Gay men in mainstream media are often depicted as more sensitive, more caring versions of their straight counterparts. Women often "joke" about meeting a gay man and thinking "what a shame." Whenever I hear of these elusive mythical gay men, I often find myself perplexed. Many of the gay men I meet are patently sexist and have no qualms about expressing those sentiments. This takes the form of lesbian-bashing, "vaginaphobia," and - to me the most perverse of them all - gay men taking liberties with women's bodies.

What do I mean by "taking liberties"? Let's just take a look at Isaac Mizrahi's recent Red Carpet coverage of the Golden Globe Awards. Mizrahi (an allegedly talented fashion designer who recently signed on to the chic-Target-sell-out bandwagon) didn't stop at asking women celebrities sexist/homophobic/inappropriate questions like asking Eva Longoria about her pubic hair or Charlize Theron's role as an "scary dyke with bad teeth." No - that simply wasn't enough. He went further and grabbed Scarlett Johansson's breasts and pulled down Teri Hatcher's dress.

Mizrahi isn't alone. I was recently at a party and one of my classmates' boyfriends made it a point to grope, grab, or grind against just about every woman at the party - even after he was told to stop. "Oh don't worry honey, I'm gay" - that was his response. The idea, then, would be that if there is seemingly no possibility for sexual attraction between two people, either party has the right to touch the other person's body in whatever way they see fit - with or without consent. We asked him to leave the party.

For the gay men reading, you know who I'm talking about. It seems that we can't escape them. High school, college, and graduate school - at every step I've met men like this. And it seems with Isaac Mizrahi that even grown adults fall into the same trap.

This is obviously not a problem limited to gay men. Straight men are, of course, guilty of doing just the same things to women. And that's just it. It's clear that it's a problem of men - both gay and straight.

As a community, we should refuse to accept this kind of disgusting and reprehensible behavior - and the sexist men who perpetuate it. If you have any male friends like this, tell them how unacceptable their behavior is. If you're ever "that guy" - stop it and apologize to any women who are still foolish enough to talk to you. If you're a woman who receives this kind of treatment, tell them to stop - although it's clear that many men have no problem ignoring that demand.