I'm not sure what there is left to say about Howard Kurtz, who has long let go of whatever tenuous hold he once had on doing anything particularly noteworthy with the platforms he keeps being given to do "media criticism." But, okay, today, in his new space at Fox News, he breaks the story that a young and attractive yoga instructor is young and attractive, and also on Facebook.
Ben Bradlee, one of the great men of American journalism, celebrated his 92nd birthday yesterday, and his daughter-in-law paid tribute by posting a photo of them and saying "it is a dream to be part of his family."
That, however, is only one of the photos that Pari Bradlee has been putting on Facebook.
Her new profile picture, in a Swiss-cheese bra that leaves little to the imagination and long black leather sleeves and briefs, is so revealing that it drew a torrent of breathless comments. In another just-posted photo she is nude, shot from the back, twisting one arm behind her.
"Do the pictures go too far?" Kurtz asks, because this has to do with the media, somehow? I mean, she is a yoga instructor. I rather think that it's fairly commonplace for yoga instructors to demonstrate that they are physically fit, flexible, healthy and comfortable in their own bodies, because what yoga instructors are selling is the opportunity for other people to receive training in an exercise regimen that leads to fitness, flexibility, health and comfort.
This stuff isn't hard. Everything that Pari Bradlee is doing with her business is fine. More importantly, nothing that Pari Bradlee is doing with her business is subject to "media criticism." What this is, actually, is a feeble attempt at "slut-shaming" -- that thing when a creepy scold attempts to enforce a hackneyed form of social control over a woman's sexuality, such as castigating a woman for the way she dresses, while simultaneously getting off on it.
It is a pastime for boring pervs.
[Tweet via Andrew Kaczynski]
Kurtz criticizes Bradlee thusly: "And she is marketing herself with a combination of Facebook's share-everything ethos and her famous last name."
Sure, but what is the point, exactly, Howard? You shoot videos of yourself goofily flirting with Lauren Ashburn in the woods and put it on the internet. What gives you the right to criticize anyone in the world for adopting a "share-everything ethos" and trading on fame?
One thing I learned from this dumb piece is that Pari Bradlee follows one of her father-in-law's maxims, "Pick your fights. Don't duck 'em, but don't fight second-rate opponents." Another thing I learned: "[Pari] Bradlee did not respond to a request for comment."
Sounds about right.
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