Mike the Mad Biologist

Apparently, Feminists Aren’t Allowed to Have Breasts

Posted by Mike on September 16, 2006
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Ann Althouse, law professor and asshole extraordinaire, has decreed that Standing Straight Up with Breasts is whorish. Jessica Valenti from Feministing had a meeting with Bill Clinton and other bloggers–here’s the photo. I bring this up because women can’t be the only ones who decry this age-old smear tactic of calling women whores when all else fails, including the legitimacy of your arguments. We men have to decry this too.

In a related vein, I once explained to someone that Jews can’t be the only ones who decry anti-Semitism: of course, we’re going to oppose it–it’s what people who aren’t Jewish do that will make the difference.

What Althouse does is particularly despicable because it is an attempt to belittle someone, who by dint and virtue of hard work and accomplishment, has beeen successful. It’s despicable because there is no way to respond: if Valenti had been wearing a burka, I’m sure Althouse would have found something ‘whorish’ to complain about. (By the way, you’ve really jumped the intellectual shark when you’re focusing on breasts, not, let say, ideas). The commentors on Althouse’s post were even worse, calling Jessica an “intern.” Not only is this an insidious comparison of Valenti to Monica Lewinsky, but it’s attempt to transform a successful woman into a girl–another age-old tactic to ‘put the wimmens in their place.’

Ann Althouse: Douchebag of Patriarchy.

an aside: John Dean’s book Conservatives Without a Conscience spends a chapter trying to determine the unifying themes that unite modern conservatism. In light of all of the references to Jessica as an “intern”, I think the biggest theme is Bill Clinton’s penis. Of course, it’s not really a “theme”, it’s a…

Update: Valenti responds.

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Comments

  1. #1 goddogtired
    September 16, 2006

    Sounds bad, but WTF is Ms. Althouse? There is an endless supply of vicious dildos, of every persuasion, everywhere, with the news media ever running a star-search in hopes of finding the Chosen Dildo.

    Well, thanks for the info. I’ll be sure to heckle anyone referring to such a person. A pizza in Mike Hunt’s name will also be ordered to her residence.

  2. #2 Mouth of the Yellow River
    September 16, 2006

    Ni Hao! Kannichi Wa!

    What were they drinking and whose full glass is that, e.g. which person refused to drink?

    Do not trust that person.

    MOTYR

  3. #3 Tara C. Smith
    September 16, 2006

    That has to be one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard. It’s anti-feminist for a woman to wear something that makes her look good, and isn’t the shape of a burlap sack? Women have breasts. So damn what. I always thought feminism was about letting the woman choose what to do, wear, think, etc…guess I was horribly mistaken.

  4. #4 Tyler DiPietro
    September 17, 2006

    I’ve never gotten this silly feminist idea that if a male finds a female sexually attractive he must by default think of her as a whore with no depth or intellect. Yeah, the person in that photo is pretty hot. What’s wrong so inherently wrong about showing it off a little?

    The Ann Althouses of the world are the female equivalents of Bill Bennett. Annoying, monotonous, self-appointed guardians of their sex and it’s integrity.

  5. #5 Tara C. Smith
    September 17, 2006

    I’ve never gotten this silly feminist idea that if a male finds a female sexually attractive he must by default think of her as a whore with no depth or intellect.

    I must be horribly mistaken about this one too. There’s nothing that says it’s bad for a man to find a female sexually attractive. When it becomes offensive and puts feminists in an uproar is when he assumes that simply because she’s attractive, therefore she must be a whore with no depth or intellect. I don’t–and I don’t think many feminists would–consider it a “default.” Otherwise, we could only date men who didn’t find us attractive, which would be a rather unfortunate thing. (Or, I guess, just go with the stereotype and all be lesbians…)

  6. #6 Tyler DiPietro
    September 17, 2006

    Tara,

    I must be horribly mistaken about this one too. There’s nothing that says it’s bad for a man to find a female sexually attractive. When it becomes offensive and puts feminists in an uproar is when he assumes that simply because she’s attractive, therefore she must be a whore with no depth or intellect.

    I apologize if my language was too broad. I didn’t mean to imply that all feminists think in such a way, only that there is a very loud contingent among them that seems to do so. They are the kind of feminists who would, say, call a woman a whore because she wears a sweater that somewhat tightly hugs her tits.