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How Sarah Palin Invented Bill Maher’s Liberal Excuse For Misogyny
How Sarah Palin Invented Bill Maher’s Liberal Excuse For Misogyny was written by Sarah Jones for PoliticusUSA.
© PoliticusUSA, Mar. 11th, 2012. All Rights Reserved
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49 Responses to How Sarah Palin Invented Bill Maher’s Liberal Excuse For Misogyny
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Reynardine
Mar. 11th, 2012 at 4:57 pm
There is something about her that is indescribably filthy, and any attempt to describe it brings one to the level of misogynistic pornography. I can only say that she reminds me of the alpha bitch in a pack of certain wild dogs, who makes all the males revolve around her and either eats the pups of subordinate females or gives them to her own for toys.
Reynardine
Mar. 11th, 2012 at 5:03 pm
I add hereto that the current Republican power structure, high-Machiavellian types all, may have floated Herman Cain, a stereotypical hypersexual, loud-mouth black man, to discredit serious future black candidates, and likely did the same with Sarah, who would have been well-cast as Portnoy’s Monkey, vis a vis future serious women candidates.
Christine
Mar. 11th, 2012 at 4:58 pm
Thank you!! Well said, and from one outraged woman to another–keep up the good fight:)
Jason Easley
Mar. 11th, 2012 at 5:11 pm
what a powerful piece of writing, my hat it off to you. What absolutely drives me up the wall about the reaction to this issue is that just as you discussed, so many “progressives” scream about the civil liberties of Bradley Manning, and like to beat the drum of Obama and GITMO, but the reality is that no matter how you feel about it, there is only one Bradley Manning.
This doesn’t excuse his treatment, but it blows my mind that “progressives” are willing ignore the destruction of liberties of many, in order to save one who they have put upon the cross and martyred for their cause.
If one is going to care about the destruction of liberties, they don’t get selectively ignore some violations, or even worse, tell women to , “calm down.” The insulting implication being that women can’t think for themselves are by nature irrational. I am not a perfect man. I have been unwittingly guilty of misogynistic behavior myself in the past, but writing like Sarah’s helps me to evolve and grow as a man.
Bill Maher has fallen into the classic liberal/progressive trap of cherry picking his causes. His values may be inconsistent, but he is not even close to being in the mold of Rush Limbaugh.
Thanks again, Sarah for this wonderful article.
Patricia
Mar. 12th, 2012 at 1:18 am
Jason, I Thank you for your comments. Pat yourself on the back for being an ever evolving, ever learning, human being.
Sarah Jones outdid herself on this article. It spoke to everything I felt the day the citizen from Alaska hit the scene. Chills were going up my arms, and yes, I knew as well. I actually yelled out “this woman does NOT represent me!”, and my heart sank.
Bobfr (aka Our4thEstate)
Mar. 11th, 2012 at 5:34 pm
As a male I applaud your analysis and message.
Thank you!
C.L.
Mar. 11th, 2012 at 6:06 pm
Stunningly percipient post, Ms. Jones.
As an aside, I watched the HBO movie, “Game Change,” last night. I had two main impressions:
1) While the movie is devastating to Mrs. Palin personally, it’s even more devastating for the prospects of women politicians in the future BECAUSE of Mrs. Palin. The GOP’s unleashing of this horribly flawed woman on our country four years ago was a weird foreshadowing of the depraved depths of the GOP’s current “War on Women.” It’s almost as if she were tailor-made by Republican party strategists to be the poster-girl for all the worst stereotypes involving women. There will be consequences. Big consequences. Millions and millions of women will be going to the polls on a cold day in November, and they are furious at the GOP and their attacks on women.
2) This movie will reinforce the conviction that America made the right choice in electing Barack Obama, and will add even further conviction as to the necessity of his reelection.
Reynardine
Mar. 11th, 2012 at 6:26 pm
I believe the high-Machiavellian types behind the Republican Party did actually select her with a view to discrediting serious female candidates in the future, just as they selected Herman Cain with a view to discrediting serious black candidates in the future. Both reinforce the worst stereotypes in the public mind, and both support the notion that maybe discrimination isn’t so bad after all.
Tim
Mar. 12th, 2012 at 11:40 am
From your lips to millions of republican women ears. I don’t believe it myself. Women have been voting against their own interest for decades now.
If a women is republican you just know she is not paying attention/has not payed attention for decades to any of her rights.
Diane
Mar. 11th, 2012 at 6:23 pm
Bravo!
You caught exactly what is wrong with palin and the republicans.
And why it was a sad sad day for women when she was chosen and VP.
She is a disaster that keeps on giving to the republicans party.
The fact that she did nothing to educate herself and keeps making a fool out of herself since 2008 shows that she is as dumb and uneducated as Game Change and others have portrayed her.
It would have been one thing if she made rookie mistakes but had some substance. But she has shown that she has no intellectual curiosity and no desire to improve herself.
She really is a disgrace to women everywhere.
todixu
Mar. 11th, 2012 at 6:24 pm
As a male, I genuinely don’t get your problem. There’s no list of words that you “just don’t use” to insult men. Why should women get a magic conversational shield just because they have vaginas? Sure, I think describing all women as sluts or twats reeks of misogyny, but if the (s)hoe fits, wear it.
BeeEss
Mar. 11th, 2012 at 9:49 pm
Because there are no comparable words we call men. The words for women say “You’re nothing but a woman and that’s a bad thing.” Maybe men can’t genuinely feel it but, trust me, women can.
Patricia
Mar. 12th, 2012 at 1:24 am
BeeEss, I thank you for your comments. I certainly agree with your message.
When a man engages in multiple sexual encounters he is called virile, or a player, etc. Pretty innocuous words.
When a woman has multiple sexual encounters, she is called a slut, whore, prostitute, just to name a few.
Subee
Mar. 12th, 2012 at 9:19 pm
Palin has used as much or more sexually charged language than any other candidate, but men didn’t seem to be bothered by her words “Limp, impotent, get some balls” or were afraid that any such complaint would label them as being mean to a woman.
AKRNHSNC
Mar. 13th, 2012 at 1:27 am
When a guy has multiple sex partners, he’ll brag about getting “lucky”, where a woman will be labeled a slut or a whore. Palin’s use of impotent, limp or claiming the President didn’t have the cajones that Gov. Brewer had was disgustingly sexist yet there was zero outrage from the media. Let one man call her a twat or claim that she dresses in a slutty manner and she flies into a hysterical, “pity me” fit, always claiming victimhood. In doing so, she sets women back, putting us in a place where we fought to get out of for decades. Remember her complaints of sexism when Newsweek used the pic of her posing in shorts with the US flag? Why did she not only allow but condone the t-shirt that sold in Alaska with the saying “Coldest state with the hottest Governor”? By allowing that and then complaining about a silly pic that she posed for, she’s revealing her hypocrisy that she’s so well known for. When is this woman going to disappear from the public stage into the black hole where she belongs??
azyuwish
Mar. 11th, 2012 at 11:40 pm
You have stated so many of my own feelings here that I haven’t been able to articulate coherently. Thank you a million times over. Even my dear husband doesn’t always see the misogyny. He tires easily of my pointing it out. When I look around me and I see the MESS that the men have made of the world; the latest news story to come down the pike being that of the soldier(s) in Afghanistan shooting civilians, I say to myself “Women have not done this. Testosterone has done this.” All of these wars, all of these beyond Retro sexist politics, women like Sarah Palin in fact, ARE a product of males. We all have Stockholm Syndrome it seems. Again, thank you for your brilliant commentary and analysis, I wish it never had to be said at all, but since it did, kudos to you for the endeavor.
Tom 1
Mar. 11th, 2012 at 11:44 pm
Say it like it is Sarah. This is why they tried to silence your voices here at politicususa. Best writing on the web.
A Walkaway
Mar. 12th, 2012 at 12:21 am
An interesting point to this discussion is the word Woman, as compared to the word Man. Man used to be the term for a person, with different prefixes (wer) for a male person and wif for a female person. When the subjugation of women began, by using the word “man” for male people, maleness was normalized and by keeping a designator for femininity (changed over time from werman to woman), women were made an exception to the norm. There are a number of things like this that show how the modern view came about through language – and in many cultures it was an imposed idea. There are many examples in modern languages that demonstrate this denigration and dismissiveness towards women. The language used by Maher and Limbaugh were right in line with the standards that formed American culture and language use – and reprehensible.
(Source of information: Language, Culture, and Communication 2003, by Nancy Bonvillain pg 211 – but the entire section 205-213 is relevant to the discussion.)
As a side point – I know I’ve missed a lot of the points mentioned in this discussion, but not because I couldn’t or didn’t understand. I for the most part ignored Palin and thought her close to hideous in appearance (I refused to watch or listen to her, and as a general rule don’t pay that much attention to the Republicans anyway). I paid so little attention to her (besides reading what she said and did) that the sexual angle didn’t even come into the picture (and I appreciate learning about it – it makes much more sense of things that I didn’t get). I’ve also never listened to Maher and so only got the context that he was defending Limbaugh, whom I despise.
Based upon your article, I wonder if Maher has ANY women friends. I wonder if he even understands the people in his world – since it seems he’s missed the boat with a majority of them. It does seem about time that he gets a clue.
diz
Mar. 12th, 2012 at 1:22 am
Thank you for another excellent read. Whenever I read your columns I feel elevated, better informed and proud that the generations coming after mine are full of so many eloquent and intelligent women sharing their voices.
Patricia
Mar. 12th, 2012 at 1:30 am
Sarah! Sarah! Sarah!
I can barely think of the words I would like to say regarding this masterpiece you posted today.
You described the situation. Period.
Any praise I can give you, would not be enough! I am in awe of your words.
Thank you for your insight.
Jeff
Mar. 12th, 2012 at 9:15 am
1. You missed where he called her a cunt. How any woman could do anything that would introduce a “measure of truth” to being a ‘cunt’ and a ‘twat’ (another word for cunt) is beyond me. But you are a woman…maybe you know something I don’t.
2. Sandra Fluke did NOT testify at a congressional hearing. It was set up Democrats as a response to the congressional hearings, was set up to look like a congressional hearing, but was not an official action of congress. It was broadcast on national TV for publicity purposes. That makes Sandra Fluke a public figure, who willingly placed herself into that position…BUT, and this is important, see #3
3. Are you honestly saying misogyny is excusable as long as it is directed at a public figures? How about racism? Anti-semitism? Are all these things ok as long as they are directed at public figures? Would liberals be offended if conservatives started referring to Michelle Obama as ‘that cunt’ and Nancy Pelosi as ‘that old twat’? They are public figures after all.
Shiva (Moderator)
Mar. 12th, 2012 at 10:08 am
Sandra Fluke spoke before the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committe on women’s health and contraception. She was blocked from testifying at a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee
Real as that bump on your head.
No, the author didn’t say “misogyny is excusable as long as it is directed at a public figure”
Jeff
Mar. 12th, 2012 at 10:17 am
My understanding is that it was not sanctioned by Congress, but I certainly could be wrong. Even if it was though, she put herself on national TV (C-Span) which makes her a public figure.
But if no one is excusing misogyny directed at a public official, WHY EVEN BRING IT UP? Sexism is sexism. It is dirty and ugly regardless of who it is directed at.
Shiva (Moderator)
Mar. 12th, 2012 at 11:33 am
Sanctioned by congress?
House Democratic Steering and Policy Committe ?? Hello?
The proceedings were televised by C-Span as are MANY house and Senate activities
Jeff
Mar. 12th, 2012 at 11:58 am
Read the Wikipedia page on Sandra Fluke. Even it acknowledges that it was an “unofficial” congressional hearing. If it is “unofficial”, it is not a congressional hearing. It’s called “grandstanding”.
massmurdermedia
Mar. 12th, 2012 at 2:22 pm
she was blocked from testifying at the latter due to due her lack of expertise on religion and matters of church/state… this all boils down to the gop allegedly declaring war on women and the dnc allegedly declaring war on religion…
Jeff
Mar. 12th, 2012 at 10:23 am
I also forgot to point out the “blame the victim” mentality expressed in this article. Would have made another bullet point. Sarah Palin wore high heels and short skirts! She was asking to be raped…er, I mean, have sexist comments directed at her. This and the ‘public figure’ have no place in any discussion regarding sexism.
Shiva (Moderator)
Mar. 12th, 2012 at 11:38 am
Context. Read it in context. Use the word comparison in your head
Rich
Mar. 12th, 2012 at 10:46 am
Thank you Sarah.
BikerDon
Mar. 12th, 2012 at 10:50 am
Bill’s comments to Sarah were, however, pointed specifically at Sarah, with no attempt to include women in general. Rush’s comments, on the other hand, while spoken to Sandra, were inclusive of all women who use birth control paid for by insurance policies. The Devil himself, if such a being exists, would have nothing on Rush’s ability to cloud and confuse the issues. Even in his very back-handed apology he called on his listeners to boycott advertisers who left his show. Rush’s tongue has many forks, and he always speaks sideways.
Brett Cottrell
Mar. 12th, 2012 at 11:01 am
Sarah Palin can’t express her mind without providing mountains of evidence for its ignorance. If this seems like an unfair indictment of her mind, remember that it’s connected to her mouth.
brettcottrell.blogspot.co...
Larry Conley
Mar. 12th, 2012 at 11:24 am
Sarah Palin is a pretty woman. There is nothing wrong with being a pretty woman. At least I hope not; I kind of like them.
On the other hand, Sarah Palin is also a remarkably ignorant public figure who lacks basic information on so many topics, one may wonder if she is ONLY a pretty woman. “Palin is a public figure.” She also pretends to be a political leader. I will NOT disparage Sarah because she is hot, nor will I discount anything she says unless it is palpable nonsense. Beauty does not imply or impose a lack of brains.
Still “all good men” must step up and demand consistent recognition and respect for the full human and civil equality of our sister citizens.
Tim
Mar. 12th, 2012 at 11:53 am
Where has the women’s movement move to?
I a not sure that Palin is a great example to make the case since she seems to invite negative comments to keep her self in the public. Baiting.
The fact that Rush is still on the air is all the evidence we need that the women in this country have given up on this fight. This guy would have been history 25 years ago.
30 years I have been hearing about equal pay for women. We have all heard the numbers for decades. Women don’t make the same thing as men.
This president and a democrat congress voted that into law and what did we do. Voted in the right wing again.
When you have women voting against their own best interest how do you change what a shock jock says?
I still contend that Maher is a comic. Maybe he does say things that are wrong but he is an equal opportunity offender. Rush is not.
massmurdermedia
Mar. 12th, 2012 at 2:34 pm
palin did not “pose” for the cover of newsweek… they took the photo from an article in a running magazine, for which her attire was entirely appropriate to pose for…
i don’t recall what palin said about the media after the tuscon shootings… but i do recall the liberal punditry in the media wasting no time in blaming palin, beck and rush for it…
Shiva (Moderator)
Mar. 12th, 2012 at 2:51 pm
Of course you don’t remember what she said. Does blood libel come to mind? Does a target with Gifford’s name on it come to mind?
Liberal punditry, lol
No one blamed rush or beck
AKRNHSNC
Mar. 13th, 2012 at 1:36 am
This has been often repeated yet there has never been anyone accused of saying this about Palin by name. Yes, it was said on internet forums. They also call President Obama the anti-Christ. However, nobody on MSNBC, CNN, NBC, CBS or ABC said that Sarah Palin was responsible for the idiot that shot and killed several people in Tucson. What they did say and it was as true then as it is today, is that Sarah Palin fostered and nurtured a divisive rhetoric, promoting outright hatred of President Obama from the day she started campaigning. She lied about his palling around with terrorists despite her own past of doing so with AIP members who are now on trial in Alaska for murder attempts of federal judges. She said he didn’t see our country as she and other “real Americans” did. She loved the outrageous reactions she received and thrives on the attention, both negative and positive. What does she do when her name is not in the media for any length of time? She comes up with an outrageous accusation against someone, usually President Obama, in order to drum up attention for herself. The woman is an attention whore who just can’t live without public adoration. The sooner she disappears into a black hole somewhere in Alaska, the better off the country will be.
Sotomaher
Mar. 12th, 2012 at 4:28 pm
“If it’s brown, flush it down!”
1voice1vote
Mar. 12th, 2012 at 5:01 pm
Sarah Palin, mother of 3 daughters, defends Rush Limbaugh’s calling women that use hormonal prescriptions, “sluts” and “prostitutes”, and says that in order to receive such prescription medical coverage women should post pornographic videos of themselves. Family values? Decency? Absent.
Palin was under investigation for abuse of power when McCain whisked her off as his veep partner. After losing in 2008, the two-bit hack of pit bull goes back to Alaska and quits as the governor of a state with 1/2-a-million residents. The barracuda is as formidable as a jellyfish left on the sand by an ebbing tide, shriveling in the heat of the afternoon sun. [Sarah was found guilty of abuse of power. The mean beauty queen can’t handle the truth.]
JC
Mar. 12th, 2012 at 6:23 pm
It seems to me that the “Africa” incident was just the tip of the iceberg. Face it. Sarah Palin is not a bright woman. The very idea that this woman could have been in the White House in any capacity still makes me physically ill. Although I look forward to the day when we do elect a female president, electing someone like Sarah Palin does nothing to promote women in today’s society.
Alex
Mar. 12th, 2012 at 7:51 pm
Maher is complaining about this, probably because his show politically incorrect was taken off the air for similar reasons, when he said that the 9/11 bombers were brave. Personally, I think if Rush is allowed to spread false information and all manner of disgusting opinion, then he should be able to use the word slut. I don’t have to listen.
Bryan White
Mar. 13th, 2012 at 10:40 am
I like you article, and I appreciate the point you’re trying to make here. However, I do have a nit to pick.
In advancing your theme that Sarah Palin set women back…however far, there seems to be this implication that men don’t have the sense to see Palin for what she is, that we can’t be expected to comprehend that she isn’t representative of genuine feminist interests, or even women in general. Honestly, if there are men out there who look at Sarah Palin and go, “Well, I guess that’s how women are.”, then they weren’t really that far ahead of the curve to begin with. Give the rest of us a little more credit.
I was jarred by the end of your article, for instance, where your friend called you crying because…I don’t know, because Palin existed? Because she was being put in a position to potentially be the next Vice-President as a desperate political gambit on McCain’s part? Seems, like a ludicrously extreme reaction. Look, I don’t like Sarah Palin anymore than you do, but she is who she is, and she’s free to be that person. By assuming that all men are going to be fool enough to take her as the poster-child for “empowered” women, you dump all the responsibility of representing women, of “making you look bad”, on her shoulders. Frankly, that’s no responsibility any women should be expected to bear, even if she is running for Vice-President.
I’m not crying my eyes out because Rush Limbaugh exists, making us men look bad. No, I have faith that you know that we’re not all like that. And as for Bill Maher, let’s face it, he had issues with women long, long, longgggg, before Sarah Palin came along.
Gordon Green
Mar. 14th, 2012 at 9:32 am
You are defending Maher by saying that the woman (Palin) deserved it because she wore short skirts. Does she deserve to be raped as well? I suspect you all believe it’s acceptable because you disagree with her politics. (it’s always ok to call the other side names). Which is why Maxine Waters can call all republicans demons and it is acceptable to you because we disagree. If its ok for Maher to call a woman those names because he is a comedian, ( republicans consider him a left wing pundit) would it have been ok to call Herman Cain the N-word because you feel he some how deserved it? Whether it comes from right wing pundits or left wing commentator comedians, mean spirited insults should have no place in our discourse and should never be defended. If you give him a pass because you feel Palin deserved it, did her children deserve it too? He said ugly things about them as well. If you disagree with someones politics or their clothes choices, is it ok to insult their children in a national forum? For laughs? Your backhand grudging rebuke of his comments are not because you believe it is wrong, but because he got caught. Because it gives the side you disagree with ammunition, and may make someone sympathetic to a politician you clearly hate. I disagree with many liberal politicians. I disagree with some republicans as well. But I draw the line well before horrendous insults to their children. Pat yourselves on the back for being clever if you must, us independents consider you the same as Rush Limbaugh.
Joe
Mar. 15th, 2012 at 6:32 pm
I thought that your original post was insightful and a great description of several key issues. However, I am a bit concerned about the juxtaposition of the two issues.
There is an issue of what is appropriate and inappropriate to call any woman under any circumstance.
There is an issue of the type of person Sarah Palin is from an intellectual, political, and social perspective.
While I think the author’s point was that there is no time that using certain words are appropriate regardless of who the person is, mixing it with her reflections on the second point subtly undermine the first.
Clearly the message is that Sarah is a bad person in many ways. So it seems that a natural question would be why you’d include this in an argument about what woman should be called unless it was somehow pertinent to the discussion. After all, you didn’t talk about tea in China or the state of the economy. That makes sense since they aren’t relevant to the discussion. However, by including the opining on Sarah Palin’s character, you introduced the possibility that it is somehow relevant to the argument.
I would have preferred to see both of these very well thought out arguments made separately as they are two issues which should never be commingled because we still live in a country where people will use the second issue to skew the first.
Gordon Green
Mar. 16th, 2012 at 12:02 pm
If the authors point was indeed that there is no time that using such words is appropriate she should have stated such. What WAS stated was that she loves watching Bill Maher, and that the problem with the insults is that it would cause other people to support Palin. It WAS stated that Palin deserved the insults and establishes her clothing choices and behavior as cause. The author goes on to insult Palin in detail and considers her victimization by Bill Mahers words to be insincere. I am not discussing Sarah Palins’ suitability for high office, as you pointed out that is a different discussion. I am sure this country, and probably this blog site is full of people who are unsuitable for the office of the Vice President. Who would not do well if surrounded by cameras and reporters, who would not come out on top in a debate with Barak Obama. Some of you may even own a mini skirt. That does not excuse the words tw@t or c$&t to be used to describe you. Even the title of this blog blames Palin for Mahers’ indiscretion. The author of this piece meant what she said. She explained her reasoning categorically. Many of you agreed with her, calling yourselves feminists. But. If a woman can’t run for high office— even one you disagree with–without being called horrible sexist names by a man, the precedent is made. You can be called names if someone doesn’t like your politics as well. If you wear certain clothes you are asking for it. I am an independent conservative black man. I disagree with many of President Obamas’ policies, but I will not support or excuse ANYONE calling him the N- word. It’s an insult to me as well. Whether we ideologically agree or not we are both human beings worthy of respect.
Linda
Mar. 18th, 2012 at 1:01 am
How long does it take before a response is approved to be posted on this site?
I find it interesting that my rely is not here yet. It could be because I have not waited long enough. Or, is it because someone had the nerve to say something about the author that was offensive? I’m sorry… offensive words are only to be used against Sarah Palin? But maybe the author deserves the offensive words.
No one deserves to be called what Mrs. Palin was called. No one. Such words are never deserved, towards her nor towards you.