Fox News Op-Ed Says Women’s Nature Is To Be Dominated By Men
Fox News has published another sexist op-ed by Suzanne Venker, the author who became infamous for attacking a fictional “War on Men.” In the follow up piece, Venker argues that women are naturally men’s inferiors.
The author believes the crudest of crude gender stereotypes are built into male and female brains, arguing that women “like to gather and nest and take care of people” while men “are hunters: they like to build things and kill things.” As a consequence, she maintains a man’s place is in the office; “his” woman should simply “surrender” to his rule:
[W]omen shouldn’t let their success in the workplace become the biggest thing in their lives. If the ultimate goal is lasting love – and let’s face it: for most people it is – women are going to have to become comfortable with sacrifice and capitulation. …
Surrendering to your femininity means many things. It means letting your man be the man despite the fact that you’ve proven you’re his equal. It means recognizing the fact that you may very well want to stay home with your babies – and that that’s normal. Surrendering to your femininity means if you do work outside the home, you don’t use your work to play tit for tat in your marriage. It means tapping into that part of yourself that’s genuinely vulnerable and really does need a man – even though the culture says you don’t.
In other words, put down your sword. It’s okay if your guy’s in charge. It’s okay if you don’t drive the car. In fact, it’s rather liberating.
These views are not supported by modern neuroscience, which finds that brain differences between men and women are hard to pinpoint and often a result of social pressures rather than biology. Moreover, the reason that many women are unhappy with their worklives is more about institutionalized sexism than some innate need to be cared for by a strong man.
Venker’s justification for unequal gender roles, “men and women are different,” literally harkens back a hundred years: one of the main arguments advanced against women’s suffrage was that it “wasn’t natural” for women to participate in public life outside of the home. And though Venker says with no sense of irony that she believes women are “equal, but different,” views like hers are strongly associated with excusing domestic violence and gender discrimination.
Fox News has a storied history of using its megaphone to broadcast sexism. Host Brian Kilmeade has said on-air that “Women are everywhere. We’re letting them play golf and tennis now. It’s out of control” and that the network hires female anchors by going “into the Victoria’s Secret catalogue and [saying], ‘Can any of these people talk?’”
Source
OP: Really. I'm flabbergasted. We have to become comfortable with sacrifice and capitulation? Have I missed some part of history where we weren't forces to become "comfortable" with sacrifice and capitulation?
Fox News has published another sexist op-ed by Suzanne Venker, the author who became infamous for attacking a fictional “War on Men.” In the follow up piece, Venker argues that women are naturally men’s inferiors.
The author believes the crudest of crude gender stereotypes are built into male and female brains, arguing that women “like to gather and nest and take care of people” while men “are hunters: they like to build things and kill things.” As a consequence, she maintains a man’s place is in the office; “his” woman should simply “surrender” to his rule:
[W]omen shouldn’t let their success in the workplace become the biggest thing in their lives. If the ultimate goal is lasting love – and let’s face it: for most people it is – women are going to have to become comfortable with sacrifice and capitulation. …
Surrendering to your femininity means many things. It means letting your man be the man despite the fact that you’ve proven you’re his equal. It means recognizing the fact that you may very well want to stay home with your babies – and that that’s normal. Surrendering to your femininity means if you do work outside the home, you don’t use your work to play tit for tat in your marriage. It means tapping into that part of yourself that’s genuinely vulnerable and really does need a man – even though the culture says you don’t.
In other words, put down your sword. It’s okay if your guy’s in charge. It’s okay if you don’t drive the car. In fact, it’s rather liberating.
These views are not supported by modern neuroscience, which finds that brain differences between men and women are hard to pinpoint and often a result of social pressures rather than biology. Moreover, the reason that many women are unhappy with their worklives is more about institutionalized sexism than some innate need to be cared for by a strong man.
Venker’s justification for unequal gender roles, “men and women are different,” literally harkens back a hundred years: one of the main arguments advanced against women’s suffrage was that it “wasn’t natural” for women to participate in public life outside of the home. And though Venker says with no sense of irony that she believes women are “equal, but different,” views like hers are strongly associated with excusing domestic violence and gender discrimination.
Fox News has a storied history of using its megaphone to broadcast sexism. Host Brian Kilmeade has said on-air that “Women are everywhere. We’re letting them play golf and tennis now. It’s out of control” and that the network hires female anchors by going “into the Victoria’s Secret catalogue and [saying], ‘Can any of these people talk?’”
Source
OP: Really. I'm flabbergasted. We have to become comfortable with sacrifice and capitulation? Have I missed some part of history where we weren't forces to become "comfortable" with sacrifice and capitulation?
Ladies, you can do more, by doing less. Maybe, stop voting, or stop talking. That’s mysterious! I mean, what are you girls thinking? I mean, follow Mrs. Venkers advice, and you single gals will finally be able to live out every woman’s wildest dream-marrying a man who doesn’t want you to achieve anything.
And as a man on behalf of women everywhere, thank you Suzanne Venker. I trust you will lead the charge by getting out of the writing business. Clearly, it’s not in your nature.
i cannot wait to see his response to this.
Edited at 2012-12-07 06:26 pm (UTC)
That's what I really don't get about female activists focused on promoting traditional gender roles. If they truly believe what they're saying, shouldn't their husbands be delivering these messages?
She really needs to take her own advice. I mean, she's just dominating her man! She's way successful and nobodies heard of him, hell SHE DOESN'T EVEN MENTION HIS NAME IN HER ABOUT SECTION. Honey, please, please go home and take care of your man!!!! And your kids!
Let your man be the breadmaker and please, for the love of god hurry before his penis falls off because of your success and domination over him!!!!!!!
/end sarcasm/
This lady is so hypocritical!
I know she's probably not, but I'm just going to believe that anyway.
Oh fuck you all!
Will someone please, PLEASE ship this woman to the nearest isolated island?!
Also:
Edited at 2012-12-07 08:18 pm (UTC)
eta: gaah can you embed youtube videos anymore?! Anyway:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjxY9rZw
Edited at 2012-12-07 08:37 pm (UTC)
It's all bullshit anyway, but its not even logical bullshit.
Somehow I doubt "loner who likes to kill things" would work well on a resume for most jobs.
Bullshit. People can like whatever the fuck they like regardless of gender roles. Do I like interior decorating and making things pretty? Hell yes! But so does my best guy friend. We can spend literally hours talking about color pallets and swatches and textures. His girlfriend literally has no idea WTF we're talking about ninety-some percent of the time and you know what? THAT'S OKAY! Our lives do not lose meaning based on his interest in "girly" things. Their relationship is not compromised because they don't subscribe to standard gender roles. And my ability to talk about why orange and teal look hideous together while kicking butt at Halo makes me a happy, happy person.
In short STFU and GTFO Suzanne Venker, your hypocritical opinions don't mean a thing.
Given the amount of cute gif spams I do I'm sure it's no surprise that I like to 'nest' (kind of) and take care of people. I always seem to naturally take on the role of den mother. I'm totally cool with that.
But even though that it my nature any fool ass man tries to tell me that it means I have to submit to him is going to find out that being soft and sweet to those who are hurting doesn't mean I'm unwilling to cause hurt to ignorant motherfuckers.
Besides that, there are obviously women who do not gather and nest and don't know the first thing about taking care of people. And that's cool too cause, y'know, people are different, complex human beings and not things that can be dissected and compartmentalized to fit your narrow world view.
If the ultimate goal is lasting love – and let’s face it: for most people it is – women are going to have to become comfortable with sacrifice and capitulation
Ahahahahahaha. Lord. Look, I'm a hopeless romantic. But if your idea of love means that one partner (oh hey there heteronormativity (also the gender binary/gender essentialism (can we come up with ways to describe this that don't sound obnoxiously academic?))) has to constantly put aside their dreams and independence then, quite frankly, you know jackshit about love. Actual, healthy, deep, fulfilling love.
Now, surrendering to your partner, that's not about about letting them carve the turkey or whatever else. It's about feeling safe, respected and loved so that you can share the deepest, scariest, darkest parts of yourself with another person. All the pain and anxieties and fears and flaws that keep us up at night and know that that other person will hold you and tell you they love all of you, cause the good often can't exist without the bad. That's how you really truly give yourself to another person.
And you can never, ever do that if they're not willing to give all of themself to you as well. That's why love's so scary, why we build up all these ideas and archetypes and roles to try and create a semblance about what our heart knows it wants but doesn't know the words and actions to make our desires real. It's a simplistic kind of happiness, one that might not feel right but at least it's something you can convince yourself is what you want. It's easier to delude yourself than be open and honest with yourself and your partner.
Pretty much my thoughts as well. I'm a social worker so apparently fit her stereotype of women linking to nest and take care of people and thus making up the majority in helping professions. But I would love to hurt anyone who thinks that means I'm inherently inferior to men, and need to surrender to a husband.
Of course I'm also introverted and as such in my personal life probably line up more with her stereotype for men as "loners".