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.
Shocking news this week as it emerges the president of the United States may be a racist. Omarosa Manigault Newman, a former White House official and reality TV star, claims in her forthcoming memoir that Donald Trump used racial slurs to describe Kellyanne Conway’s half-Filipino husband. The book also alleges that tapes recorded during the making of The Apprentice capture Trump saying the “N-word” multiple times.
You’ve got to hand it to Manigault Newman: she’s certainly got a gift for grift. A longtime friend of Trump, not only did she ignore his racism while she could profit off it, she helped sanitize his bigotry. She spouted lies like: “Trump is racial; he is not a racist.” She let herself strategically be used to make the White Supremacist House look a little less white. Now that Manigault Newman has left the government, she’s trying to cash in on the #resistance with a tell-all book about the administration called Unhinged. Trump may very well be unhinged but she’s the definition of unprincipled.
News that Trump is captured on tape being indefensibly bigoted might bring on a grim sense of deja vu. Remember when people thought the infamous “grab them by the pussy” Access Hollywood tape would hurt Donald Trump? Of course, it did nothing of the sort. If anything, it only further ingratiated Trump with his base. One imagines that the news that Trump is on tape saying the N-Word will play out exactly the same way. By now it should be very clear that Trump’s racism and sexism are not bugs, they’re features. They’re the reason he is so popular amongst Americans who believe, as Laura Ingraham recently put it, that demographic changes in the US constitute a “national emergency”. Pretty much the only thing I can think of that would hurt Trump’s standing is if he was caught on tape saying: “Tax the rich! Open the borders!”
What I’m RTing
Just like catcalling, I don’t owe a response to unsolicited requests from men with bad intentions.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) August 10, 2018
And also like catcalling, for some reason they feel entitled to one. pic.twitter.com/rsD17Oq9qe
PAY BLACK WOMEN LIKE YOU PAY WHITE MEN.
— Mona Chalabi (@MonaChalabi) August 7, 2018
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018 #BlackWomensEqualPayDay https://t.co/KmL8wm6n9x pic.twitter.com/EmQHzWPC0v
Animals interrupting wildlife photographers is my new joy pic.twitter.com/gjGA53AnPX
— Ojibwe Writer Mari (@Polychromantium) August 8, 2018
Saudi Arabia and Israel are slaughtering innocent people - and the British government shares responsibility for each and every death. My piece: https://t.co/TcU4ODHCLg
— Owen Jones🌹 (@OwenJones84) August 10, 2018
A Guardian reader sent us this letter on 29 August 2016.
— The Guardian (@guardian) August 10, 2018
It's still as relevant as ever https://t.co/RjUn3Bfott pic.twitter.com/SsDJmuIxmh
Who I’m reading
Kate Aronoff on why the Democratic Socialists of America won’t stop growing. A lot of nonsense is written about the DSA (see this Atlantic piece as a prime example), and this is a much-needed antidote. Also, this Naomi Klein piece on how capitalism, not “human nature”, is to blame for climate change is well worth reading.
Glass half full
Out lesbian Ruby Rose has been cast as a lesbian Batwoman; Idris Elba is highly tipped to be the next James Bond; everyone’s excited about the Crazy Rich Asians movie; Rashida Tlaib is set to become the first Palestinian-American and first Muslim woman in Congress.
How outraged I am
Outrage is exhausting. Instead I’m hoping that Trump’s ridiculous Space Force annoys the aliens so much that they come and give us a good talking-to. Feels like the only thing that might unite the world right now is an extraterrestrial intervention.
How I’m making it through the week
Appreciating the fact that black women feature on so many fashion mags’ September issues this year. Is the super-white publishing industry finally realizing that diversity sells?
