OP-ED | Women Sick of Misogyny and Mansplaining
by Sarah Darer Littman | Oct 19, 2012 7:45am
(8) Comments | Commenting has expired
In case you haven’t noticed, Linda McMahon is a woman. She’s confirmed the fact in the last three debates. I would like to confirm that I, too, am a woman. Apparently, those of us of the female persuasion are now a hot demographic, targeted by campaigns in both presidential and senate races.
Here’s a secret I’d like to share with all political strategists: mere pandering just isn’t going to cut it with us. Because even though we’ve come a long way, baby, it’s the 21st century and we’re still paid less for doing the same job as a man. We’re still paying significantly more for health insurance. We’re still putting up with middle-aged men legislating medical decisions that should be between women and our doctors. And those of us who are single parents are blamed for the ills of society.
Now, election time rolls around and all of a sudden two guys are trying to hit us up for a four-year date and we’re subjected to pundits “mansplaining” how we think about the issues of the day.
Mansplaining - UrbanDictionary.com definition: “To delight in condescending, inaccurate explanations delivered with rock solid confidence of rightness and that slimy certainty that of course he is right, because he is the man in this conversation.”
For examples, see pretty much any dialogue between Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski on MSNBC’s Morning Joe.
A particularly egregious example was Thursday morning’s episode, when four men told Mika why she and we were “ridiculous” for taking umbrage at Mitt Romney’s “binders full of women” comment and the fact that news emerged post-debate that Romney had lied about actively seeking out said binders. The belittling was bad enough. But then, in response to a tweet from Cher complaining about the behavior, Mark Halperin, senior political analyst for Time and MSNBC, tweeted a picture of a Time cover featuring Cher in a skimpy outfit.
Halperin is Time’s senior political analyst and that’s how he chooses to respond? Clearly, I need to rethink my Time subscription.
Unfortunately, demeaning women personally seems to be the modus operandi in politics. Look at the way Congressman Joe Walsh, R-Illinois — that prince of a guy who owed his wife $100,000 in child support — has attacked his opponent, decorated Iraq War veteran Tammy Duckworth, saying “the only debate she’ll have is which outfit she’ll be wearing.”
Duckworth’s response: “Yes, I do sometimes look at the clothes I wear, but for most of my adult life, I’ve worn one color — it’s called camouflage.” Boom.
It’s not just Republicans. The Democratic House Majority PAC ran an ad against Martha McSally, who is running for a House seat in Arizona, in which they superimposed her image into a kitchen setting and criticized her “recipe cards” for Congress. McSally might well be a fine cook, but the relevant facts are that she was the first female fighter pilot to fly combat missions in U.S. history, is a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, and has a Masters in Public Policy from the JFK School of Government at Harvard. Such imagery demeans her service, her accomplishments, and women in general.
Remember the 1992 “Cookiegate” brouhaha during Bill Clinton’s first campaign? Hillary Clinton was pilloried for saying, “I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had teas, but what I decided to do was to fulfill my profession which I entered before my husband was in public life.”
Here’s a woman who is smarter than most men in the room, and more, one of the few politicians in recent memory to stand up and say, “I take responsibility,” yet she was forced to hide her light under a bushel. I can only imagine how she felt:
“Seriously America? I was class president at Wellesley, graduated from Yale Law School with honors, was named one of the 100 Most Powerful Lawyers in America by the National Law Journal, and you want to judge me on my cookies?”
Listen up strategists: if you want the “women” vote, don’t demean women. Any of us. I might be a Democrat but if you demean the impressive and genuine accomplishments of a Republican woman, you demean me.
But similarly, pointing out one’s womanhood, as Mrs. McMahon does on numerous occasions, won’t ipso facto win my vote. Particularly, you won’t get my vote if you plan to overturn the Affordable Care Act, which will eliminate in 2014 the excess premium I pay merely for being female, or if you support the Blunt Amendment, which would allow employers to deny contraceptive coverage.
Policy is what effects women and we’d really love it if you stick to the issues. We’re smart enough enough to bother our pretty little heads about it, and make damn fine cookies without you mansplaining any of it.
Sarah Darer Littman is an award-winning columnist and novelist of books for teens. Long before the financial meltdown, she worked as a securities analyst and earned her MBA in Finance from the Stern School at NYU.
Tags: Sarah Darer Littman, Women voters, Mansplaining, ACA, contraception, Linda McMahon, Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, Mark Halperin, Morning Joe, misogyny, Tammy Duckworth, Joe Walsh, Martha McSally, dh
(8) Comments
posted by: GoatBoyPHD | October 20, 2012 3:22pm
The feminist movement trivialized itself into extinction.
See the above rant for proof.
If women are marginalized you need to look no further than Susan Bysiewicz and Hillary Clinton and the women who flee those campaigns like rats on a sinking ship.
This whole “Democratic women won’t vote for Democratic women” thing so they can piss and moan about female advancement is sick. You get what you ask for.
The men you write about are your doppelgangers. There’s the leftist stereotype of the whining passive/aggressive 60s Feminist and the Rightist Stereotype of the 60s Chauvinist Alpha male. They deserve each other locked in mortal combat.
By the way, I want both Betty and Veronica. You?
The Birkenstock feminists demean the conservative model of womenhood (the cat fight between Palinites and the Clintonites in 2008) in a manner the chauvinist alpha males can only aspire to.
posted by: lisalake | October 21, 2012 6:37am
If binders full of women is the most egregious take away from the debate is the best we women can do, then we deserve the Mansplaining. The outrage coming from women about this comment IS insane and ridiculous! We are going to compare a lie about how binders full of women came to be, while ignoring lies about terror attacks, murder, cover-ups, and lies on foreign policy?? Mika deserved the dressing down she got, and tweets from Cher? Really?? The same Cher who regularly demeans herself via Twitter?
Women are being targeted because both sides apparently know that they can easily sway some of the female persuasion into thinking that this critical election is about them and their lady parts. And isn’t it ironic how those women who feel so self righteous about their opinions on these matters, have no problem demeaning the women who don’t. Pathetic.
posted by: state_employee | October 21, 2012 12:12pm
Great story…!!! As a woman I am often offended by a bunch of men, sitting around and making statements/policies/decisions that negatively affect women. I’m sick and tired of the rude and disgusting things they say about women who need/use birth control. I’m catholic and I certainly did use birth control. Some of the time that I was using birth control, it was for medical reasons, not contraception. Men just do not get it.
Don’t tell me what I can and can not do with my body.
How about that idiot aiken that said, in “legitimate rape”, the body “shuts it down and you cant get pregnant.” WHAT.??? Who are these men?’
Or in Virginia they want to make women go through a vaginal ultrasound in order to be able to have an abortion.
These men in congress have the ability to make women’s lives unbearable.
Choose wisely at election time ladies.
posted by: saramerica | October 21, 2012 7:29pm
GoatBoy - your comments make absolutely no sense whatsoever, especially the Betty/Veronica one.
LisaLake - you have completely missed the point on the binders full of women, and the Cher issue. Mika B wasn’t commenting on the phrase. She was commenting on the LIE behind the phrase. And what lie about terror attacks?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/benghazi-attack-becomes-political-ammunition/2012/10/19/e1ad82ae-1a2d-11e2-bd10-5ff056538b7c_story.html
The administration, unlike Mitt Romney, was not leaping to politicize the deaths of Americans. They were acting based on the intelligence they had at the time. Dealing with inflamed situations requires a cool head, and intelligence. Romney showed that he put himself and his quest for power over what is best for the country.
posted by: kenneth_krayeske | October 22, 2012 9:36am
GoatBoy - that you even use the term “cat fight” to describe a power struggle shows your inability to understand what Sara describes. As long as you type with your little head, you’ll continue to come out with these inanities.
posted by: Sarah Darer Littman | October 23, 2012 7:22am
Ken makes a great point. When describing Hillary Clinton’s decision to take responsibility for Benghazi embassy security I ALMOST used the phrase “was one of the few politicians in recent memory who was man enough to take responsibility” - and then I realized I’m so used to the patriarchal language of making it “manly” to take responsibility when really, the Congressional record will show that it’s rare characteristic amongst male politicians. Same thing goes with “had the balls to” - it’s all feeding into the concept that being brave or courageous is a male characteristic. It’s not. So I stopped myself and reworded and I’ve made a conscious decision that I need to be more careful about the words I use myself and with my son and daughter.
posted by: saramerica | October 23, 2012 1:42pm
Oh, and BTW, GoatBoy, I’ve never owned a pair of Birkenstocks. I used to have quite a collection of heels until I fractured a sesamoid. Being “womanly” I have a high pain threshold and just got on with life, kids and it wasn’t until a year later that I finally got an X-ray and the podiatrist told me it was fractured. Also told me I’d fractured one in the other foot but that one had healed. So yeah, enough with your ridiculous stereotypes, okay?