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“A dream you dream alone is only a dream; a dream you dream together is reality.” — Yoko Ono
Jun
5
Surprise, Surprise: Misogynist Jokes at Clinton’s Expense
Filed Under 2008 election, assholes, gender, media, misogyny, patriarchy, politics, sexism | Posted by Cara |
You may have heard that Hillary Clinton has asked for voters’ help in picking a campaign song. On YouTube, her campaign provided a list of potential songs and asked voters to help her choose one, or to come up with suggestions of their own. And we’re off.
While her campaign provided a list of upbeat songs to choose from — like “I’m a Believer” and “Beautiful Day” — her detractors suggested alternatives like “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” and “Cold as Ice.”
. . .
[T]he contest also has functioned as a kick-me sign. Rush Limbaugh suggested a theme song of Sir Mix-A-Lot’s “Baby Got Back”; on “The Chris Matthews Show” on NBC, David Brooks, a columnist for The New York Times, suggested Hall and Oates’s “Maneater”; on the Web site Townhall.com, Jon Sanders suggested R.E.M.’s “It’s the End of the World as We Know It” and Barry McGuire’s “Eve of Destruction.”
Other media observers are holding their own contests. On The New Republic’s Web site, Michael Crowley, a senior editor at the magazine, asked readers for their own suggestions, which yielded The Rolling Stones’ “She’s So Cold,” Foreigner’s “Cold as Ice,” and Lou Reed’s “Vicious.”
Okay, so I’m not humorless. This type of stunt was undoubtedly bound to solicit satirical responses. Clinton’s campaign, to their credit, has also admitted that and is taking the whole thing in stride.
But what’s with the misogyny? Look, “Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off” made me chuckle. I thought that it was clever. “It’s the End of the World as We Know it” is fairly amusing, too. I’m sure that there’s lots of cute little jokes that could be made here, and maybe even some mean-spirited, though fair ones.
Do we have to hate her gender in the process, though? I guess that when Rush Limbaugh is involved, the answer is undoubtedly “yes.” “Cold as Ice?” “Maneater?” “BABY’S GOT BACK?” I’m sorry, folks, but that crosses a line. That’s not criticizing Clinton, that hating the fact that she’s a woman and doesn’t behave in a demure, obedient, waif-ish manner. It’s hating on all women who don’t see the need to take shit from men or to starve themselves skinny just because they happen to possess a uterus. And therefore, it’s insulting to me. And it shows pretty damn clearly what I’ve known for a long time: that right-wing pundits who love to attack Hillary Clinton don’t do so because they hate her policies. They do it because they hate her estrogen levels. And that isn’t funny.
Thoughts?
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“Men, their rights, and nothing more; women, their rights, and nothing less.” — Susan B. Anthony
Yeah, I’m getting really, really sick of all the gendered insults thrown at Hillary. Nancy Pelosi gets it, too. I posted about this a while back, when Susan Douglas wrote an article claiming that Hillary turns other women off by acting too much like a man. WTF?
I don’t envy her at all. She’s condemned no matter what she does. Too feminine, not feminine enough… But I think we all owe her some gratitude for paving the way.
Agreed. I don’t support her politics, but I definitely support her as a woman who is a politician. So while I certainly criticize her politically, I’m also very quick to stand up and say that it’s not right when people attack her because of her gender.
You’re right, it can’t be easy.
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