Talking about Misogyny: Why is the Mainstream Media Mostly Silent?

I wanted to respond to this part:

Why aren’t more women in influential positions using their stature to speak out against sexism? Why do men who write about find themselves facing fewer attacks on their intelligence and character? What can we do to remedy the situation, if anything?

I think that a good place where we all can start is to turn to more independently-run news sources for our information, rather than bigtime sources, which tend to gravitate to a male perspective.

The best part is, you're getting the same news.

Sites like WomenCo ( http://www.womenco.com ) employer editors who will probably respond to you on the same day you write. Since they hand-select the news posted on the site, they take customer feedback very serious. How many times have New York Times editors responded to your complaints?

Moreover, turn to blogs. Jezebel ( http://www.jezebel.com ) and blog-friendly sites like Fempire ( http://www.fempire.com ) will summarize and respond critically to mainstream news articles.

Hope this helps a little bit!
Kylie,
WomenCo ( http://www.womenco.com ).com

A woman pointing out the insidious and all-pervasive nature of sexism would be akin to an African-American decrying racism in the sixties. Too close, too rooted: too suspect. Can someone who bears the cultural freight of the 'shrew' and all the rest be credible enough to be believed when she speaks on her own behalf? I think not. Women can't be authorities on misogyny because of the beast itself: a public figure would be immediately relegated to the category of ungrateful, shew, bitch.

Herbert is an eloquent spokesperson on equality's behalf. Someday maybe a woman's voice will sound with the same authority on this particular topic. Not yet.

I think that people who champion issues for other groups are less likely to receive attacks than if they are members of that group. For instance, I think that when whites write about problems with racism they are less likely to receive flak.

I'm thrilled that someone with such a large reach uses his forum as Bob Herbert does. It's refreshing to read articles about such a prevelent issue as misogny addressed to a national audience. For a topic which is so significant, it receives very little coverage. (Thanks also for your work in this area Suzanne -- reading stuff like this helps to keep me sane.)

As to why prominent women don't discuss the problem more often....I might be jaded because of where I live (Texas) but it seems to me that feminism has not been doing well these past several years. I've heard more women claim not to be feminists (as though not wanting to align themselves with extremists) than say that they are.

It seems that socially, feminism as be downgraded to a minor issue -- less serious than "real" forms of bigotry like racism or anti-Semitism. People don't seem to see that all bigotry is the same, regardless of how it is expressed.

Attacks on feminism have been very effective. Women are so afraid of being called "man-haters" that they're afraid to voice a complaint. (Why are blacks never called "white haters" when they complain about racism?) Or they're afraid that people will assume that they're lesbians. It's all so ridiculous.

Your last question is the best. How can we make things better? I think we have to organize better. Women who put themselves out there need to feel the support of others who share their ideas. Now, people that do are often on their own and often all they get back are the attacks from those that want to "keep women in their place".

For instance, there was another op-ed in the NYT recently by Gloria Steinem. I didn't see a lot (any, actually) of support for her piece about sexism and Hillary Clinton. Even if you don't like Hillary Clinton or were bothered by her comparisons with the progress made in the Civil Rights movement versus the Women's movement, her comments about misogny in the political progress were not wrong. And though I think it was sort of lost in the overall piece, her message that misogny and racism are both forms of bigotry that were once fought together and should be again was a good one.

I'd love to see Hillary chatting up the ERA, health care, education, parental leave, etc, but the problem is she would be seriously tuned out.

Polls show that men overwhelmingly refuse to give her time of day, which leaves it to us if she is to get elected. Whilst we are a majority of the electorate, women are far more divided on this then men are. We won't give a second's thought on voting for a guy. Neither will guys give such thought to a woman running, they simply won't do it.

Like it or not, the power in this nation rests with men, and men won't welcome women as equals other than in abstract terms. In tangible terms, they will resist. So when a guy comes along who can articulate a pov we can embrace, we'll make a world of noise in promoting that pov. Is that particular pov more worthy than what we can write? No... but we write to each other, unless it is so radical it stirs the ridicule machine that will use it to portray feminists as falling in the usual stereotypes.

I guess there is something to be said for familiarity... get people used to the idea of women in elective office. We can start reshaping policy over time.

nelle ( http://www.nelle2nelle.org/ )

I don't know, but my guess is that women of influence are working so hard to get and maintain their position that they may not have the energy to devote to fighting the good fight as well. Or they may not want to draw negative attention to themselves, and you know that anyone who gets tarred with the femininst brush suffers because of it.

This is not just a sexist culture, it is largely a sexist world, and everyone, men and women, are hurt by that. Men as well as women are prevented from the full expression of their potential by sexism and misogyny. Being a man and being a woman are both difficult, highly charged paths, each with their own perils.