The Week in Patriarchy is a weekly roundup of what’s happening in the world of feminism and sexism. If you’re not already receiving it by email, make sure to subscribe.
You would think that after a man killed multiple people because he didn’t get the sex he felt entitled to, that no one would take his ideas about women and sex seriously. Enter male pundits, who for some reason felt it totally appropriate to pontificate on whether “redistributing sex” for the poor lonely men who can’t get any is a good idea.
It’s hard to describe what it feels like to be a woman in this culture right now – it’s bad enough policy-wise, but then we have the nightmare of men getting paid to treat our lives and bodies like thought experiments. Should women be hanged for having abortions? Should we have a government policy that forces women to have sex with people they don’t want to? It’s like living in the Twilight Zone.
I would hate to think that only women should write about issues that affect us, but men are not doing such a stellar job lately of convincing me otherwise.
Glass half full
A racist tried to rip up a protest sign and … it didn’t go well. Have watched this at least five times.
What I’m RTing
Here's the deal: getting to fuck robots won't make incels happy because their unhappiness isn't rooted in lack of sex. It's rooted in misogynist anger at not being able to control women.
— Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) May 2, 2018
how did we get from "an incel murdered women" to "let's seriously discuss their ideas" in like... 10 days pic.twitter.com/7GIprxJy7U
— Talia Lavin (@chick_in_kiev) May 2, 2018
(smeagol voice) i love being on the computer, it's good
— swearsayer (@swearsayer) May 1, 2018
(gollum voice) we hates it, nasty filthy computer
Distinctly remember your boss saying Carly Fiorina and Heidi Cruz are ugly. Pretty sure I remember him calling people “dogs” but maybe you work for another Donald Trump on Earth 2 🤔 https://t.co/MZIpihSWvo
— Aminatou Sow (@aminatou) May 1, 2018
Who I’m reading
Teddy Wayne with some satirical (but familiar) suggestions for future White House correspondents’ dinner jokes; Moira Donegan on sexual entitlement; Elizabeth Segran on working moms’ worries on having a second child; and Irin Carmon with Amy Brittain on the systemic failure around the allegations against Charlie Rose.
What I’m ordering
Roxane Gay has an anthology that’s just come out called Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture. I can’t say I’m looking forward to reading it, but I know it will be brilliant and necessary.
How outraged I am
The Trump administration is pushing a policy that would essentially be a domestic gag rule – barring doctors who receive Title X funding from even mentioning the word abortion. On a scale of one to 10, I’m at a 15.
How I’m making it through this week
This goat working up his courage is a salve to my soul.
