On “mistress”
In light of the affairs of Tiger Woods, John Edwards, John Ensign, Mark Sanford, and — oh hell, why not — all the men in South Carolina, can we the media please reconsider the word “mistress”? A mistress, by definition, has power and control over the man she’s having sex with, be it monetary, authority, or ownership; having a one-night stand with a Las Vegas stripper or sleeping with your public relations strategist, aide’s wife, or Argentinian liason does not give them that kind of control. For the most part, these women are under the spell of power, so to speak, not powerful themselves. Sure, they can go public with the info, but all that brings is a she-said, he-said situation.
So let’s dispense with calling desperate women mistresses. I am, however, in full favor of calling the men in these cases “assholes.” No problem there.