The Night Feminism Died

"Prejudices are what fools use for reason." - Voltaire

I'm usually a huge fan of Tracie Egan, editor of Jezebel and lascivious blogger, best known for writing about her very intimate experiences. She's a cross between Cynthia Heimel, Erica Jong, and Tucker Max - if he were actually intelligent and witty. I enjoy her writing, and I even had her blog listed in my blog roll. She's dirty, funny, and her writing is no holds barred. I love writers who are cutting edge and willing to put themselves out there. She and Moe Tkacik, co-editor of Jezebel and a writer for The Washington Post most recently, appeared on Lizz Winstead's, comedy writer and feminist, show, "Thinking and Drinking" in NYC. This is a platform where she interviews smart men and women, discussing the media, politics, gender issues, and anything else Lizz has on her mind. I was thrilled to hear that the two Jezebel girls were being interviewed - until I saw the video. The night was a debacle. The video is cringe worthy to the 10th degree. After seeing this, I was embarrassed to be a woman.





Full video (about 1 hour)- third one down

Why the hell are these two supposedly intelligent women, who are also self-proclaimed feminists, making asinine statements like: "The thing about the rapists of our generation, is that they all use drugs, they all have some sort of drug they use on you, so it's good to feel, and I don't know if this has happened to me or if I just drink too much..."!! What are you talking about??!!

Now, I realize they were drunk, and they felt blind-sided by the whole rape issue - this all according to Tracie's post on her blog, but I don't care how drunk you are. If somebody asks you to discuss rape, then talk about rape as it is: a heinous act that ruins millions of women's lives. Don't discuss rape like it's not a big deal because it is a big deal - a very big one. I'm still horrified by how flippant they both were, especially since rape is such a sensitive topic. If you feel as if you're not qualified to speak about it - then fucking don't. Shut your mouth. Don't go on to say you've never been raped because you're so smart and intuitive; thereby inferring that rape victims are stupid and have poor judgement. I'm not even a rape victim, and I found their comments vulgar - so I can just imagine what a woman who has been raped thinks of these statements.

The most nauseating statement of this travesty was Moe's response to Lizz's question on why she had never pressed charges when she had been date raped in college: "Because it was a load of trouble and I had better things to do, like drinking more."

Well said. So, hear that all you women out there: If you're not smart enough that you end up getting raped, don't bother reporting it because it's a waste of time. He probably won't rape anybody else. He's harmless. Just pour yourself another drink and fuck some strange guy. Oh, and don't forget to use the pulling out method because it's "the most fun way of not getting pregnant". Excellent message to the young woman of this generation, especially since these two are viewed by many as some kind of third-wave feminist icons.

I've watched the clips several times, and I've viewed the full one-hour video of the show. I wanted to make sure I saw it all. I wanted to hear everything they had to say. I would never write an article like this from just the sound bytes alone. After viewing the full video, it made me even more disgusted because they acted like they really didn't care about anything, except for maybe drinking and the occasional lay. They weren't passionate women like I had imagined them to be. They just sat there, looking complacent and bored. It was their time to shine and show off their intelligence and strength, but they didn't.

I'm not sure if they were trying to be funny. I think there were moments where they were making an effort to be funny, but failing miserably. Most of the time, they just seemed like they didn't give a shit. I saw their complacency and nonchalant attitudes indicative of this generation of women - especially white, middle-class, and educated women. These women have everything they want in life and more. They have the world at their feet. They don't have to fight for anything because it's already there. During the show, Lizz Winstead comments on how the feminists of yesterday have fought for everything to get the women of their generation to this place in society.

Tracie and Moe should not be viewed as new wave feminist role models. They have no idea what feminism means - which was evident if you watched the video. What they should be viewed as is good writers who know how to engage their readers and keep them entertained. I don't view them as bad people, just misinformed. Do I think they should apologize to their readers and fans who have put them on a pedestal? No, I don't. They don't owe anybody an apology, except themselves for looking at the world through a set of blinders just because they are too lazy to take them off.

For all of the efforts of the feminist movement for the past forty years, these girls just set women back about twenty in one night. You can blame it on "irreverent" drunkenness, but I blame it on utter stupidity, ignorance, and a bourgeois sensibility not to care about anything but yourself. (Via Shoot the Messenger)