America the free
Check this out for some humour. The US Women’s Media Center calls for a public apology from Fox News because some male presenters humourously criticized the work of an ageing female journalist. I provided the following response on their comments blog, though as they are moderated my contribution may not be considered politically suitable. Others may disagree with my view and I would welcome any new insights:
What you don’t acknowledge is that the male presenters were not simply ridiculing Thomas for the sake of it or in any way because she is female, but they were expressing genuine criticisms of her questions and performance in a press conference. A degree of humor was appropriate in the chat-show format. Where was the sexism?
I’m sure you wouldn’t show the same indignant response if a female presenter spoke humorously about a male journalist whom she saw as asking inane questions and becoming an embarrassment to his profession. Even if she compared him to “the scary ogre of the East”, joked about him moving forward in his zimmer frame, and parodied him by talking in a deep voice.
The WMC seems to be trying to enforce new, self-created feminist commandments: “thou shalt never criticize any woman” and “all humor used by males must conform to WMC preferences” and “feminist preferences override all other rights such as freedom of expression”. Therein lies the real sexism.
They are surely getting carried away will all that ‘power’ the have and
that must have gone ‘to their head’. What will become of us ones they are
able to procreate without a male needed? All men will be castrated at
birth? Welcome to the 21.century.
Comment by FIF — Thu 12th February 2009 @ 1:29 pm