Anti-Feminism on the Left III

Do Jane Hamsher and Christy Hardin Smith have conservative operatives in their midst? Has FireDogLake - arguably a top five liberal group blog - been infiltrated by dirty tricks squads of the right? More directly, does FDL blogger Pachacutec work for Karl Rove?

I ask because of the reckless, misogynist post that appeared this morning in my regular blogroll (I'm a big FDL fan, most of the time) about Democratic Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher of California. Tauscher is a so-called Blue Dog Democrat, a centrist type who has often voted with the Republicans on military issues. She may well be due a primary from the left in her district in San Francisco's progressive suburbs. But she is certainly not due a vicious attack on her gender, dressed up as "snark" by a leading liberal blog. Here's the slime, headlined " FDL Late Nite: Whore, n., 1. A prostitute. . ."

You know, sometimes I'm an old fashioned sort.  I can appreciate tradition.  I certainly believe in hard work, and positively adore the craft of genuine professionalism.

In that spirit, I bring you an underappreciated practitioner of the world's oldest profession, a woman in congress Congress, Ellen Tauscher.  She can slurp the gnarly nub of power with the very best, gamely grinning to the gushing finish:  a working girl's working girl.  Howie calls her, "a bribe-taking corporate whore and shit eater who has guaranteed herself a nasty primary in 2008."

I hope Peter Daou is reading this, because his boss may well have to face this kind of sexist attack beginning next year. It's so bad, so poorly executed, that it really does appear to be a clumsy Republican efforts to pollute a top Democratic blog. These posts are permanent, folks. They give aid and comfort to the other side. They make our side look surly, sexist, hypocritical.

To put is another way: are you stupid? Or just insane?

There's a better than 50-50 chance that the broad center-left coalition in this country, organized as the Democratic Party, will be running a woman for President in less than 20 months. The leading Democratic elected official in the land is a woman - and we need her.

This is the third post in an unfortunate series (parts one and two) and you know, I'm going to continue; people are of course free to write and blog how they wish.

But in a world where a hero like Mukhtar Mai of Pakistan overcomes court-ordered gang rape and a corrupt regime to help educate the children of her attackers, we kid ourselves that we're advanced enough, cool enough, hip enough, or evolved enough to throw around this low-brow gender-based garbage and think it won't stick - to us, to the left, to the Democrats, to our candidates, to our movement.

UPDATE: FDL blogger TRex used the C-word this morning to describe a conservative pundit (in an otherwise excellent post on the hopelessness in Iraq), and one commenter called him on it:

You will probably not see this, TREx, but I gotta object to the C word, even when used with regard to Ingraham.

It’s the only word I don’t use. It’s the only one that makes me go “ohhh” and stop reading. If my survey is correct, 9 out of 10 women feel the same.

Ifya wouldn’t mind, could ya lose it outta your vocabulary, at least here?

Makes me stop, too. And angry. I left a comment, also protesting the word. They chose not to approve it in moderation. Very FreeRepublic-like. No answer at FireDogLake.

UPDATE II: The grown-ups at FDL have been busy. The C-word has been edited out of the post. And James Wolcott comments: "Sexism is second nature to so many on the right, which is why those on the left have to ensure that their antennae are acutely tuned to the misogynistic jibes thrown at Nancy Pelosi from everyone from Maureen Dowd to Dennis Miller." Exactly.

UPDATE III: TRex corrects the record on the late editing on his post, and calls me the C-word in comments. As in "miserable, little..." Then he calls me Ned Flanders. Clever that.

UPDATE IV: The action is all in comments folks, with Jane Hamsher, Christy Hardin Smith, and Pachacutec all weighing in with strongly-held opinions.

UPDATE V: Final update folks. Jane Hamsher has opened up a post over at FireDogLake based on this one. I've put some comments there and would invite those here to do the same. Also, a wonderful post by Shakespeare's Sister with another great set of comments is here. And Neddie Jingo has great one too.

Comments

[trey]

it's also sad that (as of now) only one among over a hundred comments pointed out the sentiments you express (assuming that comment - which refers to the wording used in the post - refers to the post and was not a reference to a previous comment. Blogs on the left and the right sometimes have the problem of blind cheering squads in awe of the blogger, and to me, this is a good (bad...) example of it. Good luck getting your point more attention.

[rbr]

Tauscher would have given us more Pombo.

What would you call her?

[pepperdo]

"Cunt" is a word that many gay men with feminist poltics out the wazoo use all the time, a word that has been reclaimed by many on the left, though perhaps they're not the genteel sort of folk you're comfortable with. Don't be so delicate, Tom. It's a big world out there.

[Tom W.]

Pepperdo - if they use it to describe women then they're as much feminists as Michael Richards is a freedom-rider.

Delicate is not often a word used to describe me, but I kinda like it...

[El Gato Negro!]

I find eet interesting that joo only attack Pachacutec's language, and make no points een regard to the accuracy of hees statements.

Tauscher ees called a whore for her agenda, not her gender.

She excused the worst of the Bush administration's illegal machinations, and she gave fake, bi-partisan cover to many of Bush's more outrageous policies.

Joo could just as well substitute other names than hers, Lieberman, Nelson, etc.

Weeth a few seemple pronoun corrections, the charge ees just as accurate.

Let us try a small experiment, like so:

In that spirit, I bring you an underappreciated practitioner of the world's oldest profession, a man in congress Congress, Steny Hoyer. He can slurp the gnarly nub of power with the very best, gamely grinning to the gushing finish: a working boy's working boy. Howie calls him, "a bribe-taking corporate whore and shit eater who has guaranteed himself a nasty primary in 2008."

Eet works for me.

A whore ees a whore because of their actions, regardless of gender.

so.

[grasshopper]

No matter how far political discussion in this country has sunk, a few play-ground boundaries remain if one wants his/her position understood as anything other than a bigoted outburst laden with vulgar slurs. No matter what civic philosophy you hold dear: blue, red, small government, all government, no government--do not mock others' religion, disability, or proclivity. Do not make fun of people's mothers or family heritage. Recess is officially over forever for everyone older than fourteen.
So try to behave like a grown-up human being, who has outgrown fighting, biting, name calling, hair pulling, head butting, arm twisting, and "wedgies."
Extremely immature behavior demands supervision. The kids who can not control themselves should expect parental notification followed by non-negotiable suspension from school. Repeat offenders face expulsion.

[Slappy]

Tom W: Queer was an insult once. Well, still is. Depends on who uses it. A feminist gay man doesn't suddenly become anti-feminist by using the word cunt.

I fully agree with you Tom W. about the left having to be careful about misogynistic talk. Sexism and general fighting between the sexes is not fully owned by Republicans. However, this is a slippery slope we tread. To attack one because of their gender is wrong, however to mark certain words as taboo is counter productive toward eliminating prejudice by confusing the issues.

Being called a "commie" due to my lefty ways means nothing to me. Call the next person a "commie" and you are looking for a fight. Yet I understand the attempted insult behind it and take it as such. It is the meaning meant by the speaker of the word is all that matters.

Is "dickhead" as offensive as "cunt"? Both refer to genitals. Should I be so offended being of the male sex should someone call me a dickhead? Depends upon the meaning behind it. We get caught up in being word police at our own peril. When I tell someone "fuck you" I am way past trying to argue with someone. It is a disdain for that person. And at that point, all is fair. Should I show disdain for someone due to their race, sex etc, well then shame on me. If you feel TRex was intending to insult Ingrahms gender, well then you may have a point. If you think merely using the word alone is wrong, I disagree. I myself reserve the right to use all the words available to me.

[Dennis Savage]

Pepperdo, I've spent a couple of decades hanging with my fellow gay men, and the number of times I've heard them use that word could be counted on no hands. Zip. Zero.

Maybe I just don't spend time with the "right" kind of people, but I don't mind that a bit.

[Tom W.]

Slap - my opinion is that a feminist gay man who uses that word in a public political forum to describe a woman is inherently NOT a feminist gay man.

And yeah, they were both attacking gender - clearly. It was about sex.

[noexcuses]

Maybe Slap needs a refresher course in how power works. Calling a man a dickhead is different than calling a woman a cunt. That is, because women automatically have less power, being a society in which they still make cents to a man's dollar. These words mean things because they either challenge or affirm the differentials in power that people experience. And, with all due respect, gay men still rank above women on the scale, which means that homosexuality just isn't an excuse for misogny. Those who are most concerned about the "word police" are those the least interested in questioning the questionable power dynamics behind it.

[LittlePig]

Tom, I have to disagree. One hears "corporate whores" in regards to executive management of corporations (or to the corporations themselves). I've heard it often applied to Joe Lieberman, and I've never mistaken Joe for a female. While concern for true sexism is legitimate, I don't think the answer is to make a word often applied to men off-limits to a woman simply because she is female.

[Tom W.]

Yeah but LP, he didn't say corporate whore - that was Howie - he said "working girl's working girl" - it wasn't all that allegorical and it clearly referred to a sex act. Plus, if you looked closely at the post, he also inferred that she was too ugly to find a sexual partner. C'mon, that's blatant misogyny - clearly anti-feminist agenda goin' on.

[TRex]

"UPDATE II: The grown-ups at FDL have been busy. The C-word has been edited out of the post."

That was my decision, Tom. I decided I would rather refer to Miss Ingraham as a Bitch Troll from Hell.

You, on the other hand, are a miserable little cunt.

[Tom W.]

And you TRex (he sputtered) you're nothing but a...

Ah, you thought you had me there - what a clever little strategy you had going there, pallie.

Pass.

Oh, but here's one thing, you weren't brave enough to put my comment up on your post, were you?

[blue girl]

#1: I think everyone should take their mom's advice and just watch their mouths.

All of you!

It's true that calling her a "whore" because she kisses up to this or that means she's a "whore" in a certain way. But, when people hear that, they hear the working girl meaning of "whore" as it relates to a female, right off the bat. It's easier to hear it the "intellectual" (if you can call it that) way faster when it's being said about a male. (Even though I don't hear it used that way that much.)

And #2: If you want everyone to consider the "intellectual" meaning behind the word "whore" or whatever, then you should take your old English teacher's advice and stop using cheap and easy words when, if you just work a little harder, you'll find that a smarter, better, more "intellectual" word just might help make your point in a stronger way.

That is, because women automatically have less power, being a society in which they still make cents to a man's dollar.

Not all women, noexcuses, not all.

[TRex]

"Oh, but here's one thing, you weren't brave enough to put my comment up on your post, were you?"

Don't let the Wolcott link go to your head, Ned Flanders. You don't rate that kind of placement on our blog.

[Lance Mannion]

Using the c-word outside of the bedroom and without love is a failure of imagination, no matter the politics of the person resorting to it. Using the c-word as if it most people don't find it rude if not out and out offensive is beyond impolite, it's anti-social, no matter the politics of the person using the word.

Defending one's use of an offensive word or telling an offensive joke or otherwise being offensive by claiming that one has the right politics is a.)sanctimonious, b.)not a real excuse, and c.)bullshit---why should anybody believe you have the right politics? Online all any of us are is the words we use. We define ourselves by what we say. Our actions offline are unknowable to our readers. They can only judge us by what we say, and if we're calling women we don't like---or bloggers who are smarter than us and better writers than us and who have called us on our blunder---cunts, we are as far as anybody reading can tell just louts who call women cunts.

[Eric Martin]

I'm with you Tom. C*** is an unacceptable word designed to belittle women for being women. As far as the "coopted" word argument mentioned above goes, that justification depends on the context and usage.

If one affectionately refers to one's friend as a c*** or, where applicable, n*****, then that person may get a pass (depending on the speaker's own status). That is not how c*** or even whore was used here though. That makes all the difference.

To be honest, I think that the Left, and people in general, are more comfortable with sexism than racism or other forms of prejudice. A shame that. John Lennon wrote a telling song about it.

Also a shame that TRex decided to handle the matter in such an utterly unproductive and childish manner.

I too am an FDL fan by the way.

[Tom W.]

Okeley dokeley, neighbor.

[Matt Browner Hamlin]

TRex responded to his commenters complaint and fixed the post. That seems to me the action of someone who actually does care about what his word choice represented. What result would you want otherwise Tom?

No defense of him coming here and calling you names. My guess is that his sign off here was more than a little tongue in cheek.

[Eric Martin]

Don't let the Wolcott link go to your head, Ned Flanders. You don't rate that kind of placement on our blog.

Wait, Tom's listed in the blogroll, but not big enough to get a comment posted on a thread?

huh.

[Tom W.]

Eric, brilliant reference - so I'm dropping in the full lyrics - it's a tough song to listen to, and a bit dated (1972 I think) but it's always been one of my personal faves too:

Woman is the Nigger of the World
John Lennon

Woman is the nigger of the world
Yes she is...think about it
Woman is the nigger of the world
Think about it...do something about it

We make her paint her face and dance
If she won’t be slave, we say that she don’t love us
If she’s real, we say she’s trying to be a man
While putting her down we pretend that she is above us

Woman is the nigger of the world...yes she is
If you don’t belive me take a look to the one you’re with
Woman is the slaves of the slaves
Ah yeah...better screem about it

We make her bear and raise our children
And then we leave her flat for being a fat old mother then
We tell her home is the only place she would be
Then we complain that she’s too unworldly to be our friend

Woman is the nigger of the world...yes she is
If you don’t believe me take a look to the one you’re with
Woman is the slaves of the slaves
Yeah (think about it)

We insult her everyday on TV
And wonder why she has no guts or confidence
When she’s young we kill her will to be free
While telling her not to be so smart we put her down for being so dumb

Woman is the nigger of the world...yes she is
If you don’t belive me take a look to the one you’re with
Woman is the slaves of the slaves
Yes she is...if you belive me, you better screem about it.

We make her paint her face and dance
We make her paint her face and dance
We make her paint her face and dance

[Tom W.]

Matt, yeah that's true - but my original post (and the others in the series) was about a much broader pattern, and not really just about TRex either. I think Eric's onto something - we accept sexism far too easily in discussions of politics. Then we're shocked - shocked! - when the right injects sex into the process. It doesn't wash, whether it's Mo Dowd or old TRex.

[Matt Browner Hamlin]

I guess that I have a problem with false equivalences. I'm solidly in favor of making sure all self-identified liberals are respective of how diction speaks towards our beliefs (as well as how we fail to represent ourselves well with our words).

But two stray bashings of woman on FDL are not the same of the systemic hatred directed from (to circumscribe this comment to blogs) right wing blogs. I'm not apologizing for Pach and TRex's word choice, but I'm also more concerned about what is wide-spread on the right. I don't think it likely that these two instances are indicative of a problem that merits addressing on par with sexism and misogyny emanating from the right.

[Tom W.]

Matt, no question that sexism and misogyny are more pronounced on the right (at least I think so) but this is upsetting, from Mo Dowd's code words in her columns to the more bluntly-worded diatribes on FDL. Nowhere have I argued the amounts are the same - but the style, the vitriol, the anti-feminism IS the same. Sadly. And I like FDL, I'm on there several times a week. But there's a pattern.