Read my latest flash, Venison, at 52|250.

Just to reiterate, I do not support Hillary Clinton. However, videos like this one posted on Alternet have consequences far beyond an attack on single individual. By comparing Senator Clinton to Tonya Harding, the video suggests that any woman who fights for something she wants, especially if it’s something women have not previously had, is breaking the rules and so deserves to be made an object of fun. The message is that such an act is tantamount to violence. Notice, too, the selection of images chosen to make both women’s appearances something to be mocked.

And why drag up Tonya Harding after all these years anyway? What made her a perfect object of all those jokes was that her story fit easily into the narrative of a bad/low-class woman who threatens a high-class lady. This is another iteration of that: proper ladies do not struggle and do not fight.

I see the label satire, and I can only hope that this was a poor attempt to satirize those who criticize Clinton for fighting because of such attitudes, especially since the video was made by a woman. However, it is very easy to imagine that someone who uses the girl every boy fell in love with in the 4th grade as an identifier might suffer from quite a bit of internalized sexism.

EDIT: The video has now disappeared, which leads me to believe I’m not the only one who complained. However, I think it’s rather cowardly to just take it down rather than posting an apology, but I guess that is the best way for Alternet to avoid alienating women who might send them money.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.