- John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men
It’s been an interesting week...
Today a man attacked a woman in an upscale London restaurant. One can only imagine the hubris required to hold a pleading woman by the throat over appetizers, in public, as easily as one might pull out a chair for her or pour a glass of wine, without thought to consequences or appearances. He’s done it before, clearly. One doesn’t start out on the abuse track by going straight to the public demonstration.
Earlier in the week our Prime Minister was dissected into body parts for an opposition fundraiser menu, the defense being it was a joke and the guests never saw it. She was then pilloried on radio feedback lines by a public who not only saw no harm but relished putting the bitch back in her place.
Later in the week our Prime Minister was sucker-punched in a live radio interview with questions regarding the sexuality of her partner based upon the fact that he is a hairdresser. The interviewer crossed so many lines that watching said interview was like taking a face plant off a diving board into an empty pool. Excruciating. Support for the fired interviewer continues.
In 2012 Psychobiologist Dario Maestripieri bemoaned the fact that there was a high concentration of unattractive women at the New Orleans Conference of the Society of Neuroscience. He publically asked why no beautiful women were interested in the brain.
Today I was introduced to a new male employee, about my age, with the caveat: “She’s wonderful. We lost the two before her to pregnancy.” Then to me: “You’re not getting pregnant are you?” Raucous male-bonding laughter. No harm done. Right? There was no malice in it. Benevolent sexism at its best. There is no response other than stewing.
Three waves of feminism: we vote, we lead, we birth and nurture, we work, then we work unpaid inside the home, we love men, we love women, we create and battle and care and produce and contribute and then we get up in the morning and do it all over again. And I’m still trying to work out why my uterus became the topic in a professional situation.
It’s been an interesting week...
