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Presidential Poll: Women Scorn Sexist Media, Feminists

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Camdenqueen
11/18/08

In reply to Presidential Poll: Women Scorn Sexist Media, Feminists
Feminism to me means equal rights for women.

What kind of woman would be opposed to that?
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PhillyLass
11/18/08

@Camdenqueen: or man, for that matter...
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Liz11685
11/18/08

In reply to Presidential Poll: Women Scorn Sexist Media, Feminists
My mom is an ardent feminist, and once in high school I described myself as a nonfeminist (I was going through a phase where I thought we could just be women, and feminism wasn't really needed anymore... I was 15)

My mother literally yelled at me. She said she thought she had done more right in raising me. These days, she is very proud of my feminist stance.
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stenographique
11/18/08

In reply to Presidential Poll: Women Scorn Sexist Media, Feminists
There is a pervasive sentiment here that mainstream America would be more accepting of the feminist movement if it weren't so associated with or "demonized" by images of angry, unshaven lesbians. As an often-angry, sometimes-unshaven, all-the-time lesbian, I'm disheartened by the language used and the disconnect in a community of would-be allies. Even if this is a way to point to the ridiculous nature of existing criticism of the feminist movement and to defend the word, don't throw us under the bus to do it! Of course not all feminists are ugly, hairy, militant, man-hating lesbians! So let's stop stringing all those words together; let's stop strengthening stereotypes through repetition.
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Hana Maru
11/18/08

@stenographique: I totally agree. And I'm a meticulously-groomed straight woman. I refuse to say "I'm not one of THOSE" We will not be divided. Besides, I'm angrier than I look.
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MissyMcCLung
11/18/08

In reply to Presidential Poll: Women Scorn Sexist Media, Feminists
I think if my daughter does not call herself a feminist (once we have the talking thing down) I will be very upset.
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UlbrechtImbecillous
11/18/08

In reply to Presidential Poll: Women Scorn Sexist Media, Feminists
"Newspapers, magazines and blogs are money-making enterprises, and they make money selling readers stories. So unless these women spent more time trying to read about health care reform â and I believe they didn't â and were stymied by the wall-to-wall Wardrobe-gate coverage, it's not really fair to blame the media for giving them what they obviously wanted to read."

I don't see how this excuse is any different than saying, "Sex sells, so stop complaining" to our complaints about Peta, and well, every advertiser in existence. Advertising is a money-making business too, yet we think it is legitimate to call them on their bullshit.

I call shenanigans, Jezebel!
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Hana Maru
11/18/08

@UlbrechtImbecillous: @ManicPixiePoliticalGirl: So more people click on sports and gossip, does that mean the fourth estate should give the public nothing but? How is this an excuse for sexism and abdication of journalistic ethics?
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hydrogen_jukebox
11/18/08

In reply to Presidential Poll: Women Scorn Sexist Media, Feminists
It's stuff like this that really gets me depressed.

Last week on PostSecret, there was a card that said something like, "I blame the feminist movement for the fact that I have to be ambitious," or some such crap. I'm paraphrasing.

It makes me angry even to hear the same spew coming out of my friends' or sister's mouths. She certainly didn't get it from me, so I don't know where her "feminists are all gross ridiculous lesbians" thought comes from, and yet, when I ask her point blank, do toy think men and women are equal, she answers immediately, yes.

What do you say to, "I'm not a feminist, but..." and actually sound coherent while keeping your temper? Whatever it is is lost on me.
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SarahMC
11/18/08

Well, I hate people, so we're even.

@hydrogen_jukebox: I was piiiissed when I saw that!
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AthertonMerriweather
11/18/08

In reply to Presidential Poll: Women Scorn Sexist Media, Feminists
What percent call themselves hockey moms?
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sympathyforthebasementcat
11/18/08

In reply to Presidential Poll: Women Scorn Sexist Media, Feminists
It makes me sad that feminist is a bad word. i had never really thought about it, but then one year in college, the professor asked us to raise our hands if we considered ourselves feminists, and no one raised their hand except for me. This was in a women's history course at a very liberal school.
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I_can_still_pitch
11/18/08

In reply to Presidential Poll: Women Scorn Sexist Media, Feminists
Well, I guess I live in dumbass-backwards-land as far as "men" go, because I have no interest in women who think feminism is a bad word, I think a woman would be just fine as Commander-in-Chief, I am proud of my outspokenly feminist daughter and "rallies, lesbians and bra burning" sound pretty good to me.
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Hamsterpants
11/18/08

@I_can_still_pitch: Heh, you just want to watch those braless lezzes make out ;>
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CrossWord
11/18/08

@I_can_still_pitch: Oh you.
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pandorasmittens
11/18/08

@I_can_still_pitch: Where are your like-minded menfolk, and how do I go about finding one?

Seriously, I hope that my child, male or female, will identify as a feminist. And I hope they attend rallies, are outspoken, and threaten to burn our house down due to the barrel of bras they set aflame on our front lawn.
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I_can_still_pitch
11/18/08

@pandorasmittens: We're everywhere. We really are.
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hellosunshine
11/18/08

@I_can_still_pitch: I'm for all of that except the bra burning, 'cause I've got some big ol' ladies and they're comfier all propped up. But y'all go right on ahead!
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mepo - Robert Cornhole invented it
11/18/08

In reply to Presidential Poll: Women Scorn Sexist Media, Feminists
Surely Jezebel readers clicked on wardrobegate stories in order to vent their frustration and therefore it doesn't actually represent their investment in such media coverage but rather their distaste.
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Megan
11/18/08

@mepo: To point out, no one in media cares about your motivation for reading as long as you are. But given that even when I worked my ass off on a story about issues that people claim they want to read about I'd get half (if that many) page views as when I (or Sadie, or Jess) posted about Palin's clothes or whatever, I'd say that people just aren't that interested in a long exploration of equal pay or reproductive rights. So thank Anna for letting me do it anyway.
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I_can_still_pitch
11/18/08

@Megan: Please keep writing them :)
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mepo - Robert Cornhole invented it
11/18/08

@Megan: It doesn't mean that their not accessing those details elsewhere. Many people access this site from work and sometimes just wish to zone out. Fluff always sells but don't lose hope in us Jezzies yet. Many of us appreciate the harder hitting posts, in fact its the variety on the site that makes Jez what it is.
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badmutha
11/18/08

In reply to Presidential Poll: Women Scorn Sexist Media, Feminists
CS Lewis once said "There is a saying:Be good sweet maid, and let those who can be clever. I would tell a woman, Be good sweet maid, and that will involve being as clever as you can be."
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CrossWord
11/18/08

@badmutha: Good ol' CS. I love him. However, he did think that men should have the final vote in all things in a marriage. He was smart and wonderful about so much, but less so about the ladies.
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YourScreenplaySucks
11/18/08

@badmutha: I'm partial to Florence King's version: "Be good, fair maid, and you can slit all the throats you want."
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badmutha
11/18/08

@Your Screenplay Sucks: Love it!
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boobalore
11/18/08

@CrossWord: except that he was totally anti-science. ever read his perelandra trilogy? it's all science is evil, it ruins everything, flock to god!!! c.s. lewis is not really the intelligent feminist's friend.
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CrossWord
11/18/08

@boobalore: No, I didn't. Shoot. I am reduced to using an emoticon: :(
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tscheese
11/18/08

In reply to Presidential Poll: Women Scorn Sexist Media, Feminists
They are more likely to recall stories being written about Palin's hair and clothes than Obama's healthcare plans.

I'm sorry? One of the biggest motivators for me to get interested in this race and really educate myself about the candidates was the health care issue. I think the problems and expenses involved in health care resonate with FAR more of us than the stupid week-long blurb about Palin's clothes.

I know the sensationalist, ludicrous stuff is what drives pageviews and flamewars. People don't flock to threads about boring politics as usual and get really impassioned, right? Except for like every single Crappy Hour post that ever was, ever?

I guess I just want to believe that people pay attention to important things.
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BrutallyHonestBabes (aka Mrs. Sarah.of.a.Lesser.Hobbit)
11/18/08

@tscheese: It made me insane every time on NPR I would hear some moron say "I just don't knwo what Obama is about". I just fumed - how about actually investigating it? Learning? The biggest travesty of all is the devaluation of intellectual curiosity in this country over the last 8 years.
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Acacia
11/18/08

In reply to Presidential Poll: Women Scorn Sexist Media, Feminists
I'm completely flummoxed by the rejection of the term feminist by young women who at the same time expect the very rights that feminists fought (and are still fighting) for. I am proud to call myself a feminist and I always challenge my female students when they speak negatively about feminism but positively about equal and reproductive rights.
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CollegeBookworm
11/18/08

@Acacia: Don't ask the young feminists why our peers don't identify with feminism either- we don't have a clue.

I am a feminist. So are a number of my friends, both female and male. But I know so many people who would never refer to themselves as feminists, and are shocked when I point out all the ways they benefit from feminism. Oy vey.
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DangerMouse
11/18/08

In reply to Presidential Poll: Women Scorn Sexist Media, Feminists
It's kind of a catch-22 from a media standpoint if you think of it as giving the public what they want to hear. However, giving the public what they want to hear is often also darn easy, lazy journalism. Seriously, in order to write about health care plans, one has to actually research them and learn about them. (Something that you, Megan, have been incredibly good at--as a procrastinator, I have read your articles on all topics, not just fashiongate.) It is far easier to just be like OMG SARAH PALIN WEARS FANCY THINGS/KNEE HIGH BOOTS/TALL HAIR--little to no research required.

Where there is no research though, there is a story that everyone can understand unthinkingly as well. Yes, there might be lazy journalists, but there are also lazy readers.

Maybe if big outlets like CNN devoted non-stop coverage to actual policy proposals rather than clothes, verbal gaffes, and "terrorist palling around", it would become water-cooler talk as people became more informed and felt as though they could speak intelligently on such topics. But maybe I'm just an idealist.
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bluebears
11/18/08

In reply to Presidential Poll: Women Scorn Sexist Media, Feminists
In a world of My Super Sweet Sixteen, Girls Next Door, copious plastic surgery, incessant marketing telling women to think/look/act a certain way, is it really a surprise that women don't self-identify as feminist? A word thats been demonized throughout the years to represent an ugly, can't find a man and/or gay, unshaven type of medusa?
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pandorasmittens
11/18/08

@bluebears: What's worse is that people will look at things like Girls Next Door, plastic surgery, Kardashian sex tapes, etc and define it as "liberating and feminist". That kind of corruption is almost as bad as the angry sea hag.
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bluebears
11/18/08

@pandorasmittens: yes! whenever i hear some woman going on and on about how her boob job was "for her" and it really gave her confidence in herself...it just really makes me want to (1) punch her in the head and (2) puke.
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pandorasmittens
11/18/08

@bluebears: I am horrible for asking questions like that. I once asked a colleague what "for her" meant. The conversation follows:

girl: to make me feel better about myself

mittens: why do you need to feel better

girl: i've always been flat chested and have wanted to look normal

mittens: who defines normal?

girl: i just see girls walking around with beautiful bodies and they're so confident and in control, and guys will do anything for them.

mittens: so if you did it because "everyone else" loves it and/ or looks like that, then how can you say you did it for yourself?

She kind of walked away after that.
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bluebears
11/18/08

@pandorasmittens: LOL! "for her" usually means, its so she can think of herself as more desirable to men. i.e. the exact opposite
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