Quick Hit: Defending Michelle
Check out Jess' great piece about Michelle Obama and sexist media in the Guardian. It's nice to know that Jess is the one reppin' American feminism across the pond. An excerpt:
When Clinton was still campaigning I received daily emails from various women's organisations, furious about the way the media was treating their candidate. These days, however, my inbox is fairly empty. And the press releases and action alerts I do get about Michelle Obama seem to lack the outrage and fervour of past Clinton-focused statements.That's not to say women's organisations aren't up to the task. The National Organisation for Women, for instance, has shifted the focus of their Media Hall of Shame to attacks on Obama. But feminists should be up in arms. Because as shameful as the treatment they're getting is, our silence is even more so.
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Hi Courtney,
I would find it easier to support the women who is a lawyer and was once our candidates mentor if only she would stop playing the "quiet supportive housewife" role.
The last 3 interviews / appearances I've seen of hers made me cringe.
If she is acting like that I am insulted (as the audience she ought to be pandering to if there is any pandering) and if she really is like that, well, ick.
The impression I get from the Obama campaign, from the get go, is that they don't give a shit what feminists think of him.
So, I return the favor.
woman not women
Go Jessica! I think it's great that she published this piece - it is interesting to learn a little more about this. The blogs I read (including Shakesville, this one, and Michelle Obama Watch) have been pretty good about calling out sexism against Michelle, so it was good to read about the difference in response from women's organizations (which I don't know anything about!).
I do have one tiny complaint, Courtney. You said It's nice to know that Jess is the one reppin' American feminism across the pond.
But Melissa and Zuzu from Shakesville have published in the UK, and have done a bunch of stuff on The Guardian's Comment is Free. So I don't know that I'd say Jess is the one feminist representing American feminism in the UK. /nitpick
some of the comments on there are sad and nauseating. One that got to me particularly was one that stated MO doesn't "deserve" to have feminist defending her because she isn't the one running for office.
That's 15 ways of wrong.
some of the comments on there are sad and nauseating. One that got to me particularly was one that stated MO doesn't "deserve" to have feminist defending her because she isn't the one running for office.
That's 15 ways of wrong.
I Muse,
So since Michelle Obama isn't outspoken enough, drawings of her being raped and lynched, her being referred to as Obama's baby-moma, and all other phenomenally racist and sexist bullshit being thrown at her is fair game? I thought feminists thought that women should be free from sexism because it our right as humans. I thought we are against racism because racism is wrong, not because some of us are outspoken and educated enough that we specifically should be free from such harassment. Tell us, how many times a day would she have to mention her Harvard degree before it became wrong to treat her as less than human because she is a woman of color?
The many people I know who know Michelle Obama personally all agree that while she is brilliant and immensely compassionate, she believes that the most important job in her life right now is to raise her daughters well in a world that is not exactly easy on Black women. She owes you no apology if that seems to "retro" and "quaint" for you.
Finally, before I end this rant, she is also attempting to do something that has never been done before, and be a part of something that most adult African-Americans did not think they would see in their lifetimes. There is no feminist playbook for how she should be acting in this unprecedented circumstance. No one knows this better than Hillary Clinton, who literally watched Bill Clinton lose his re-elecetion campaign as governor after his opponent focused almost exclusively on how they didn't fit in because she didn't change her last name. So eventually she did. We could debate the feminism of this decision endlessly, but the point is, unless you have been in her shoes, lay the fuck off. Michelle probably thinks, as most of us do, that the world looks a lot better for her daugheters and everyone's daughters if her husband beats John McCain in November. Even if you don't agree with her, her decision to do whatever is necessary to make this happen does not make her any less entitled to be free from sexism than you are.
Sorry for the length of this rant everyone, but that comment literally ruined my morning.
Just noticed Jezebel's response to Jessica's piece. What does everyone think?
As per my usual, I agree with SarahMC.
But isn't publishing this in a British newspaper somewhat beside the point ? Yes, I know from reading CiF there are quite a few Americans who read it online (although judging by their comments they're not exactly progressive), but who do you think you're principally addressing with the article ? And if it is the great british public, then you have to write it for them, not the US.