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MACHO MYSTIQUE
We
mourn the passing of Carroll O'Conner, who as Archie Bunker, brought the
macho mystique full blown into our living rooms. It made us laugh but it
didn't appear to enlighten many of us. With one word, he verbalized the
lash that made Edith go mute "STIFLE!"
It is the tone of voice that powers the lash. The word or words used just add more sting to it. How many of us who heard All In The Family really knew what stifle meant? Here are some synonyms: suffocate, choke, smother, strangle, extinguish, and garrote.
The threat of the lash is always present for women. It's a part of everything we hear and read and see. It is an integral part of our consciousness. To maintain the status quo our culture relies on the universal conditioning of women to fear the lash whether it comes from a whip or a tongue.
We saw it used again on Hardball (MSNBC) recently. The person snapping the whip was none other than mild mannered Gary Bauer; The one struck dumb from it was the President-elect of NOW, Kim A. Gandy. Actually, we were expecting trouble because Moderator Chris Matthews, had set her up, first by putting three males plus himself on the panel with her, and second by cold-cocking her with statistics on the gender gap.
Aside from her complaisant smile (a leftover from Pat Ireland?) we were favorably impressed by Gandy's ability to speak with force and authority. She did lose the smile much of the time which was a relief. She spoke of her goal to send Bush (back?) to Texas and when asked by Matthews, she responded that there WAS a gendergap.
Matthews then put up the stats of the latest polls that showed that women and men were equally for or against Bush -- no gendergap existed. That undercut Gandy and emboldened the men on the panel. She was dead meat because she limited her arguments solely to abortion rights.
Limiting the agenda is the greatest reason that women have been marginalized in political debate. It is imperative that our leaders not be Jenny-one-notes. Women's issues must be voiced loudly and often but they must always include the environment, education, Medicare, welfare, social security etc. -- we must never allow ourselves to be backed into the one agenda abortion corner.
That's what happened. Bauer was quick to jump on the abortion message that Gandy was delivering as the other panelists chucked delightedly. It soon became a jumble of voices as Gandy and Bauer spoke at the same time. Then Bauer delivered the lash. The usually deeper male voice always drowns out a higher female voice and he loudly and roughly demanded that she stop talking.
Even those of us who were just watching and listening felt the lash. It has been programmed into women for their very survival for millennia. We stifled and stiffened, just as Gandy did from the whiplash of a little pipsqueak of a male who knew his privileged rank and authority and was exercising it.
After all, his God made him in his image and made him superior to women.
It is not the first time this has happened in an interview program and it won't be the last. All women who may be in a similar position must train themselves not to be cowed by this tactic. They also must be ready to face another type of challenge. That is from other women who are put on panels to bait and harass anyone who represents women whether they be feminists or not.
We've all seen and heard them and the ones who call themselves feminists (like Paglia, Wolff or Sommers) are sometimes the worst. They feed the appetite of the kulture-beast by pretending to be "reasonable and natural women" further marginalizing all women who work for our human rights.
Watch news and discussion panels critically and see how differently MOST males and females present themselves. One gender is mostly serious and believable, the other is mostly smiling and looking helpless. Which one can you trust and believe? We are continually being conditioned by these presentations of gender because of the way television presents them to us.
One news program that illustrates how NOT to act is Late Edition on CNN with Wolf Blitzer. Watch the three men how serious and knowledgeable they are. The one woman, Susan Page, is a very smart and able reporter but how does she come across to you with that constant subservient grin?
For an example of a woman we all should learn to emulate is editor of Nation, Katrina vanden Heuvel. She is a regular on Hardball, usually pitted against some formidable male reporters but she more than holds her own and does it without inappropriate smiling or appearing unfeminine.
Women can learn to overcome these baser instincts that have been programmed into us and brutally enforced. Otherwise we stand to lose more than credibility, We stand to lose our most personal and precious freedom to govern our own reproduction. Smiles are great and friendly but they have no place in a serious discussion by adults.
2001-028
Copyright
2001 Renee T. Louise and Ruth M. Sprague, Ph.D. These articles may be republished
for noncommercial use only, provided that they are copied intact, and that
this copyright notice is attached. Address all queries to: twanda@gendergappers.org.
G e n d e r G a p p e r s T M
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