Terms of engagement: ssam & ssaf: On a youth radio station the other day a woman being interviewed explained how her department did surveys among young folk about sexuality and homophobia – they never use the word “gay.” She didn’t say why but the clear implication was that it was too loaded. What they use instead is “same sex attracted.”

So she referred to “same sex attracted males” and “same sex attracted females” – a formulation which the young evidently regard as quite benign.

Made me think, the new terms would be SSAM, or SSAF (or SSAY, as in same sex attaracted youth; or SSAO as in same sex attracted oldies. A Sao bickie will never be the same). There would be ssaf sex, naturally. Uncertain young boys might feel ssamish. One might be famished, and ask for a sammwich. Or, one is simply saffic.

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kimyunaLadyness: On a podcast I heard the crew of DoubleX Gabfest talk about the winter Olympics and the Korean superstar skater Kim Yu-Na. How Kim was “womanly and sexy for a figure skater.” How, compared to the American “boopy teen girl” Rachel Flatt, Kim’s “ladyness really stood out.” “Yeah,” said her colleague, “explicit ladyness.”