the magazine because we used the phrase “basic bitches.” Now, I’m not going to say that the joke was a great one, but I also know I’m not a misogynist. I’ve been chewing on this a lot, seeking to resolve whether for the sake of solidarity I should not use language that will potentially offend women when on the other hand I feel saying whatever the fuck I want is important. I’d assume you’ve offended people (women people) in the past; how have you reacted when you’ve done so?

MO: I mean, you will not infrequently find someone on the Internet, particularly Twitter, who takes issue with something you have said; that’s a part of life and the best you can do, I think, is to carefully check their criticism and see if there’s anything in it worth considering. If you think they’re mistaken, you just sort of go on living. If you think there’s some truth to what they’re saying — even if you don’t like how they said it — you can reflect and consider it and figure out the most productive way to respond. 

And sometimes you don’t need to respond! That’s something we often forget, I think, is that you do not have to respond to everything. It sounds like it’s really sticking with you, and that could just be because it rankles to know that someone out there thinks you’re not a good feminist, or it could be because you feel like they have a point.