BREAKING NEWS: Man Still Doesn't Get That Women Are People, Too.

Posted on 2012.10.16 at 15:52
Tags: blogging, gah, politics, sexism

This article. How is this an acceptable blog post from a major news outlet? Seriously, how? Do we really need another article about a man pontificating (incorrectly) about the mystery of the hetero-normative female mind? This reads like something a dude would say in his man-cave with his man-friends during a manly sporting event (see, I can be stereotypical and sexist,too!) Really, this article isn't about what women want at all; it's about showcasing just how much this guy doesn't consider women to be actual people:

"Just as it is for many women in understanding what men want from them as they share roles as wives, moms and workers, the balance required as a man in this modern age — whether in a president or partner — is equally difficult and confused. One day, men will be comfortable blending Alan Alda and John Wayne into a new archetype integrating strong, kind gentle and protective in a way that has both integrity and modern chivalry.

When we as men get better at constructing that model, we’ll be giving women more of what they want as leaders and as men."

"Again, this is just the humble opinion of one man (and I emphasize man) who grew up with four sisters, has a daughter, two ex-wives and three sons who have dated a broad variety of women."

Pssh. This guy isn't even a proper Womanologist, how could I possibly expect him to understand my mysterious lady ways? You want to know what women want in a President? How about fucking asking some women, then? How about considering that most women (like most men) are intelligent and care about issues and policies every bit as much as men do, and DO NOT, in fact, make all their decisions with their ovaries? I may not have four sisters, any daughters OR ex wives, but I AM a woman, and here's MY humble opinion: women are not a monolithic unit that ascribe uniformly to 1950s hetero-normative gender roles, and I find it incredibly insulting and disheartening that the theoretical contribution of HALF the voters in this democracy would be reduced to whether we prefer Alan Alda or John Wayne (wtf kind of examples are they, anyway?!).

My god. I just...flames. Flames on the side of my face. Is ABC trolling us with this nonsense?

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Comments:

alto2 at 2012-10-17 12:57 (UTC) (Link)

I was amused to see the Alan Alda reference--good lord, he was the poster child for the "sensitive" type 25 years or so ago. Do we not have anyone else to step into that role since then? I'd have hoped men AND women would have come further in that time, frankly--the need to single out one person as a role model for a certain type is pretty sad.

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happydalek at 2012-10-17 13:21 (UTC) (Link)

Yeah, that really threw me, too! I watched M*A*S*H all the time, and personally? I never saw Alan Alda as the "sensitive" type anyhow. (Winning icon, by the way.) Modern "sensitive" guys...I dunno, back in the 90s maybe Brad Pitt? Ryan Gosling? Another thing that galled me a little is the assumption that men wouldn't be similarly swayed by shows of power and dominance by other men. You telling me men don't react to an "alpha" when they see one? Pssh.

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stoplookingup at 2012-10-17 17:19 (UTC) (Link)

I grew up on and loved MASH too, but let's be honest - it was spun off from the most misogynistic movie ever, and it started out at that level, then gradually moderated to an attitude toward women that was schizophrenically inconsistent, at best.

Meanwhile, I'm still waiting for my vagina to tell me who to vote for. Because obviously that's what I think with.

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alto2 at 2012-10-17 17:29 (UTC) (Link)

I've never thought Alan Alda (as representative of The Sensitive Man) was about anyone other than Alan Alda and the characters he's tended to play, though--I certainly never thought it was a reference to/only to Hawkeye Pierce.

As for the election, well, my totally-dependent-on-little-packs-of-pills girl parts are pretty clear on who to vote for, though for me, that's potentially enough to make me a single-issue voter. Fuck with my pills, buddy, and I ain't voting for you. (Though I've already voted by mail, so it's a done deal for me anyway!)

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stoplookingup at 2012-10-17 17:47 (UTC) (Link)

Oh, my brain knows who to vote for. My vagina is stubbornly silent.

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