whoa! that actually is the freakin headline on a news channel! god, if i were paris hilton id be so tired of crap like that that the natural thing to do would be become feminist (but im not holding my breath on that one)

"A Slut and Battery"?!?
Wow, proof that misogyny is not only rampant but an accepted form of expression in our society.

If I actually watched mainstream media, I'd boycott MSNBC. Unfortunately I decided they were all scum years ago.

This really pisses me off.

I'll admit it-Paris Hilton is not my favorite woman in the world. Seriously though, this was awful and disgusting; I am at a loss for any other way to describe it.

If I was Paris Hilton I would sue MSNBC. I hope she does.

But am I the only one who doesn’t get the reference to whatever else happened to her face?

It's interesting to see how because of her wealth, power, and behavior, Paris Hilton is considered fair game to say anything about, even the most misogynistic comments. It's as if she's treated as she does not deserve the most basic respect all human beings should get.

Well, on some level, I don't think Paris Hilton deserves the basic respect I generally give to human beings, because she's a vapid, entitled little leech. But nonetheless, I don't say misogynist crap about her, because misogyny is unacceptable, and also because there's so much non-sexist ways to criticize Hilton. If one must expend any time and energy thinking about her, which I try not to do, because her continued existence makes my soul hurt.

This is especially annoying because Olbermann is such a darling of the left right now.

okay, not keith's finest moment, but it's in no way indicative of him or his show. in the cable news atmosphere of too much shouting and mindless talking points, he's the only guy saying things like this. yeah, he was going for the low brow joke and it's unfortunate, but...and i rarely say this about possible sexist comments or men in general...i would let it slide.

...unless you're upset about this BECAUSE you have such high expectations of him. in which case, i agree.

Everyone at my office absolutely adores Olbermann, and even though I've watched many of his "shining moments" on YouTube, this is inexcusable. Why should he get away with horrifying misogyny and be excused for it (especially in the times we're living in now, where students are being molested and killed simply because they're female)? Flood the show with angry emails: countdown@msnbc.com!

I don't have a problem calling anti-feminist women like Hilton "sluts" or Ann Coulter and Michelle Malkin "cunts". I think what Hilton does is bad overall for women and girls.

"I don't have a problem calling anti-feminist women like Hilton "sluts" or Ann Coulter and Michelle Malkin "cunts"."

Why doesn't that surprise me?

It doesn't surprise me either, RM.

She's not exactly my favourite person in the world. I have a theory that she doesn't even like sex... she just likes attention. But that doesn't mean that she's fair game for such disgusting comments.

What if Paris Hilton were to get raped? I think the rampant misogyny and slut-shaming might actually cause a tear in the space-time continuum.

"I don't have a problem calling anti-feminist women like Hilton "sluts" or Ann Coulter and Michelle Malkin "cunts". I think what Hilton does is bad overall for women and girls."

Misogyny is misogyny. It doesn’t matter who it is aimed at. It is bad for all women. If one woman can be called “cunt� all women can be called cunt. I don't know why it doesn't surprise RagingModerate. It very much surprises me that a feminist should say something like this.

Anyways, I don’t know much about Paris Hilton, I know she is not a feminist icon! But how is she anti-feminist? Or why is she in the same category as Ann Coulter?

I'm with EG and sojurner. I am not a fan of Paris Hilton, but "A Slut and Battery," and "she's had worse things happen to her face," displays misogynistic thought patterns. We don't get to be feminists just when the target happens to be someone we like, and/or the offender happens to be someone we don't.

Cheers,

TH

sojourner: "...am I the only one who doesn’t get the reference to whatever else happened to her face?"

I had to think about it, but I believe Olbermann is referring to PH having her face ejaculated on. Why that's worse than being punched, I do not know.

I don't know why Raging Moderate says anything. I have a problem with a man calling Hilton a "slut" especially if he's not a feminist but to me it's like telling a fellow woman like Coulter or Malkin, you stupid cunt/bitch, you should know better. I think what Hilton does is bad for women and girls.

I have a strong reaction to women who sellout their gender because of my personal experience with sexism. This strong reaction may surprise feminists but I think it makes me more of a feminist.

Maybe, donna, but I think for a lot of women, probably Paris among them, it's because they haven't learned to understand the sexism they experience. Maybe they're too naive, maybe they haven't heard the right argument yet, but there are very few women I'd call completely lost causes.

I have some empathy for non- and even anti-feminist women because I used to be one of them. I wasn't a bad person; I just hadn't lived enough life and hadn't opened up my eyes to the world around me enough to understand why I was so wrong-headed. Crucifying these women is not the answer; I think gentle nudging is more appropriate in most situations.

Yes, sexism is wrong whether it comes from men or women, and it's especially discouraging and demoralizing when it comes from women... but we still need to recognize that whether they realize it or not, these women too are victims.

The real story in this, for me, has less to do with Paris Hilton--who, let's face it, has heard (and probably self-described as) much worse--than it does with Keith Olbermann, who has demonstrated an antifeminist and misogynistic streak that I didn't realize he had.

You know, it's creepy. I'm the only het white male who does much visible feminist activism locally--I realized this last night at a feminism forum--and when we do try to pull men in, it doesn't seem to work. One local guy who seemed promising interrupted one feminist event by giving a non sequitur rant in defense of marital rape. It's a nasty, nasty world, and while I can never accept the gender essentialism that undercuts cultural/separatist feminism, I am reaching the point in my life where I can completely sympathize with it.

Cheers,

TH

"One local guy who seemed promising interrupted one feminist event by giving a non sequitur rant in defense of marital rape."

I...don't even know what to say. What...the hell? I...what...no, I don't want to know, do I? I mean, how exactly can one defend such a thing? Was the poor guy led on?

I agree Law Fairy and girls' amd womens' ingratitude of rights they take for granted doesn't bother me as much as it used to. I love KO and don't think he's anti-feminist but his anger at gender sellouts like Hilton went over the top today.

Paris Hilton is like Freddy Krueger: The only way to make her go away is to stop paying attention.

That, and she has long, fake finger nails.

(sorry for the triple post)

I think Paris Hilton is a horrid influence on young girls growing up--she along with a lot of the teen pop stars send a message that if you want to be valued in our society, you need to be hot, blonde, sexually available, and stupid.
That said, I don't think it's remotely appropriate to refer to her as a slut on a news program. The news is supposed to be about reporting facts, and "slut" is an opinion. (Also a moral judgement, but let's not get into that...)
This kind of thinking, that she "deserves" to be called a slut on national news because she her sex life has been made more public than most, is the same kind of thinking that says a prostitute (or a wife) can't be raped, because she's had consensual sex in the past.

It's not like Olbermann was saying anything we already didn't know. Paris Hilton is a slut. Funny, I watched this and though nothing about it being "anti-woman." Please. I must be a bad woman then, because I can see Paris for the joke she is. I won't apologize for passing an appropriate moral judgement.

That's not the point, Sarah. Even though Paris Hilton is a terrible influence in terms of pretty much every gender issue imaginable, she in no way deserves to be called a slut. No one does. The problem is, the word itself is "anti-woman." The word implicitly refers to a double standard by which promiscuous women are written off as 'ruined' and promiscuous men are excused for 'just being men.' If the story had been about a fight between two male celebrities, I doubt there would have been any mention of their sex lives.

You're certainly entitled to your opinion, but as far as I'm concerned calling any woman a slut hurts women in general. Every use of the word legitimizes it further, which is a bad thing no matter what your convictions are. The last thing we need right now is more women being called "sluts." This isn't an issue of promiscuity, it's a matter of solidarity.

Paris Hilton is not a slut for the same reason Paris Hilton is not a giant flying pink rhinoceros: Because they don't exist.

Anyone who wants to say there is such a thing as a slut is welcome to try to define the term, but I think you'll find that, like "bitch" (until feminists reclaimed it), it's a meaningless but nasty-sounding term used as a weapon by men against women.

Cheers,

TH

but there are people who things women needs to be blonde, VIRGIN, sexually repressed and stupid like jessica simpson

Paris Hilton is ridiculous, but this news clip is really a punch in the face against all women. The comment Olbermann made was disgusting and unprofessional, and someone we should call him on it. It's an insult to me writing this, and you reading it. It applies to all of us.

I have a personal story to share, this video reminded me of this experience. I am a university student, and over the past 3 years have lived on campus in residence. Last year, my roomate and I were literally labeled "sluts". During a party, one of the residence assistants spray painted the word outside our doorstep with that fake snow window paint in huge, thick letters, which we were not aware of until morning becase were not also partying.

I knew in the morning who had done it, because we had heard voices outside our door. I had to fight with this person to clean up the "joke", and he just didn't get it. He refused after being politley asked, and then long into an arguement. It was only because the person was previously a friend of mine that he eventually cleanded up the mess. I never reported the event, because similar events go unoticed in resiednce all of the time, and because I felt some satisfaction in making him apologize, then scrub it off my floor (took hours).

I feel the word slut is overused by childish boys, especially to degrade younger women. In university, this label I find often used as a "joke", and especially to degrade the academic or athletic accomplishments of women, or women who have "turned them down".

For the people who don't think this video was so bad, I know you can think of personal experiences in which the word slut was used? This time is the SAME as that time, it's all the same problem. And there isn't one of us who is unaffected by it.