A REFLECTION of Misogyny

[posted on March 1, 2013]

I can’t take it anymore. If I read one more ‘rant’ about Seth MacFarlane’s misogyny at the Oscars (2013) I will explode. I do not believe the straight, white male in our culture needs defending, but this is ridiculous. Am I a bad feminist – no. Maybe my brand of feminism reflects the 3rd-wave status I’ve been aligned with.

First of all, the ‘boob’ song was so ridiculous that it seemed blatantly absurd to me. I mean, really, ‘The Accused’ and ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ are the antithesis of a boob-peek. To get hardcore ‘literal’ is to miss the point. To show that great actresses can be reduced to a sexualized body part is BRILLIANT.

To say that the youngest female ever nominated for Best Actress will be old enough in 9 years to date George Clooney speaks volumes in my books. That older men routinely date smart, young, gorgeous women is a standard, especially in Hollywood. To reduce the young girl’s status to a Clooney ‘date’ is unbelievable – you’d think. I cannot believe people bought into this – that to me is way more disturbing than a MacFarlane twist on [appropriate] culture.

MacFarlane congratulated women who gave themselves the ‘flu’ to look good for the show. An eating disorder where women make themselves skinny and sick – sound familiar? When MacFarlane said they looked good, do you really think he was promoting this ‘diet?’ I remember one Family Guy episode where Meg is taught to stick a finger down her throat. There is a very real knowledge about the prevalence of eating disorders, and kudos to MacFarlane for shedding light on this area.

What is so disturbing about this is that I am on the opposite side of this argument – people whom I often resonate with are now contentious to me. My fight is usually against the dominant culture, but now even some ‘fringe’ elements are conservative in my estimation. I will be vilified for saying the following: It was brave of MacFarlane to stand up to a dominant form of prejudice. Give him credit - he knows what he’s doing.