Quickies
Skepchick Quickies 2.26
- The “language gene” and women’s wagging tongues – “Aka how to twist science to reinforce gender stereotypes.”
- Why Seth McFarlane’s misogyny matters – From Mark.
- Sinfest on misandry – Also from Mark, this made me chuckle.
- Nursing mothers stage Sydney cafe protest – Love the protest sign pictured. From Jack99.
The Sinfest comic is funnier if you also read the preceding one.
Narvi
This one is pretty funny mockery of sexism as well.
Fembot Factory
http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=4555
The article on Seth McFarlane’s comments is well-written and insightful. I doubt it will change his mind on what he says, but it might make someone else think.
Amanda
In all fairness through, misandry ( irrational hatred of men ) is a real problem, not sure exactly how big of a problem it is, but its definitely been grossly exaggerated by sexists “MRAs” in much the same way that that sinfest cartoon portrays.
Unless you were a leading figure in pop art that died when I was 7 misandry is about hurt fee-fees. “Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them.” – Margaret Atwood
I’m not denying that it’s possible for a woman to hate men, but women just don’t have the same ability to insulate themselves from the powerful group the same way other minorities can. Even on a lesbian separatist commune you can’t openly express hatred for men. You’re talking about people’s fathers, sons and friends. Some of the Radfems can be just as bad as Reddit users, but they don’t aim that hatred at men.
Also, the biggest problem with misandry isn’t with the concept itself, but the context. It’s almost exclusively brought up in the context of misogyny in an attempt to derail the conversation.
You have to know your audience, Dragon.
Victoriadashtwenty,
Like I said, Sexist men have exaggerated the problem of sexism against men to point of absurdity. I don’t think we really disagree with much here.
Victoriadashtwenty, I would be interested to hear about this commune – we do have some such in Australia.
“commune”= “lesbian separatist commune” (I do get brainfade this time of the week). My sister in law lives near to some and I would be interested to compare and contrast.
“Why Seth McFarlane’s Misogyny Matters”
The author correctly pointed out the sexist jokes during the Oscars yet she is a loyal Family Guy fan for the past 15 years and that show has identical sexist jokes (if not worse). Why are those same jokes OK on Family Guy? I appreciate that context matters. The Oscars are a celebration of talent and not a “locker-room” humor venue. But what do people expect if Seth McFarlane is the host?
The famous punk icon, Johnny Rotten sang a number of eyebrow raising songs during his time with the Sex Pistols. If he was asked to host the Grammy’s he would likely shock the audience by belting out songs like “Belsen was a Gas”. Solution? Don’t ask Johnny Rotten to host the Grammy’s and certainly don’t ask Seth McFarlane to host the Oscars.
I think it’s easier to laugh at a cartoon, call it satire, and assume the bigoted comments made by the characters are more a reflection of the speaker’s character flaws than a statement of belief about the target. Whether that’s the creator’s intention or whether a person is able to view it that way is arguable. We’ve seen this in The Simpsons and South Park, too, both filled with very clever parody, satire, and lampooning of horrible sexist, racist, religious, etc. characters, though the line is fuzzy and probably too often crossed.