Alyssa came home from her art history class all excited. She told her boyfriend, Shane, about this print of this Chinese painting they had to get. She showed Shane an image on-line.

“They’re funny,” Shane said.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean look at her tiny feet. Her toes have got to be smaller than peas.”

“In olden days the Chinese considered tiny feet in women to be erotic,” Alyssa said. “It was kind of cruel. They bound girl babies’ feet to keep them small. The kids grew up unable to walk.”

“That’s sad,” Shane said. “Why do you want a painting that shows such stuff?”

“It was the way things were. I’m not celebrating it. I’m not mocking it. You know, some of this PC stuff irks me.”

“How so?”

“Well, some people think it’s wrong to use the word oriental to refer to people. Like it’s derogatory.”

“If people think it is then I guess it is, at least for them,” Shane said.

“I think it’s crazy,” Alyssa said.

“You don’t say nigger when talking about black people.”

“I don’t,” Alyssa agreed. “But that’s different. Nigger is demeaning.”

“But you don’t think Oriental is demeaning?”

“I don’t,” Alyssa said. And I don’t see why black has to be capitalized. We don’t capitalize white.”

“Some people don’t capitalize anything.”

“Maybe that’s a good idea. Or capitalize everything. I mean every noun. Next paper maybe I’m going to do that.”

“You might fail.”

“It would make a statement. But you know what? I barely noticed those little feet. Maybe I should have. It was just the whole scene that somehow appealed to me. The couple pleasing each other, though they seem to be doing it almost as a matter of course. I don’t see them taking any delight in the sex. Maybe the woman looks a touch sly. She’s going to make him come. Also the guy’s cock reminds me of yours.”

“You think so?”

Alyssa nodded. “It’s a nice cock.”

“I have more hair,” Shane observed.

“You do. And a better body.”

“You have a better body than the woman.”

“What, you don’t like her floppy breasts?”

“I love your breasts.”

“Thanks.”

They ordered the print, and it arrived four days later.

Alyssa had bought a purple blanket for her bed, sure it would go well with the painting. That afternoon Shane replaced the poster of the bunnies with the new print, and together he and Alyssa admired it.