It’s time to acknowledge the obvious: liberals have a sexist remark problem. It started, of course, with the many sexist slurs directed at Hillary Clinton during the 2008 campaign by liberal commentators like Keith Olbermann and Maureen Dowd. Earlier this year, there was Democratic governor Brian Schweitzer praising then-Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe as someone who, “when there’s a bump in the road, he’s not going to cry like a girl and quit.” Then a few weeks ago, Olbermann was back, calling right-wing blogger Michelle Malkin “a big mashed-up bag of meat with lipstick on it.” (As Air America points out, once every 24 minutes in this country, a woman is killed as a result of domestic abuse, making Olbermann’s comment both sexist and macabre.) Finally, last week, New York Senator Chuck Schumer used the “b” word (to fellow New York Senator Kirsten Gillebrand, no less!) to refer to a female flight attendant who committed the sin of asking him to turn off his cell phone like everyone else on his flight.
Political conservatives have deftly used these incidents to call liberals hypocrites on gender issues. (In fact, the Schumer episode was reported to the press by a Republican aide who was on the flight.) Of course, conservative leaders are the ones who banned funding for international family planning programs, support court decisions that uphold gender discrimination in the workplace (like the Supreme Court’s Lilly Ledbetter decision), and oppose laws requiring equal pay for equal work. And of course, the sexist comments from right-wing politicians and commentators directed at woman political leaders fly thick and fast (and are ignored by the same conservatives who decry liberal sexism).
There’s a reason why sexist remarks are crossing party lines—our culture tolerates them.
Stopping sexist remarks is not tangential to working for equality. It is critical to creating a world in which girls and women believe that they have the same opportunities to succeed as men because they don’t continually hear demeaning language directed at women. This is especially important for boys and girls growing up today, who are watching our example.
We might all benefit from sustained training on responding to sexist remarks—so that our actions start to match our beliefs. (In fact, a recent research project found that children—both boys and girls—can learn to respond to sexist comments.) But until that kind of resource is widely accessible, we have to offer training in the moment, every day, by being willing to stand up to sexist remarks, especially those made by people who are on our side politically—whatever our political leanings may be.
Steve
