Female Pundits Could Use Help With Hate Mail

[Triana]

(WOMENSENEWS)--As a young woman, I stepped out into the treacherous waters of opinion journalism, and was amazed by the lack of civil discourse and the intensity of personal attacks that I received via e-mail, letters to the editor and on Web postings.

Subjects such as women's issues, racism, anti-war politics, environmental matters and virtually any topic deemed "liberal" inspired some vitriolic comments from readers that I will mention here.

I was called everything from "bitch" to "whore" and was often addressed as "sweetie" or "honey" before a launch of expletives. Most attackers took the position that I was just a cute, dumb college student (even though I was in my late 20s) in an effort to discredit me and I was most reliably attacked by a collection of right-wing Web sites and right-wing men who sent me letters.

...

Do Men Get the Same?

Do men get the same? I asked David Yepsen, who is white, male, centrist and also a columnist at the Register. He says he is called an asshole from time to time and received a death threat once, but Yepsen felt readers had paid their quarter and were entitled to an opinion. "I've heard Rekha was called a Hindu-worshipping slut and things like that. I've never gotten anything on par with that," he said.

...MORE
http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm?aid=2751

[reichstag911]

1. They hate women...

...because they know their shortcomings -- intellectual, sexual and otherwise -- and so must resort to crude, gender-specific vitriol. Simple enough.

[Warpy]

2. Well, women are more likely to get the sexual slurs

that try to reduce them to an obscenely named body part. Women are also likelier to get death threats, guess they think we're easier to scare off.

However, I've read a sample of Morford's mail, something he used to provide his mailing list a few years ago, and it seems like he's gotten equivalent nastiness from Freeptards who would rather screech insults than think things through.

Or just go through the selections at the DU Hate Mailbag. There's plenty there for Skinner, Earl G. and Elad.

Any woman who has ever held an opinion outside a "Father Knows Best" script has had to develop a pretty thick skin.

I have a hide like a rhino.

[reichstag911]

5. "A hide like a rhino?"

Can I get some of that, my ostrich-skin boots are wearing out... :eyes::hide:

[cornflake_31]

3. Nothing threatens the Right

More than an educated well spoken woman. Like her or hate her, that is why the republicans despise Hilary. She won't, "Know her place". Barefoot, uneducated, and pregnant is how they prefer their women.

[Triana]

11. Exactly. They like their 'wimmin'

modest, submissive, silent, and if speaking at all, brief (very brief)

church
children
kitchen

that's where they like 'em

[redqueen]

4. Of course men don't get the same... after all...

"nothing worse than a WOMAN know it all", right tweety? What really sickens me is knowing a woman who agrees with that lunacy.

Don't know what it'll take before women are thought of as equals and not less-than. Doubt I'll live to see the day...

[Triana]

6. We won't see that day...

...look at the regressive party that runs this country. They're part of the problem. It will take 150 years just to get out of that mess -- and women and their issues are at the bottom of the priority list. UNLESS a progressive woman is elected President -- however, that's a catch-22 situation.

[TheWraith]

7. I think that you need to decide what you're looking for.

If you're waiting for every single person in the country or the world to agree with your personal platform, you're going to be waiting a very long time.

If you're looking for simple equality, congratulations, you've got it. Nobody gets to have everybody respect them, and that applies to you too, but for nine people out of ten you're as equal as the next.

And by the way, men get plenty of hate mail for editorials too. I speak from personal experience. It's not a thing that's unique to women. The only advice I can offer is that if they're shooting at you, you know you're doing something right.

[redqueen]

8. "If you're looking for simple equality, congratulations, you've got it."

You have got to be $#&@*^% kidding me.

[lukasahero]

9. You will notice of course it's "You've got it" not

"we've got it"

'Nuff said.



Edited because I can't type.

[Triana]

10. women catch more crap than men...

...for having strong opinions -- particularly about politics. The article clearly points that out. That has also been my experience IRL. Women are generally disregarded or disparaged in much harsher ways than men for speaking out - especially about certain subjects. Politics is one of them.

Men get a LOT more respect than women. Not to say they never get hate mail but they get less of it it's not nearly as harsh. Women are supposed to sit down, shut up, and take crap from people. Men, on the other hand, are often thought of in positive terms for being assertive, forceful and opinionated. Women are not - and they are disparaged in much more harsh and negative ways.

Most conservative men dislike opinionated (ie: "uppity") women -- and the first thing they do is try to threaten and bully them into silence. They don't try so often to bully other men that way. Not to say they don't but they are much more likely to try to silence a woman than another man whom they disagree with.

You can say you have personal experience. So do I. And mine has been exactly as the article states -- and then some.

Women (including myself) DO NOT have equality, simple or otherwise, in this society. And, being 2006 already, that is a sad, disgusting, inexcusable state of affairs for this country.

Sorry, but I strongly disagree with you.

[femrap]

14. I have noticed that women get insults related to

their to their physical appearance or clothing....men rarely get this. And those insults are vicious....only rhino skin could protect! Not that men don't deserve 'equal' treatment regarding their bodies, hair, clothing, and appendages....I am always amazed when I see a picture of the newly retired CEO of Exxon/Mobil....OMG he could star in a Mobster/Sci-Fi movie. Amazing that someone that ugly could become CEO of a major company....and no one mention it.....that I've heard.

But I guess if you get $400 MILLION on retirement, people pretty much just say 'Yes sir and no sir' to him.

[Triana]

15. I know what ya mean...

...a woman that hideous would never get that far. Maybe some do but it's extremely rare because we're expected to look good. Men aren't. They're supposed to be ogres - especially if they're rich.

[Captain Hilts]

12. The WP says women get more vicious hate mail.

It reminds me of how I was told at university that the typical grievance against a faculty member was a young, male student vs. a female professor. Well over half.

[femrap]

13. I believe that....I met a woman professor and she

told me that her male students were absolutely vile to her. And her Chair did nothing. Figures, huh?

[Triana]

16. Where do they learn this shit?

Where does disregard, disrespect and denigration of women start? Parents? School? Society? Where do they most learn that 'women are inferior' and they are to be controlled, intimidated, and despised?

[femrap]

18. I still think that the denigration of women starts with a very

insecure bully. It's as if they can't consider themselves men unless they are opposing and oppressing women.

Of course our culture does nothing in the way of teaching a boy how to be a man/gentleman. All it says is: "Whatever you do, don't be the least bit feminine.' It teaches males to hate women.

How stupid.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

19. That was my experience, too

The last year I taught, I had some real misogynistic jock business major types in my first-year class. They griped about everything and anything, and sat there with bored, put-out expressions on their faces--when they weren't whispering snide remarks to each other. Their student evaluations were absolutely vicious. (I got good evalutions from the women students and the more intelligent men students.)

Then the department started bringing in my potential replacements to give demonstration classes. The first candidate was a man who was absolutely the worst classroom teacher I have ever seen, and it wasn't just my imagination, either, because the dean and the rest of the faculty all commented on his ineptness. Yet my snarky jock students were absolutely focused on him, as if he was the greatest stage presence they had ever seen.

It was as if they were programmed to pay rapt attention to any large, squarely-built male.

I really liked a lot of my students, but those sexist little creeps were enough to ruin the whole experience.

[Triana]

17. Just as a for-instance: Natalie Maines of Dixie Chicks

Granted, she isn't a "pundit". But she IS a women artist who is outspoken about politics and just LOOK at what she and the Chicks have had to endure just because they dared speak out:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1274932

In contrast, let's look at Moby, who is an artist/musician who is also outspoken about politics and is a progressive/liberal. He's sort of the male equivalent (ie: politically outspoken artist/musician) of Natalie Maines. In fact Moby is even more outspoken - posting to his online journal almost daily about political issues and he just initiated a campaign about Net Neutrality.

Do we hear about HIM getting hate mail and death threats of the type and caliber the Dixie Chicks and Natalie Maines get?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...The DIFFERENCE?

MOBY is a GUY. Don't get me wrong I LOVE MOBY. But just to compare and contrast what happens when WOMEN speak out vs when MEN speak out.

WOMEN get daily harassment, hate, death threats, and vitriol, and men get little to nothing except maybe called an asshole, crackpot, or some strong disagreement - once in a while. There's a huge chasm between the two.

I'm just sayin...this article is RIGHT ON.