as braggarts, actually don't find self-exposure all that appealing. Where are the male counterparts to Britney Spears and "Girls Gone Wild"? Jessica Cutler, the D.C. sex-blogger known as Washingtienne and a one-time congressional intern, is now being sued for $20 million by one of her gentleman callers, who for some reason preferred that his bedroom antics remain, well, in the bedroom.

Now, I don't per se agree with how the author broke down her argument along gender lines, but I do feel there is a rift in modern society between exhibitionists and those striving for a maximum of privacy. Generally, I choose to side with the privacy group these days (although I'm fully aware of the irony of writing this on a blog--but that is why I try to keep KQ relatively anonymous and impersonal).