For many feminists it was a challenge in 2008 to stand our ground among “liberal” acquaintances venting their hatred of Hillary Clinton in the primary and later on in the general election ripping Sarah Palin to shreds – and not solely on the basis of policy disagreements. As others have pointed out, misogynists in the electorate chastised Hillary for not being feminine enough and then scolded Sarah for the crime of being pretty.
It’s encouraging these days to follow blogs like the Widdershins where sober discussions are held regularly on how best to move forward on issues of women’s rights and the rights of the LGBT community.
Unfortunately, the shock troops in the extreme left-wing blogosphere are still cranked up to assault their main targets with full force. Just check out readers’ comments here defending David Letterman’s right to make perverted jokes at the expense of Sarah Palin and her daughters.
Amy Siskind, president and co-founder of the New Agenda, is stating the obvious in her post titled “Sexism Against Conservative Women is Still Sexism,” while also addressing concerns about the several factions in the feminist movement that surfaced in 2008.
Amy writes:
When is sexism acceptable? The answer should be never. Yet for many feminists in our country, only certain types of women have been worth defending. When a conservative woman is the target of an attack, many so-called feminists stay silent. This “selective sexism”, or speaking out against sexism on a case by case basis, does not advance our national dialogue on women’s issues. Rather, selective sexism allows a dangerous level of permissible sexism to live and breed in our country. The only way for the women of this country to truly move forward is to unite and speak out against all forms of sexism regardless of party or the source of the attack.
When Playboy publishes a piece titled So Right It’s Wrong which is a “hate rape” fantasy of Guy Cambalo targeting ten conservative women, all women (and like-minded men) should be outraged and renounce this immediately. The identity and party affiliation of the 10 women is not of consequence — this is simply a despicable act.
Or when Ms. California, Carrie Prejean, voices her point of view on gay marriage and then becomes the target of an objectifying sexist rant by Keith Olbermann, where’s the outrage? Carrie is entitled to her point of view, and if you don’t agree explain why — don’t diminish her opinion by turning her into a sexual object.
Or when Governor Sarah Palin’s 14 year-old daughter is the subject of a degrading and humiliating joke by David Letterman, how can we let this be part of our culture? How would any one of us feel if this comment were directed at our daughter? And if Governor Palin were Governor “Sam” Palin, would Letterman dare to make that joke?
We all know the answer to that one: the perverted Letterman would not dare to make that joke against Governor “Sam” Palin or any straight male politician. And let’s face it, as far as the extreme left-wing blogosphere is concerned, bigotry against straight African-American males is the only form of bigotry to be treated as morally wrong.
"And let’s face it, as far as the extreme left-wing blogosphere is concerned, bigotry against straight African-American males is the only form of bigotry to be treated as morally wrong."
ReplyDeleteYou have said a mouthful there, Virginia. No truer words were ever spoken.
SYD