SIVACRACY.NET

UPDATE:

Ann did a great job on this issue back in late May, and I am ashamed to say that I missed it then. Serves me right for trying to catch up too sloppily. -- Siva

UPDATE TO UPDATE:

Your host here at Sivacracy is so dumb that he did not even read his own blog. -- Siva

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Kathy at the the G Spot ponders about the troubling case of Michelle Obama and the silence of the feminists:

... As Tami notes, the feminist blogosphere has largely ignored the extremely nasty racism, sexism, and character assassination that has been targeted at Michelle Obama. Worse, some "feminists" have themselves gleefully joined in the Michelle-bashing. Tami quotes one Hillary supporter who wrote a vitriolic post about Michelle with the charming title, "God Damn Michelle Obama"; among other things, the writer takes a cheap shot at Michelle's physical appearance. Tami also cites a post by another Hillary supporter who attacks Barack for somehow being less than a man; it's the typically vicious, catty, and extremely sexist Maureen Dowd dealio.

This kind of crap from people who, like Michelle, are Democrats and feminists saddens me. That the right would pull this kind of shit was a no-brainer, but it's more painful when it comes from people you think are your allies. I guess it shouldn't surprise me, though. When I wrote an earlier post about the attacks on Michelle, I got a couple of troll-riffic commenters who more or less said that bashing Michelle was a-okay with them, and as best I could tell, those commenters were Democrats.

I have to say that the manipulated news video that we talked about here a few weeks ago, in which Michelle Obama was falsely accused of criticizing Sen. Clinton for her husband's indiscretions (when Obama clearly did no such thing yet was accused of it by sleazy and incompetent local news casters who like to make stuff up) is a great example of this. Falsely pitting women against women for the sake a cheap points is shameful.

The fact is, there was more than one feminist in this race for the nomination. There was more than one victim of sexism as well. In fact, we all suffer from it. Sexism diminishes us all.

The deplorable treatment of women in American politics (not to mention real life) is nothing new and not likely to end soon. No one should be surprised that Chris Matthews or anyone on CNN or Fox "News" embraces sexism as their default rhetorical position. No one should be surprised that otherwise liberal male bloggers revert to sexism as well. But the fact that sexism pervades everything, including liberal and Democratic loudmouth culture, should not be an argument for or against any particular candidate.

It's not about the candidates.

As Echidne of the Snakes writes:

The sexism is not bad, because it might hurt Hillary Clinton, just as the racism is not bad, because it might hurt Barack Obama. Not really.

That is a narrow and cramped and, dare I say it?, elitist view of what is going on, a view which revolves around the people in power and their political strategies and tactics. It is also a view which ignores the real problem altogether, this:

The sexist comments and the racist slurs are bad, because they are being washed, re-clad in Armani, presented back in high society, made to look innocent, and after all this they will be cropping up much more frequently everywhere, aimed at everyone who qualifies to be their victim. THAT's what is bad about them.

How can I make that any stronger and clearer? It can be any of us women or any person of color or both that will suffer from the new domestication of sexist and racists taunts. Any Of Us.

I have not written about the sexism in these Democratic Primaries in order to protect Hillary Clinton. She looks fairly well equipped to protect herself. I have written about it because sexism hurts all women, all little girls, all old ladies, women everywhere.

Gah. Perhaps what I'm talking about is still totally unclear. But if you read widely on this topic on blogs you will find that even many feminists have this view that the sexism is not really deplorable, because Hillary Clinton really is a monster bitch. That the dangers of the sexism really have nothing to do with Hillary Clinton should be made much more obvious. And no, voting for someone else will not save a woman voter from that sexism that is being incubated right now.