That's All It Takes

All you have to do is not be a dick. That's all it takes.

I'm Deadspot and I recognize the irony... I mean, I'm Deadspot and I support this message.



You know what? I don't think I will leave it at that after all.

Look, I, of all people, know that sometimes you can be a dick without meaning to. It happens to me all the time. I don't always mean to be a dick, I just am one sometimes. (As opposed to the rest of the time, when I really do mean to be a dick... because it's funny when I do it.) I have a genetic predisposition. I may have mentioned it.

So I'm willing to buy the idea that nobody on the staff of Top Chef realized before the show started last week that the challenge would put the women at a disadvantage. It seems... unlikely... but I'll buy it. I don't think I buy the idea that nobody realized it once the challenge started. I'm sure that I don't buy the idea that nobody realized it by the time the show wrapped.

Look, it's OK for women to want to be sexy in some situations and not others. In fact, I'm a fan. Thank you. No really, thank you. Mmm... sexy. Wait... what was I talking about? Oh yeah. Clothes. Look at the way the guys dressed for clubbing compared to the way they dressed for work: not so different. Of course the guys didn't let the challenge get to them. Well, duh! Pants and shirt... pants and shirt. If you look at the difference in the way the women dressed: much different. And I don't think anybody would be surprised by that.

So what was with the puritanical bullshit attitude that somehow Sara deserved what happened because of the way she dressed? Can we now rejoin the 21st century, already in progress? It's easy... all you have to do is not be a dick. Just admit that the women were playing a whole different game than the guys last week.

OK, again, with a little reluctance, I'll buy the contention that somehow this never occurred to Radicchio and Ted and Govind during judging because a) they're dudes and b) not exactly the sharpest crayons in the box, and c) Radicchio and Govind were probably easily distracted by the boobs on display. Ted only has a) and b) to fall back on. However, by Thursday morning, we have a leetle more context, yes?

So what was the deal with Bravo sticking the shot down Sara's shirt as she leaned over the grill on all of their blogs last week? Yeah, it's the internet, which was basically designed to give people a place to store their pictures of boobs, and yeah, it is kind of relevant to the plot that she's a) hot, and b) flashing some cleavage, because it led to her elimination. However, she was also a) really upset about the situation and b) really screwed by it. From her exit interview, it sounded like the night started off with drunk guys hitting on her and went downhill from there, so it wasn't just "I'm sad because I'm hot. Boo hoo." There was no need to run that shot over and over and over, and to keep putting up new copies day after day after day. How long does it take for a little enlightenment or consideration to kick in?

Look, if you want to show that the women were dressed in a sexy way, how about a shot of Second Sara? (...please. Ba-dum cha!) She was a) showing even more cleavage and b) (and this is the important part) not upset about the way she was dressed. Or if you think it's important to show a shot of the way Sara was dressed, how about one that's not right down her cleavage? They had hours and hours of video to choose from and all of their blogs ran the same damn picture. There's really no excuse.

Where was I going with this? Oh yeah, all they had to do was not be a dick. That's all it takes.

I'm Deadspot, et cetera.

And now Bravo makes me look like a dick. They've gone back and removed the shot from all of the blogs. Whatev'.

For those of you playing at home, the answer to the question "How long does it take for a little enlightenment or consideration to kick in?" is, apparently, "For Bravo, about a week."