Lady blog Jezebel has really gone off the rails on this one. After writing a piece about the supposed female oppression in the workplace at The Daily Show, bloggers and finally the women of the Daily Show themselves disagreed. But it was an article in Slate that set off this headline: Jealous Bitches Start Face-Clawing Catfight! This could’ve been funny if the rest of the article was, but it wasn’t. Instead it was a litany of whiny complaints written by a writer with hurt feelings. Blech.
Worst of all, the controversy has lead to Olivia Munn (who is at the center of TDS controversy for possibly being hired because of her looks), to reiterate how she’s not a feminist. Given the treatment she’s been given by Jez, I can’t say I blame her. It’s this exact hypocrisy–that women shouldn’t be judged on their looks unless they’re pretty–that leads women to fear the label. It’s as if to really qualify as a card carrying feminist, ya gotta be a little ugly.
Of course pretty people make it on TV. D’uh. If anything, all this attention will allow an un-funny Munn to last a little longer at TDS. (I have no opinion on this, btw, and I’m not interested enough to search out and review her clips online. Interestingly, she told Salon how Jezebel was using her name to spike their own popularity, but I’d never heard of her before.) Ultimately I don’t think this will matter much except that I suspect a better deal will come along soon for her.
Feminism is about stuff like workplace equality–the number of women on staff and their pay. Legislating the culture of that workplace is another matter, and not one that I think should fall under the feminism banner, as it affects men and women. Once we get in the room, it’s up to us. Yep, we can sue for sexism, and that’s a great threat to have (one which no one at TDS has actually used), but for most of us work is just what we make it. One of my favorite sayings is, if you liked high school, you’ll love work.
Meanwhile, as we arty, liberal elite engage in this tempest in a teacup, wackjobs like Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck are out there redefining the terms. Yes, personal empowerment is an end result of feminism, but it is not the thing itself. I want to keep my personal choices, thank you very much, and not because–Palin or Munn or anybody else has made feminism look prettier. Maybe because I hated high school.
