Posts tagged misogyny
Posts tagged misogyny
What kind of world do we live in when young men are so proud of violating unconscious girls that they pass proof around to their friends? It’s the same kind of world in which being labeled a slut comes with such torturous social repercussions that suicide is preferable to enduring them. As a woman named Sara Erdmann so aptly tweeted to me, “I will never understand why it is more shameful to be raped than to be a rapist.”
And yet it is: so much so that young men seem to think there’s nothing wrong with—and maybe something hilarious about—sharing pictures of themselves raping young women. And why not? Their friends will defend them, as they did in Steubenville, tweeting that the young woman was “asking for it” and that the boys were being unfairly targeted.
Women and girls are the ones expected to carry the shame of the sexual crimes perpetrated against them. And that shame is a tremendous load to bear, because once you’re labeled a slut, empathy and compassion go out the window. The word is more than a slur—it’s a designation.
(via keyaroscuro)
Hey Anne Hathaway! I think I love you now.
(Via Jezebel.)
Matt Lauer asked Anne about that photo of her vagina and she ended her response with: “I’m sorry that we live in a culture that commodifies sexuality among unwilling participants, which brings me back to Les Mis.”
OK, like, sure, I’m vomiting all over Les Miserables, but that’s talent. She went from vagina photo to Les Mis without even blinking. And the Oscar goes to.
Anne Hathaway also shut down (skip to about 53 seconds) Jerry Penacoli when asked about her catsuit in Dark Knight Rises, by saying, “Are you trying to lose weight? What’s the deal, man? You look great. No, no, seriously, we have to talk about this… What do you want? Are you trying to fit into a catsuit?”
Speaking of douchebag Jerry Penacoli and his sexist manner towards women, Scarlett Johansson also called him out on his BS. And it was beautiful.
Or how about that time Emma Stone called out the indifference in interview questions in comparison to her male actor counterpart?
Emma Stone: They ask who is my style icon, what’s the one thing that I can’t leave my house without. I’m always like, “My clothes!” I can pretty much leave without anything. It’s fine as long as I’m not naked.
Andrew Garfield: I don’t get asked that—
Emma Stone: You get asked interesting, poignant questions because you are a boy.
Teen Vogue: It’s sexism.
Emma Stone: It is sexism.Or going back to Scarlett Johansson, she did almost the exact same thing (skip to around 1:40):
Reporter: I have a question to Robert and to Scarlett. Firstly to Robert, throughout Iron Man 1 and 2, Tony Stark started off as a very egotistical character but learns how to fight as a team. And so how did you approach this role, bearing in mind that kind of maturity as a human being when it comes to the Tony Stark character, and did you learn anything throughout the three movies that you made? And to Scarlett, to get into shape for Black Widow did you have anything special to do in terms of the diet, like did you have to eat any specific food, or that sort of thing?
Scarlett: “How come you get the really interesting existential question, and I get the like, “rabbit food” question?
What I’m trying to say, really, is that I love how these actresses are stepping up to the contrast of females to males in Hollywood. Even though they have to go through the sexism, inequality and general rudeness of media outlets, they’re using their popularity to stand up to it and make others question what is wrong and unjustified in the way they are being treated.
So freaking happy to see all of those linked in one post, I love compilations.
(via emysabath)
It’s no secret that the internet is rampant with men making “get in the kitchen and make me a sandwich” jokes, and many women are fed up with it. One blogger, The Apple Cider Mage, regaled her readers with her experience of joining an all-male guild in “World of Warcraft” and being greeted with repetitive, sexist jokes. “If you tell me to get back in the kitchen again,” she ranted, “next time I’m bringing back a meat tenderizer.”
Another woman, who contributes to New Wave Feminism wrote about some of her male friend’s responses after she posted a political status on Facebook. One of them wrote, “I really dont like opinionated women and feel they should go back to there rightful place (back in the kitchen) and make me a sandwich.” One of his male friends chimed in “get me a beer.” She tolerated these jokes, but linked them to a video discussing retro-sexism after they made jokes involving domestic violence. They told her it would have been better if the speaker had been topless.
“I’m going to clarify this for anyone who thinks that these jokes are funny, and not insulting, and that women who don’t appreciate them are humorless bitches,” she wrote. “I have a wicked sense of humor. I like edgy jokes, I like controversial topics…Un-f***ing-fortunately, when you make these jokes, you are STILL just spewing out stupid, sexist, outdated, patronizing 1950’s gender roles.”
A study conducted by Thomas E. Ford, from the psychology department at Western Carolina University, said that such jokes actually allow some men to feel more comfortable engaging in sexist behavior without fear of disapproval from peers. “Our research demonstrates that exposure to sexist humor can create conditions that allow men – especially those who have antagonistic attitudes toward women – to express those attitudes in their behavior,” said Ford.
Ford and his colleagues asked the men who participated in the study to imagine they were in a work group. They were they asked to read either sexist jokes, comparable non-humorous sexist statements, or non-sexist jokes. Then each man was asked how much money he would donate to a women’s group. They found men reading the sexist jokes were less likely to donate than men reading the other material.
Participants were then shown sets of sexist or non-sexist comedy skits before being asked to distribute funds for student organizations. Once again, the men exposed to the sexist humor were more likely to allocate large funding cuts for a women’s organization.
“We also found that, in the presence of sexist humor, participants believed the other participants would approve of the funding cuts to women’s organizations,” said Ford. “We believe this shows that humorous disparagement creates the perception of a shared standard of tolerance of discrimination that may guide behavior when people believe others feel the same way.”
(Source: yellow-dress, via socio-logic)
They presented male employers with identical job applicants—same experience, same qualifications, same resume—except one was named Dave and the other Diane. Then men in traditional marriages rated “Diane” significantly lower than Dave. Because, you know, vagina. Every woman has felt that—that moment when you can see a man’s engagement switch off, and realize that he will never take you as seriously as he would if you came back with a chest-merkin and a handlebar mustache. But it’s an almost impossible feeling to quantify, and an even harder one to communicate to people who have never felt it. An argument that can be vaporized with an emphatic enough “nu uh!” is a difficult argument to win.
That Condescending Feeling You Get From Dudes in the Office? Yeah, That’s Real. (via notemily)
Sums up my feelings just about every day after class this month, thanks to one single guy in there.
(via lostgrrrls)
(via sociolab)
To refer to a ‘rape culture’ means to acknowledge a social system that has slowly normalised rape and sexual assault through the bombardment of images, language, laws and social attitudes. At best, it views such violations as an inevitable part of life and therefore considers all efforts to try and stop it futile. At worst, it’s a culture in which victim-blaming is not just present but common, and standard caveats are invoked to excuse perpetrators for being unable to help themselves. It’s one that has media personalities calling women ‘strays’ on national television or saying that you don’t go home with someone at 3am for a cup of milo. It’s a culture that sexualises rape in the movies and it’s also one in which elected representatives can apply qualifying descriptors to describe the kind of rape they feel more comfortable with acknowledging.
Clementine Ford - Rejecting the concern troll . Sydney Morning Herald. November 1, 2012
http://www.dailylife.com.au/news-and-views/dl-opinion/rejecting-the-concern-troll-20121030-28hga.html
(via squaredogs)
Yes, I think they’re safe enough still, the menz.
Whenever a person makes any of the following statements – the future is female, men are the new weaker sex, masculinity is in crisis, the pendulum has swung too far, the male of the species is becoming redundant etc.* – it is surprisingly hard to mount a challenge. Deep down, you know such people are talking straight out of their arses, but you really don’t want to be the one to say so. First, it sounds mean and unsympathetic. If, for instance, you are a middle-class woman and you’re being compared – somewhat conveniently – to a working-class man, you risk appearing rather uncaring and ungrateful (and that’s before you get onto the standard feminist rant about how positively frightful visiting Waitrose on a Saturday can be).
(via sociolab)
Sexism is not being trusted to make decisions about your own body. It is being called a slut for having sex, using birth control, or even flirting. It’s being treated like a second-class citizen for getting pregnant out of wedlock. It’s being verbally assaulted by groups of people for walking into an abortion clinic. It’s being called a welfare queen for needing government assistance to feed, clothe, and send your child to day care. Sexism is being approached by a stranger—on the street, at a bar, anywhere—and being cat-called, complimented, objectified, and expected to react positively. It’s being called ugly, a bitch, and a whore when these advances are met with rejection. It’s having to worry constantly about someone slipping a drug in your drink, or being attacked on the walk home.
(via sociolab)
…Relentless gender stereotyping hurts us all, men, women, and anyone who is uncomfortable in either of those categories.
The girls who eschew pink and Taylor Swift have a more mixed reception. Some are accused of being dykes—whether they are or not—and are likewise beaten down. Others get approval. They sometimes become “one of the boys.” They are told over and over again: “you’re not like those other girls.” They sometimes become women who hate women.
But most girls, girly or not, learn that boys are where the action is. Boys are the ones who get to be assertive, not bitchy. They’re the ones who can be strong and play sport4 without having their sexuality questioned. They’re the ones who are mostly listened to and encouraged—if they’re being proper boys that is—way more than most girls.
Is it any wonder that some women are down on their gender? Why wouldn’t they be? Everyone else is.
(via sociolab)
If your work is rejected for an obviously bad reason, such as “it’s because you’re a woman,” you can simply dismiss the one who rejected you as biased and therefore not worth taking seriously. But if someone tells you that you are less competent, it’s easy to accept as true. And why shouldn’t you? Who wants to go through life constantly trying to sort through which critiques from superiors are based on the content of your work, and which are unduly influenced by the incidental characteristics of who you happen to be?
(via sociolab)
