Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Calling out the sexism

Recently I wrote about the fact that Fox New's obsession with the "wussification" of American not only degrades the feminine, it reinforces the equally patriarchal idea that boys/men need to prove their masculinity. And now along comes this commercial attempting to make the same point with a dash of humor.
Cute, huh? Gawd forbid that a manly man use a product that is designed for women! And if he does so by mistake...he's got a lot to prove. Some idiot at the Federalist felt the need to weigh in.
...we know, deep in our lizard brains, that men and women are different. We know that we are designed to complement one another. Women nurture, men conquer.
Woe be to the men who nurture and the women who conquer. Our "lizard brains" say that's all wrong. Perhaps its time for some evolution - for folks who believe in that kind of thing.

Last weekend, Brit Hume joined the bandwagon by suggesting that Gov. Chris Christie's bullying was merely him being a "guy's guy" and the negative reaction to it is all about the feminization of our culture.

We can all point and rage at this when it comes from Fox News and advertisers. But as I keep trying to point out, there is no daylight between this kind of thing and the obsession of some on the left who constantly say that President Obama needs to "man up" (most notable among them are people like Michael Moore, Bill Maher and Maureen Dowd).

I say its time for both men and women who embrace feminism to call this shit out no matter who is peddling it.

7 comments:

  1. Why is the Left still claiming the likes of Michael Moore, Bill Maher and Maureen Dowd? None of them share our principles or beliefs.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The problem is that many of these men who hold these beliefs are convinced that women nurturing and men conquering IS a result of evolution or God's will, and is a fact without question. The right and far left are embracing dudebro-ism to a degree that is alarming. The violent responses to feminists on-line---- threats of death, rape, doxxing, etc--- is symptomatic of men who feel that they're being oppressed by women who disagree with them, or dare to contradict them.

    I think social evolution--- ways for us to adapt in egalitarian and humanitarian ways--- would be a good topic for liberals. We need a vision of a healthy society and ways of relating that invite white men, without placating their hurt feelings over losing privilege. It might be more effective in a lot of situations to just talk around them while addressing their faux Darwinian views about the sex and gender. They have wholeheartedly armed themselves with bunk and believe that it gives them licence to treat women however they please.

    http://wileywitch.com/2014/psychology/why-are-americans-stranded-in-the-19th-century/

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm so glad you wrote about this. I was so mad when I saw this bit of Brit Hume saying what he did. It's not manly or being a mans man to call men or women stupid and idiots. That is basically the worst thing you can say to someone and my man does not like being called stupid by anyone and doesn't appreciate it or admire it. It's just rude and obnoxious. Thinking of him as muscular is not very aware of the man. Sometimes I wonder if we should discuss these petty things because it distracts us and keeps us from discussing things like the West Virginia water contamination. Thanks for letting me vent.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I personally don't waste my time getting mad at Brit Hume. What I think is important is to notice all the many ways in this culture we hear messages that degrade the feminine and expect men to prove their masculinity.

      Delete
    2. Yeah, but have you seen the commentary on-line when feminism is brought up? It's hostile rage and threats of rape, murder, and torture, in unqualified language. Unbridled misogyny is a serious problem right now in the same way that racism is. White men are losing ground. It might appear to be more subtle on the left, and is likely less common, but it is there. It's just not challenged much by liberal women. It's in the state houses, Congress, universities and colleges, churches, the media, and all over forums on the internet. It's pernicious and deeply hostile.

      Delete
    3. I meant to reply to Carol Mae with that last post. Sorry.

      Nancy, I think it's important to challenge both sexism and misogyny, while working toward a better dialogue with all women, which would require that white women learn from women of color and that we develop a report. White feminism is not feminism, it's a special interest group.

      Liberal websites with no liberal women's voices , who only address women when "women's issues" like rape and birth control are hot button issues and that rarely, if ever, link to a serious article written by a woman are excluding women. How liberal is that? In such cases, a few serious and well-informed women talking around the men who so often think they have all the answers and don't need to hear what other women have to say could talk around them---- even discuss their differences of opinion among each other while ignoring overbearing men. The political is personal, and the personal is still political. Men still control the conversations nationally, locally, and on-line. Just like it is with racism, white men who are losing ground as the dominant demographic are howling with wounded narcissism, and the more they are challenged and/or contradicted the more hateful and violent they become. I don't think there's any way around a lot of the backlash, but there are ways to stand up against the backlash and there is still strength in numbers. Women of all races, ethnic groups, social and economic classes need some solidarity. Or, at the very least, remember to speak inclusively without speaking for women of color. I'm learning this right now, it isn't easy, and it requires a lot of self-reflection. All of us need to practice defending all of us from violence and repressive to oppressive laws. To often, protests of "sexism" are written of as being "politically correct" or petty because the underlying disease is so virulent.

      Delete

"I'd much rather be us than them"

According to the polling aggregate at The Economist, if the 2024 presidential election were held today, it would result in a tie. There'...