“Smarmy, snotty, slut.”
Thatap what a Donald Trump supporter called me, by e-mail, for criticizing his candidate. I’ll give him points for alliteration, but I fail to make the connection between my vote for a third-party candidate and the suggestion of promiscuity. Thatap because there isn’t a logical connection. The man simply figured a crude, gender-specific insult would hurt more.
Sexist vitriol is a blunt verbal weapon used to marginalize and silence women who are in the public eye. While such insults are indeed a sign of latent sexism in the 21st century, they are even more so a symptom of increasingly uncivil public discourse coarsened by anonymous Twitter and e-mail communications. It unlikely these cowards would say such things to our faces.
Sadly, the unhinged viciousness of a subset of disgruntled Americans is likely to get worse. Michelle Cottle’s in the August issue of The Atlantic predicts that a Hillary Clinton victory will “usher in a new age of public misogyny.” Sexist vitriol, she writes, is “driven by genuine gender grievance or discomfort among some at being led by a woman” and for others it is simply a “shortcut for dismissing her and delegitimizing her presidency.”
I am no supporter of Hillary Clinton, but I am deeply discouraged and dismayed to hear a candidate for presidency called a “menopausal bitch,” “tramp,” or the c-word by people who dislike her or disagree with her policy positions.
Not all criticisms are sexist, obviously. There are important policy disagreements and valid critiques of Clinton’s judgment and decision making. And if bad blond comb-overs and orange skin are fair game, so are monochromatic pantsuits and a grating, difficult-to-listen-to voice. But there is a line, even in satire, that should not be crossed.
Identity-based insults aren’t exclusively leveled at women. Jewish #NeverTrump friends of mine have been targets of anti-Semitic vitriol. Black conservatives are frequently referred to by critics as Uncle Toms and so on.
I asked a dozen female candidates, elected officials, reporters, activists and commentators about their experience with misogyny. While a couple of the women reported that they had never received sexist insults, most had. Both Republican and Democratic women were targets. Aggressors were more often but not exclusively male.
Several of the women had been called gender-specific insults like “bitch,” “slut,” “whore” and the c-word by critics over public-policy disagreements. For example, former Colorado Majority Leader Amy Stephens was called a prostitute and a bitch by men for her role in the creation of a state health care exchange under Obamacare.
Other women recalled being called fat, stupid and ugly over public policy disagreements. Women’s appearances typically receive more derisive comments than do men’s. Says Debbie Brown of the Colorado Women’s Alliance, “women candidates tend to be judged by their appearance — outfit, hair, mannerisms, etc.,” even by other women, while men are not judged as much on their appearance.
Women are held to a different standard in other ways. Said a Republican candidate for the Colorado Senate who didn’t want to be named, “I do believe that women have to work harder for the same respect that comes more easily for the male gender.”
Women also have to walk a narrow line in order to seem both strong and likable. One female reporter noted that if she aggressively questioned an official the way she has seen male reporters do, she’d be “dismissed as shrill and bitchy, not just by the politician who doesn’t want to deal with my questions, but also quite possibly with the other journalists in the room.”
Itap important to note that none of the women I spoke with saw themselves as victims. “There is sometimes a price when you have to make a tough decision,” said Stephens.
In 21st century America, the price shouldn’t be misogynist belittlement.
Krista Kafer (tokrista@msn.com) is co-host of “Kelley and Kafer” airing 4 to 7 p.m. on 710 KNUS and a professor of communication at Colorado Christian University.
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