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I'll admit, I'm baffled by the women of the Tea Party. Even some women Republicans. The relationship between women and conservative politics never ceases to amaze me. And here's why:
The blatant sexist language used by the men of these parties whenever they meet a strong, independent woman with whom they do not agree. When the best you can do to disagree with Hillary Clinton is call her a bitch (Glenn Beck), you are scraping the bottom of the intellectual barrel. You are saying there is nothing to really criticize about this person but her femaleness. It's not just Beck who's said it. And Conservative women, why would you stand for this within your own political parties? This degrading a woman by calling her a female dog. Or they go a step further, and start calling women cunts. You know, the folks who brought us the ridiculous Supreme Court ruling that corporations have freedom of speech? Citizens United? That group began as an anti-Hillary group called Citizens United, Not Timid. CUNT. Conservatives use a derogatory word for female anatomy to describe the woman herself. And there are still women out there who choose to align themselves with these men.
Visit the recent comments by Lindsey Graham and others, referring to how women "drop" babies. Comparing female immigrants to farm animals, such as how a cow "drops" a calf. I'm not wanting to start an immigration reform debate here. I'm not even leveling a comment on whether some people come here to have a baby intentionally. I'm just talking about the crude, derogatory language used by conservatives, in this case elected officials who represent other conservatives, to describe women who are doing things they don't like or agree with.
Add this on to conservatives, including conservative women, who want to traumatize other women for choosing to legally terminate their pregnancy. The conservatives of the Missouri Senate want to force women to listen to a fetal heartbeat and view ultrasounds before they make the decision to have an abortion. In other words, they've presented all of their arguments for why they think it is wrong, and if a woman still doesn't agree with their philosophical position and wants to act of her own accord with relation to her own body and health, they still want to traumatize the woman into doing what they want her to do. It's intrusive for any woman to have to worry about what the Missouri Senate thinks when she goes to the doctor. And their are no procedures for males that require this type of government scrutiny or involvement.
For many conservatives, women who speak up are out of place. Women who do what they want are uppity. Women who don't just tow the party line and help the party, in this case the Tea Party or the Republican party, get ahead, are bitches. Cunts. Not as worthy of the same personal dignity and respect as their male counterparts. And some women still allow themselves to be pulled into these movements. Sarah Palin, I'm talking to you. John McCain pulled you in like an anatomically correct doll to combat the Hillary factor, and it was a total disaster. And when it didn't work, who had all the fingers pointed at her?
Women need to think harder. Process more. Consider the language. Value yourselves. Stop hanging out with people who use language like "bitch" and "cunt" every time they have a tantrum or disagreement. Either abandon the party(ies) that treat you this way, or demand more from your male counterparts.
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Excellent article, Sky. The right still sees women as chattel. They are owned by their fathers until they pass into their husbands' possession. Personally, I could never be satisfies with a woman who would tolerate that. If I ever find someone who can tolerate me, I want a full partner, not an ornament or a servant.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post, it reminds me of a lot of women in southwest Missouri who allow this kind of behavior to go on. And these women allow themselves to be treated as second-class citizens is beyond my comprehension.
ReplyDeleteI agree that quotes listed above are very inappropriate for anyone to make, especially the leaders of our country. But I think this is a small sampling of conservatives and most of the ones that I know personally, and know of would not make comments like this, or even think them for that matter.
ReplyDeleteI also believe that similar stuff has been said by people on both sides of the aisle. And a former democrat president make it pretty clear how he valued women. --- Hey you asked for other viewpoints! Looking forward to good discussions here btw. dlp
DLP: now that's how you write the other side of an argument. No name calling, etc. Welcome to the Handbasket!
ReplyDeleteI think I am most disturbed by the fact that women within these parties, and the men within them who would disagree with these types of remarks, do not speak out against them when they are made.
Bill Clinton disrespected his wife and daughter in a huge way. I don't feel like his deficits as a family guy showed disrespect for women overall. Bill and Hillary's relationship is not one I would want to be in, but I guess it works for them.
and you are right if more folks would speak out against this kind of stuff it wouldn't happen as much
ReplyDeleteSky,
ReplyDeleteI have read a lot of liberal posts that name call and disrespect conservative women such as Sarah Palin and Elizabeth Doyle with with similar names. Some of these are articles by other women. I agree with dlp that the extremes on both sides want to disparage those that disagree with them.
I would have addressed the name calling by Beck and the rest if I knew about it. I honestly do not pay any attention to a word he has to say.
And I would call out those that use that type of language about Dole and Palin. Same way I called out Amy Pohler and Tina Fey on a previous blog I wrote about making a joke of the word "bitch."
ReplyDelete