The double-standard peaks out from behind it’s feminist camouflage.
I was thinking of Al Franken here, mostly. There is no doubt at all that if a man had performed the same rude gesture as Ellen Degeneres did, he would have been roundly condemned. If he had been a Senator, Kirsten Gillibrand and Kamala Harris would have led the charge to drive him from office.
Well, let’s hear it Senators Gillibrand and Harris! Let’s hear your full-throated outrage once again: this kind of sexual ogling and intimidation will not be tolerated! You will never, ever appear on her show. Ever.
What was Franken accused of? Posing for a picture with his hands in the air over a woman’s chest. And the other accusations, as far as I can determine, include “trying to kiss me”. Oh the horror! A man tried to kiss me! Off with his head!! Yet some feminist jihadists insisted on lumping Franken in with Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey as poster-ogres of the passing patriarchy.
Imagine a male guest on Ellen asking the hostess what she thinks of his penis? What do you think? Just a trivial thing that should be swept aside and ignored. Let’s just get on to something real, here? Or a horribly inappropriate and offensive gesture that should be sanctioned immediately with suitable consequences?
Well, here we have Gal Gadot asking Jimmy Kimmel what he thinks of her breasts. My point is not that Gal should be fired from her job because she asked Jimmy Kimmel to comment on her breasts (which she pointed to with her hands) but that neither of these incidents, nor the ones Al Franken was accused of, nor the ones that Louis C.K. was accused of, rises to the level of hysteria with which Franken’s alleged offenses were greeted by the “outraged” harpies who demanded his resignation.
I am most disgusted with Kirsten Gillibrand. It was widely discussed at the time that Gillibrand was looking for Franken’s scalp as an entree into the world of 2020 presidential candidates.
And so it was. Guess whose running for president in 2020?
I didn’t hear as much speculation then about Kamala Harris’ motives. But guess who else is running for president in 2020?
A pox on both their houses.
When asked what type of man she likes, Rihanna said: “I like men who are more aggressive, but mysterious. I like them to be sure of themselves and know that you’re the man, I’m the lady, and the only way for us to make this work is if we play our roles.
I’m not sure that a man who heeded the call here would not be worried that after being “aggressive” he would be accused of not obtaining enthusiastic consent. Is it possible to have both?
“It’s no problem at all for a man to wear a dark blue suit a hundred days in a row,” she said, “but if I wear the same blazer four times within two weeks, the letters start pouring in.” Angela Merkel
I have no doubt that most, if not all, of those letters (do they really still send letters in Germany?) come from women. We have seen similar reactions to women newscasters who change their hairstyle. So why do some feminists keep blaming men for the double-standard applied to women in politics? Why are you outraged at us? Why aren’t you working on your own constituency, who publicly ogle breasts, yearn for “aggressive” men, and complain about the way you dress and look?
When I was in college, years and years ago, I was asked by a couple of girls– good friends to each other– to take their portrait together. They tried various poses, and dressing in similar t-shirts, and sweaters, and tank-tops. Then I half-jokingly suggested they pose nude, back to back. I remembered a similar picture of the two women in the band Heart. I thought it looked strikingly beautiful. The two girls looked at me thoughtfully and considered it and I was quite sure they were ready to go when I quipped, “and without makeup”. They immediately, decisively rejected that option. They were horrified at the very thought.
I’ve thought about that lot, for years. I– the male– was the one who thought they would look more beautiful with their flaws, with a more natural image of their faces, with their real pores and real eyes and real lips.
Would a good feminist argue that they only think that way because they have been brainwashed by men to think that? I don’t believe it.