As I've mentioned before, Nick and I recently went to Colorado. What I didn't mention was that we stayed in a hotel with one of those Nintendo things in the room. We scanned the menu listing the available games, and when we made it through the list, the menu continued into the adult films. For a lark, we checked out the titles and laughed at their ridiculous pictures. But after the catalog of 50 or so films had gone by and we went back to the games, a gnawing realization began to insinuate itself on my brain. Every single one of these films—whether about chesty cheerleaders, naughty nurses, or buxom beekeepers—was targeted toward white heterosexual men. What's up with that? Notice to hotel chains everywhere, not everyone in this country is a white heterosexual man. Perhaps you've never realized this? (I have U.S. Census data to prove it.) Once in a great while someone who is of another gender, race, or orientation may happen to wander into your hotel. They may be feeling lonely and seeking out a few creature comforts. But instead of solace, they will be faced with adult media that in no way represents their culture or interests. It's a travesty, is what it is.

I would love to tell you to call on members of Congress to remedy this appalling inequity. I would love to invite all of you to inform your Senator, Congressman, or Congresswoman that you will no longer tolerate mass disenfranchisement at the hands of greedy hotel corporations. Somehow, though, I don't think the Sam Brownbacks of the country would go for it. So instead, let's launch a massive letter-writing campaign to every hotel we stay in that is guilty of this homogeneity. Tell them we want to see a little diversity in the line-up. Let's bewilder them into seeing our point of view; because this kind of oversight is not acceptable, even if they do leave the light on for you.

Tags: movies, politics, popculture