Friday, January 11, 2008

Sexism, pure and simple

If we had the same intolerance for sexism that we do for racism in the media, Chris Matthews and Tucker Carlson would be fired for these remarks:

To recount the sexist double (and triple and quadruple) standards and misogynist insults to which Clinton has been subjected would take double (or triple or quadruple) the usual column space. Consider this an abbreviated account: Television commentator Chris Matthews suggested last month that prominent male politicians who endorsed Clinton are “castratos in the eunuch chorus.” His MSNBC colleague Tucker Carlson declared that there’s something about Clinton that “feels castrating, overbearing and scary.” Why, Carlson said, “when she comes on television, I involuntarily cross my legs.”

Think, for a moment, of what might happen if a well-known media personality were to say of Obama: “Every time he comes on television, I involuntarily reach for my white hood.” Would even Don Imus survive?

If she comes across as tough, she's called cold and calculating. If she softens, she's accused of being weak, a crybaby or manipulative. There's something VERY wrong about this whether you support her policies or not.

1 comment:

  1. Language Log has some interesting links that tie in with this.
    http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/005314.html

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