Newshog's best friend and secret, Kat, sends us mails with news we might not have seen and often includes thought-provoking comments of her own. I wish we could convince her to blog for Newshog regularly. Today, her mail was so spot on that I'm going to include it here.
Would you mind humoring me for just a couple of minutes? Please? This is probably going to seem dumb, but it may not be a complete waste of your time, since it could easily lead to a Newshog post. Of course I'm going to explain what I'm on about below, but if you decide to humor me, for the moment I'd really appreciate it if you would restrain your natural curiosity (i.e. refrain from scrolling down to my explanation), and just take this as it comes.
I just want you to (mentally) name a few influential people - say, around 4 to 10 people - in each of the categories I'm going to ask about. I won't even ask you to write down any of the names that come to mind, but I do want you to jot down the number of people you name in each category. In other words, if I were doing this myself, for each question I would just count off whoever comes to mind on my fingers, and then jot down the total. If no one comes to mind for a particular question, don't strain your brain - just skip it. Oh yeah - please, don't name anybody more than once, and don't name anyone not currently living.
Who are (or who do you think are)...?
1. ...the most influential members of the Bush administration?
2. ...the most influential members of the Senate?
3. ...the most influential members of the House?
4. ...the most influential people in the Republican party?
5. ...the most influential people in the Democratic party?
6. ...most likely Rep. candidates for the presidency in '08?
7. ...most likely Dem. candidates for the presidency in '08?
8. ...the most influential right wing bloggers in the US?
9. ...the most influential left wing bloggers in the US?
10. ..the most influential op/ed (print) columnists in the US?
11. ...the most influential tv news people (whether anchors, reporters or pundits) in the US?
12. ...a few of the most influential religious/spiritual figures (I won't call 'em 'leaders') in the US?
13. ...a few other influential people in the US who aren't (or, are no longer) primarily thought of as being associated with either politics or religion?
14. ...a few of the most influential scientists in the US?
15. ...a few of the most influential business people in the US - or most well-known or successful, if influence per se doesn't come to mind?
16. ...a few of the most influential - or most well-known - academics in the US?
17. ...a few of the most influential US people in NGOs (in the broadest sense of that term, including every org. from Greenpeace to the Red Cross, etc.), if any?
18. ...a few of the most influential authors/writers in the US (regardless of genre)?
19. ...a few influential people in other departments of the US government, or in state governments?
20. ...a few people, in any area not covered by any of the above, who are influential on a national level?
Okay, now add up the total number of people you named.
Now, out of that total, how many of the people you named were female?
Condi, Hillary, Nancy, and Oprah probably made the list. Did any others? No? If not, don't worry about it - I can't think of any others either. The only reason Maya Angelou (sp?) came to mind, as a possible dark horse in the writers category, is not because I've actually read any of her stuff, or think she's influential, but because Oprah's been drilling her name into viewers' heads for years. Even if you managed to think of a couple of others, there were probably no more than 6 nationally influential females on your list - out of 300 million people, and from every arena of our society combined. And, no, I'm not surprised by this, and I know you aren't either. We may not overtly think about it very often, but we're all subliminally well-aware that, in our society, this is considered normal - even natural. So what's my point?
Well, as I was pondering whether or not to send you Bob Herbert's Sunday nytimes editorial 'Why Aren't We Shocked', I initially thought (probably due to a caffeine deficiency), 'this isn't exactly political news - although it should be.' But then the coffee began to kick in, and I realized just how political it actually is. At which point I became annoyed with Herbert because, as good a job as he's done of pointing out the cause, he gives short shrift to the effects.
As Herbert says in the editorial, and says well, "...we have become so accustomed to living in a society saturated with misogyny that violence against females is more or less to be expected. ...The disrespectful, degrading, contemptuous treatment of women is so pervasive and so mainstream that it has just about lost its ability to shock. ...We're all implicated in this carnage because the relentless violence against women and girls is linked at its core to the wider society's casual willingness to dehumanize women and girls, to see them first and foremost as sexual vessels ” objects” and never, ever as the equals of men."
Although Herbert includes a plethora of appauling examples to drive home his point, he completely fails to mention this hugely important effect: 'a society saturated with mysogyny' is utterly unable to perceive women in general as leaders - in any field of endeavor. Which is why, out of a population of 300m, only half a dozen or so women have managed, individually, to become nationally influential despite our society's persistent and overwhelming mysogyny towards females in general. Although I haven't paid much attention to what's been said about Pelosi, I know that Condi, Hillary, and Oprah have all had to endure many years of relentless personal attacks - attacks which have included everything from their choice of hair style and clothing to accusations of lesbianism and/or sexual frigidity. And the situation is progressively getting worse rather than better. A few decades ago, females at least had a few admirable fictional role models such as Nancy Drew, Supergirl, and Wonder Woman. But today, with only this handful of beleaguered women serving as role models of female leadership (amidst a veritable media deluge of pop-culture 'heroines' such as Paris Hilton), how could society's mysogyny be anything other than self-perpetuating?
Excellent stuff, Kat. Thank you, sincerely. C
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