Women Over 40 Rock!

Sexism. Oh yeah, it’s alive and brought to you this primary season by cable news and their staff of commentator/comedians. We’ve witnessed sexism as one big joke brought to you by the good ole boys club. It’s in Tucker Carlson’s remark about Hillary on MSNBC, “When she comes on TV, I involuntarily cross my legs.” Really hilarious, Tucker. It’s Chris Matthews chuckling as he wondered whether Nancy Pelosi will castrate Democratic Majority Leader, Steny Hoyer. It’s Fox News’ Marc Rudov’s comment, “When Hillary Clinton speaks, men hear ‘take out the garbage’.” Oh yeah, that’s a side-splitter. There was Chris Matthews on MSNBC teasingly calling Hillary a “she-devil”. On-screen a picture appeared of Hillary sprouting horns. Kind of sophomoric, wouldn’t you say?! Or the all male panel on Morning Joe laughing as MSNBC’s Mike Barnicle described Hillary as “looking like everyone’s first wife standing outside a probate court”. And Chris Matthews (again) suggesting that Clinton is not “a convincing mom” and said “modern women” like Clinton are unacceptable to “Midwest guys.” It was the Hillary nut cracker; the iron my shirts signs and the casual use of the ‘b’ word. At times it felt like we were back in the’60’s, certainly not the ‘70’s when no one dared to utter the “b” word in public commentary. It seems that we’ve gone backwards.
Turning sexist comments into “a joke” has allowed men to get away with this brand of humor. It’s harder to combat because the put-downs are said as a tease. It’s just the guys having a little fun. Not only is it tough to combat the on-air boys’ club but it’s tough to deal with sexism in the work place. The ‘b’ word and the hated ‘c’ word have openly invaded the work place and good luck making a complaint. Object to a sexist comment and you’re made fun of or you get the eye-roll, implying you’re one of those strident, feminist party-poopers. If you can’t take the comment, then maybe you shouldn’t try to play with the big boys. If you can’t take the comment maybe you can’t handle the rough banter of the locker room. You’re a whinny woman who can’t laugh at herself and take a little joke. You don’t ‘get’ the art of the male put down and, finally, you’re too humorless to play with the big boys. But really what it’s saying to women is – we don’t respect you and we don’t want you here.
What surprised me about the rabid personal attacks on Hillary was the lack of outcry from other women politicians and from the Democratic Party. But the good news is that her campaign has re-united women. The Women’s Media Center has put together a video “Sexism Sells, But We’re Not Buying.” They are also aggressively working to stamp out sexism in the media. In a New York Times article “Media Charged with Sexism in Clinton Coverage” I learned that The National Organization for Women and Emily’s list “are generating e-mail campaigns to the cable channels when they see sexism.”
So, while we won’t have a woman president in 2009, Hillary’s campaign has brought women together. In her moving speech suspending her campaign, Hillary said, “Although we weren’t able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it’s got about eighteen million cracks in it. And the light is shining through like never before, filling us all with the hope and the sure knowledge that the path will be a little easier next time. That has always been the history of progress in America.” What we’ve learned from Hillary’s campaign is that there remains a lot of work to do regarding women’s issues. And that includes making our sons feel confident about themselves so they don’t have to participate in female put downs like the insecure cable news commentator/comedians.

Jan Bina, blogger for In the Trenches Productions Website, the first entertainment website that celebrates the power and beauty of women over 40.