Who acted worse in '07, men or women?

By David Norrie and Shannon Van Sickler
Published December 24, 2007

Choose your side in this weekly tongue-in-cheek battle of the sexes from the pages of tbt*.  

He Said

Looking back, Shannon, I admit that 2007 appears to be the year of the woman. You certainly made your mark in entertainment, politics and history.

Impressionable young women across the country got great role model performances from Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and Jessica Sierra. And just when it seemed as if we could put the wrapping on '07, Britney-Lite shows up pregnant at 16 and we learn Jessica Sierra is reportedly with child in the Hillsborough County jail.

I'm not worried, though. I mean, with Hillary leading many polls for the Democratic bid in '08, surely high moral fiber will be restored amongst your gender. After all, in terms of expertise, dealing with young women and their indiscretions (remember Monica?) ranks right behind her ability to bring the war to a neat end.

And the future does look bright, Shannon. Miss Teen South Carolina assured me of that. Because uh, like, our education over here is uh, like such that, it's like better than other countries and stuff. Yeah, because uh, like other countries don't have good role models for women, you know. Such as that in the Iraq and those Asian countries.

On a historical note, on Aug. 8, Idaho schoolteacher Barbara Morgan became the first educator to go on a mission to space - fulfilling a long time goal of NASA. But in February, Mission Specialist Lisa Marie Nowak fulfilled a longtime goal of the diaper industry, finding a good crossover approach to the adult market.

But enough of the ribbing. Despite Rosie's tirades and LiLo and Billary, we men still love you women. We need you.

And this new year brings a new hope that women will ascend to new heights and join the superior gender. After all, you couldn't make it any easier for us to make fun than you did in '07.

She Said

Okay, Dave. So you want to play the "gender behaving badly" game? Fine. It's on.

Sure, Brit and Lindsay and Jessica are no shining beacons of morality and good judgement. But are you really sure you want to refer to yours as the "superior gender"?

Puh-lease!

Most of the examples you raise involve not just a woman misbehaving, but a conspirator of the Y-sort.

Astronaut Nowak? Well, she pined after a male astronaut who at one point was trying to have three playmates in his fun house at once - his wife, Nowak, and yet another NASA astronaut. NASA has since fired him. Good riddance.

Hillary? Her experience with indiscretions are the result of - big surprise here, Dave - a man who couldn't keep his cigar in one box. Nope, he had to go around offering a drag to young, wide-eyed interns.

Britney? She tops the list of skanks, yes. But K-Fed's recent "Father Knows Best" turn came only after many nights of hard partying. Let's not forget he hooked up with Britney after leaving Shar Jackson - while Jackson was pregnant!

And as long as we're bringing up the bad people on Santa's list, here's a few from your locker room.

How about former state Rep. Bob Allen, convicted after offering an undercover cop $20 if the cop would let Allen drag on his cigar in a Titusville bathroom.

Oh, and there's all those baseball players taking steroids and ruining the record books. Patriots coach Bill Belichick cheated, too, and was dumb enough to get caught. Just like those FSU players you adore so much.

Dave, you guys are just charming sometimes. No, really. You are.

Man, I cannot wait for 2008. Imagine the shenanigans you dudes will pull.

[Last modified December 24, 2007, 13:43:29]