Miscellaneous

Are We Living in a Post-Feminist World? Hardly.

I guess the sudden onset of blind, all-encompassing disdain I've developed for Hillary Clinton over the last few months has obscured something that I didn't realize existed to the extent it still does. I'm used to seeing ugly misogyny in the gossip world, but aside from the usual right-wing nutjobs, I'm not as accustomed to seeing it as much in politics. However, New York Magazine ran a fascinating piece over the weekend on Hillary Clinton and the way her candidacy has brought the sexist douchebags out of the woodwork, including the punditry world (which I mostly avoid these days, outside of Anderson Cooper). Moreover, it shows that -- as much as many of us would like to believe it -- we're not living in a post-feminist world. Here's a taste:

It was hardly a revelation to learn that sexism lived in the minds and hearts of right-wing crackpots and Internet nut-jobs, but it was something of a surprise to discover it flourished among members of the news media. The frat boys at MSNBC portrayed Clinton as a castrating scold, with Tucker Carlson commenting, ???Every time I hear Hillary Clinton speak, I involuntarily cross my legs,??? and Chris Matthews calling her male endorsers ???castratos in the eunuch chorus.??? Matthews also dubbed Clinton ???the grieving widow of absurdity,??? saying, of her presidential candidacy and senatorial seat, ???She didn???t win there on her merit. She won because everybody felt, ???My God, this woman stood up under humiliation.????????? While that may be partly true???Hillary???s approval ratings soared in the wake of l???affaire Lewinsky???Matthews???s take reduced her universally recognized political successes to rewards for public sympathy, as though Clinton???s intelligence and long record of public service count for nothing. Would a male candidate be viewed so reductively?

Check out the entire article.

Full post as published by Quiz Law on April 14, 2008 (boomark / email).