Boys bite beast
Singing the praises of feminist men who ‘get it’
By Ellen Snortland 08/20/2009
Traitors to the cause of white male privilege, there are quite a few unsung men of feminist values in the world. So why aren’t we singing the praises of these too few good men? Patriarchy is a system that is a “beast” and doesn’t reward the boys that bite the hand that feeds it. In a glaring exception to the rule, New York Times columnist Bob Herbert recently wrote a stunning anti-sexist piece. It’s rare that a person with such valuable newspaper real estate will have the guts to out himself as a feminist — or at least feminist sympathizer. Essentially, Herbert trumpets a heartfelt clarion call for people to wake up to the mostly hidden, unarticulated misogyny in the USA, using the incidents of mass slaughter of women and girls as proof of its pervasiveness. (Read Bob Herbert’s op-ed piece at http://tinyurl.com/l79ks8).
Herbert writes: “We have become so accustomed to living in a society saturated with misogyny that the barbaric treatment of women and girls has come to be more or less expected. We profess to being shocked at one or another of these outlandish crimes, but the shock wears off quickly in an environment in which the rape, murder and humiliation of females is not only a staple of the news, but an important cornerstone of the nation’s entertainment.”
Indeed. What makes Herbert’s observations more credible than the hundreds, perhaps thousands of women — journalists, scholars, activists, self-defense advocates — who have been saying the same thing for 30 years in articles, books and sometimes even television? He’s a MAN!
Even Herbert’s own paper, The New York Times, the so-called “Gray Lady” with its “All the news that’s fit to print” motto, has shockingly few regular female opinion columnists. Gail Collins became the first female editorial page editor in 2001! She now has a regular column. Ooh, let’s not get too modern, Gray Lady!
Opinion pages are very, very powerful in shaping the national discourse. Although the Times is criticized for being a liberal paper, it can be predictably counted on to leave women out. As a news organization, you could say it preaches to the already male-dominant “choir.” If you leave out half the choir — sopranos, mezzos and altos — you get a very odd bass and tenor tune that becomes the norm. If you have a dominant male worldview, it’s easy to be oblivious to the experience, concerns, fears, neglectful and often violent treatment of the rest of us. I say denying public voice to women is an act of neglect and creates an environment conducive to violence.
Besides Collins, who possesses a tempered and thoughtful voice, there is only one other regular female Times columnist: Maureen Dowd. Dowd is a very high soprano — I can barely hide my contempt here, so I won’t really try — who is so strident, sharp and snarky, one wonders how she ever got a column anywhere, let alone in the country’s prestige paper. If I had her tone as a feminist, I’d never be listened to ANYWHERE, let alone in a national publication. But, since she’s rather predictably “anti-feminist,” she gets to sing her song on a regular basis. (She’s so anti-Clinton — both of them — that she comes off as a spurned lover in her hatred toward them. So odd.)
So kudos to the Times for running Collins, Herbert and Nicholas Kristof as regulars. Kristof especially is a voice for the largely voiceless women of the world. While I’d like to see him address domestic misogyny more, he’s a true champion for women and girls of the developing world and really “gets” the tragic waste of treating females of the world as chattel and beasts of burden.
In some societies and in our own recent history, a woman’s testimony in court counted for only half of what a man’s did. Herbert’s “witnessing” of misogyny carries far more weight in modern journalism than any woman’s. Just as African slaves needed the voices of white privilege to help them win their freedom, women and girls need men and boys who are willing to articulate the injustice they see toward their mothers, sisters, daughters and wives. Please sing out, men. Louder. More often. Help the women singers be heard, too.
P.S. — On Sunday, join me at All Saints Church for a short talk on self-defense and a demonstration by Megan Norwood of “Girls Fight Back.” The Lily Burk murder has left a lot of people fearful and uncertain. Megan and I will give you and your teens easy-to-learn ways to trust intuition, how to be a “bad” victim and resist violence safely. Knowledge of personal security skills will provide more freedom, confidence and awareness — and help parents feel more secure. All are welcome, from 10:15 to 11 a.m. at All Saints Church, 132 N. Euclid Ave., Pasadena.
Ellen Snortland is the author of “Beauty Bites Beast” and coaches writers. Reach her at snortland.com
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