"Jeffu" and new book: MEN AND SEX

[ironlady]

Now, when he looks for a girlfriend, if he really decides he wants to get serious about her, his first question will be "Are you single?" "Do you have an STD?"

This is just awful. Not the STD question, but the "looks for a girlfriend". He is setting himself up for Next fodder.

P.S. Nice translation job, ironlady.

Thanks, but maybe it isn't...this stuff is hard to translate, and you may be giving Jeffu short shrift because of it. The term "tan lian'ai" doesn't exist in English..."jiao nv pengyou" is also hard to translate because the two cultures don't run in parallel on what should be done. It's like tackling the "noviazgo" problem in Latin American culture. To an American, you're never someone's "girlfriend" if your SO is a Latino...you're either just a friend, or the fiancee. (Generalization but for translation it's a problem.)

(I haven't read through the end of the thread yet, BTW.)

[ironlady]

I realize that everyone has an opinion about sex, but I really have a problem with, well, "some guy" deciding that it's his mission to "educate" the Taiwanese about sex and how it should be done or handled. Mainly this is because in the US people are (I believe) more conscious of the source of proclamations in the media, and disbelieve quite a few of them. In Taiwan, people seem to believe it if it's in the media, and there are precious few controls on media content.

Now, if Jeffu can come up with an MA in counseling or social work, I'll reconsider my stance. He could be very good with that combination: knowledge of local culture PLUS professional knowledge of counseling. For me, he's got the order wrong. It should NOT be "I am well-known, therefore I will educate the masses," it should be "I genuinely have something to tell the masses, and am qualified to do so, therefore I will work to become well-known so that I can tell them." To talk about politics, having an opinion might be sufficient qualification, because you are not likely to significantly affect anyone's life or health; in other cases, even casual comments you make may be taken as gospel, and might cause significant harm to health or relationships.

If you want to teach English, write the book to teach English. If you want to be the Taiwanese Dr. Ruth (Dr. Ruffu?) then show me some qualifications beyond the number of SOs or one-nighters you've had and the fact that you reportedly know how to use a condom.

I've been to the Chinese doctor and I take Chinese medicine...should I start up my own show on Chinese medicine and advise the masses how to solve their problems?? I do get asked many questions about my use of Chinese medicine...

BTW did you catch the photo credits on the web page -- all from Jeffu himself!

[Larsen Ni]

I don't have any negative comment to make about Jeff's radio show or TV appearances. I think his ability to survive so long in Taiwan's fickle and cutthroat media speaks for itself. As for his books on learning English, I haven't seen them but I believe that anything that gets people to learn a bit more English is a good thing.

What does bother me is more related to possible conflict between private and public personas, especially since he is so concerned about people knowing the "real" Jeff.

Since everyone was so curious, and Jeffu himself has had a number of experiences, he simply wrote them down in book form, sharing with everyone in a healthy way. No matter whether his experiences were good or bad, they have let everyone know him better from a variety of angles, and removed many erroneous impressions of him.

Publicly, Jeff very definitely states his preference for sexual relationships with women.

Now, when he looks for a girlfriend, if he really decides he wants to get serious about her, his first question will be "Are you single?" "Do you have an STD?"

Jeffu says that before, he was in relationships many times [tan lian ai] but they didn't turn out well. Sometimes the girls would call you "hubby" one day and then just break it off a couple of weeks later for no reason.

I love hot chicks! What can I do? If I haven't had sex with a partner after a week or two, I start to get worried. Maybe I really like the girl, but we won't be compatible in bed?"

Is he straight? Not everybody thinks so.

Everyone on this board has always said Jeff is a closted gay who everyone knows is gay, but he won't say it, for his career here. So this book, which looks like a manual on how local women can land a man and better understand the male sex, seems to be a book about men and sex. But is this guy for real? If he is gay, why is he writing this kind of stuff, pretending to be Mr Stud Muffin, when in fact he is most likely Richard Chamberlain Rock Hudson Tab Hunter all rolled into one?

I've always thought that Jeff was gayer than a May parade, but that doesn't matter in assessing his written works.

So what is fact and what is fiction?

I know jeff. He is a truly nice guy, if a bit misunderstood. I also have a copy of the book and have read parts of it. I think its interesting and legit., and based on personal experience.

Whose personal experience? Jeff's personal experiences or other peoples' experiences?

Androo, since you seem to be intimately acquinted with Jeff, are the stories in his latest book "Men and Sex" true stories about him? Has he really had numerous romances, relationships and one-night stands with Taiwanese females?

That doesn't seem likely since Jeff himself states that many of the stories are about others, not him.

There are obviously plenty of people who actually enjoy stories about love and relationships (many of which are about my friends, who all agreed to be included in the book), so what's the big problem?

Does it really matter?

Does it really matter which team Jeff is batting for or what he's doing in the dugout or whether he orders the hot dog or the pretzel while watching the game?

Someone's preferences, sexual or otherwise, is indeed a personal matter. As a private individual, it doesn't matter if Jeff is straight, gay, bi, or whatever. He can certainly be gay and give sexual advice on TV, radio and his book. There is no problem with that. Plain talk about sex is sorely needed in Taiwan.

Jeff, you do a great disservice to your own community (the gay one) when you're interviewed.

Exactly. Don't deceive people. There is gross hypocrisy if he is secretly gay but sells himself publicly as a lusty American guy who has had and continues to have many Taiwanese girlfriends. If so, that kind of hypocrisy will eventually be exposed by some gossip and scandal mag like Next. And when, not if, that happens, the adoring public who bought his schtick is likely to feel lied to.

Didn't he say he wants to "remove many erroneous impressions of him?"

Jeff seems halfway out of the closet now. Why not just ditch all that worry about being exposed by Next or someother scandal mag and come all the way out and end the hypocrisy? Is the reason not to come out because it might destroy the media career?

That wouldn't necessarily happen. Perhaps just the opposite would happen and he would become even more popular. Look at the phenomenal success that "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" is having in the US. He could get a couple of guys together and start the Taiwan version or even do an Asian version for MTV or HBO Asia or something.

[Bu Lai En]

So a Taiwan 'celebrity' wants to make a bit more money by writing a book. Picks a topic that can sell. Doesn't have to be an expert. What's the problem.

If Xiao 'S' or some other celeb wrote a book about sex (I think she has) without qualifications, what's the problem?

Might be an idiotic book, but what do you expect? The only problem seems to be that he's a foreigner. That's no problem, as long as he doesn't claim to speak for all foreigners. Does he?

Brian

[way2go!]

Great translation Ironlady!

Is there another translated installment or two of the interview in the works?

[HakkaSonic]

Jeff seems halfway out of the closet now. Why not just ditch all that worry about being exposed by Next or someother scandal mag and come all the way out and end the hypocrisy? Is the reason not to come out because it might destroy the media career?

Larsen, couldn't it be a marketing ploy (not saying it is, just speculating along with everyone else). Locker comes out with a book about his hot times with women, gets lots of press, etc. Then, he turns around and is - stop the presses - gay! Guess a second book is needed about how hard it is to hide being gay in Taiwan, etc. <i>especially</i> when you've got all these meanie beanies on some Web site making fun of you.

Locker, are you reading this over the shoulder of some really hot girl you picked up at a lounge and are shagging right now? If so, is a second book -- this one about coming out of the closet -- in the works?

[fee]

I was at Eslite recently and I decided to have a look at some of Jeff's teaching books. I picked up Book Two and leafed through a few pages.

In this book, Jeff teaches the phrase "sausage party." He also teaches the phrase "up the butt." [Mods: please note, these are phrases that Jeff teaches in the book; please do not think I am trying to use offensive language.]

This series of books is also called "Jeff's Scool." There is an explanation in the back of the book about why the "h" in "school" is missing, but perhaps Jeff can better explain why he decided to misspell that word in an English-learning text.

All due respect to Jeff for writing the books and getting them published. But after looking them over, I would never use them in a classroom or recommend friends to use them on their own to study English.

[lane119 (aka Cola)]

===============I spotted