The last acceptable form of bigotry

Originally posted on MySanAntonio.com.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past week, you’ve heard about the remarks a certain ultra-conservative radio host made about a female law student who testified before Congress about the importance of insurance-covered contraceptives.

The backlash against the pundit’s comments has been considerable, even forcing many (nine, at present)(update: 12, and two radio stations) of his program’s advertisers to withdraw their financial support. Only after several days of condemnation from the media, politicians, and the public did the radio personality do a 180 on his position and switch from staunchly defending his remarks to issuing a stale, typed apology.

Among the insults hurled at the woman were that she was a ‘slut’ and a ‘prostitute’ for speaking on the importance of prescribed contraceptives being included as basic healthcare under insurance plans. Notably, the woman’s respectful testimony included an anecdote of an acquaintance who required prescribed contraceptives for the treatment of a serious ovarian medical condition.

Defenders of the remarks have said that people are too sensitive and easily offended, noting that off-color language and pushing the envelope are often part of political commentators’ repertoire. And despite many of his advertisers pulling the plug on their financial support, the offending host is not at risk of losing his job.

Compare that to an ESPN reporter who was recently sacked for using the headline, “A chink in the armor,” in an article about the Knicks’ Asian player Jeremy Lin. Clearly, the industry is in agreement that the use of racial and ethnic slurs is unacceptable. So why then does misogynistic language often garner little more than a metaphorical shoulder shrug, or worse, people defending it?

If you need more evidence, listen up during your television viewing. I decided not to include my list of sample words that are and are not acceptable for television, but readers can use their memory or future experience to fill in the blanks. The prevalence of misogynistic language is so commonplace that it often goes unrecognized. Worse, the acceptability of this type of language normalizes use of the words and condones a general attitude of disrespect against women.

Quick, think of the most derogatory and disparaging names you can call a man or boy. Now, think of the most derogatory words you can use against a woman or girl. Let me guess which list was longer. And which one contained the most offensive words. Further, many of the male insults that may have come to mind were likely either a synonym for females or their body parts. Basically, the worst thing you can call a woman? A sexually active woman. The worst thing you can call a man? A woman.

When NBA player Kobe Bryant used a homophobic slur toward a referee in 2011, he was slapped with a $100,000 fine. When actress Jennifer Aniston casually used the word ‘retarded’ during an interview, the outrage was considerable. And when actor Michael Richards (Kramer from Seinfeld) went on a shocking rant during a comedy show and repeatedly shouted racist slurs at a man in the audience, his career was all but destroyed. That type of language has become intolerable, and for good reason.

Now, when was the last time you heard someone publicly use a misogynistic slur?

Words like ‘slut’ have long been used as a tool to silence women and ‘put them in their place,’ so to speak, regardless of whether the target of the insult is sexually active, promiscuous, or neither. Sandra Fluke – the woman at the center of last week’s incident – gave no details of her sexual history, except to indicate that she did purchase contraceptives. Being attacked as a ‘slut’ and ‘prostitute’ had nothing to do with suspicions that she may actually be either of those things. The attack was based on two points: that she was a woman, and that she voiced an opinion with which the attacker disagreed.

The normalizing of this kind of language throughout popular culture, the media and in common use paves the way for these attacks on women to continue. We’re collectively less likely to be shocked by misogynistic hate speech when the words being used are the same words we hear on the radio, in television and throughout our daily lives on a normal basis.

Start paying attention to the type of language you hear on television, in music, in movies and among conversation and take note of the words we allow to be used against women. As a society, we’ve long since decided that certain words are not acceptable. Words meant to demean and disparage a group of people based on their race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation are no longer welcome in public discussions. Why then are words aimed at shaming and demeaning the female population solely for their gender any less intolerable?