Cartoon sexism: it ain’t sexy
NS January 23rd, 2008
Seen on Feministing
Nice, eh? Nothing like a little hand-drawn gender stereotyping and thinly-veiled sexism to get the ol’ feminist fires going. Bets are 5:1 that the cartoonist told people who complained to ‘lighten up’ and ‘take a joke’. Hardy fucking har.
That does remind me though, about some good lightbulb-type jokes I read the other day which made me chuckle. Wanna hear?
Q: How many anti-feminists does it take to change a light bulb?
A: 51. One to change the light bulb, and fifty to bitch that if it wasn’t for those damned feminazis, it wouldn’t be dark in the first place.
* * *
Q: How many anti-feminist men does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Why is it always men who have to change the light bulb? Why are men always women’s slaves? This is just another example of the anti-male attitudes pervading society!
* * *
Q: How many anti-feminist men does it take to change a light bulb?
A: One antifeminist man to do it, and three other antifeminists to stand around and discuss how this just shows men are better equipped for light-bulb changing.
* * *
Q: How many anti-feminist men does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Just one. He holds on to the bulb and waits for the world to revolve around his needs.
* * *
And finally, one for the anti-feminists:
Q: How many feminists does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: Four. One to change the bulb, and three to write about how the bulb is exploiting the socket.
I included the last one because I thought it was pretty darn funny. See, us feminazis can laugh at ourselves! I guess we’re usually just too busy trying to claw our way out of second class citizen status to look for the humour in things which degrade us. But that’s women for ya, right? So emotional and silly.
I’m going to go weep into a lace hankie now.
- Feminist Fury , In The News
- Comments(9)
Hehe. Perfect timing. The DP and I got into a long discussion the other night about how if a light bulb needed changing, “the woman would expect the man to do it, because traditionally, it’s a man’s job”.
Arrgh. Even though the last light bulb that burnt out, I changed, he still insists that I thought he should be doing it. We differ on this, because I hate the idea that certain roles should be attributed to different genders… it bugs me, and I can change a light bulb, so why shouldn’t I? He can do the dishes, so why shouldn’t he? Anyway, he thinks that the roles are arbitrary, and that by saying we shouldn’t assign them to a certain gender, we are making it a gender issue, when he thinks its just a logistics issue… “who cares who does what role, as long as everything gets done?” So I argued, well then, how about I change the light bulbs and you do the dishes… lol.
It’s not as if the cartoon is even mildly amusing… liked the light bulb jokes though. Also have you noticed that most household objects designed by men are very clever but about as user-friendly as a chocolate soup ladle? Oh dear, now that’s me being sexist!
Cheers
BC
hehhehe yeah i change the lightbulbs in our house. Why? because that way i know its done properly :p
i like the one about the waiting for the world to revolve around him ehehehehehehhe
You know what? I think its we (us?) feminists who get the best husbands, I really do.
As for that cartoon, there…are…no…words…
Just yesterday we had a conversation at lunch about Hillary and how she can sometimes be perceived as a bitch because she had to constantly act like it to get all the guys to take her seriously, how that whole generation had to act like that, and how lucky our generation is because of that fighting – where we get to act more like our natural selves because of their fighting. And although I appreciate Hillary running from a woman’s point of view, I do not plan to vote for her for other reasons, I still think it’s a crock of crap that any sign of emotion is taken as a sign of weakness.
That cartoon is so offensive and so totally unacceptable on any level whatsoever.
I still have to act like a bitch at work to get things done sometimes, which is infuriating.
I don’t think we have those gender roles in my house; there are things my husband does that fall within the ‘traditional’ male purview (eg fitting new taps in my bathroom), but that’s because he’s good at them and I wouldn’t bother at all myself, I’d pay someone else to do it. But in past relationships I have been trapped into fulfilling stereotypical roles, and I know I can’t bear it.
Chloe, that doesn’t sound like a fun battle to be fighting at home. I say change the lightbulbs when he isn’t around. Really it should just be whoever notices it’s out and doesn’t mind doing it. If that’s you, great. If it’s him, that’s great too. No one should feel that they should or shouldn’t do something based solely on their sex.
BC — a chocolate soup ladle…mmm, where can I get one of those?
Courtney — I agree. Women who think for themselves are attractive to men who appreciate them for who they are, not what’s between their legs.
Nikki — I sometimes change the lightbulbs in our house. I certainly notice when they’re out and buy new ones! But most of the time TNH does it because he’s so tall that he doesn’t have to drag a chair out and balance on it precariously while wishing to avoid death by electrical shock.
Aimee — very, very good point. Regardless of what you think of Hillary’s politics or personality, we should all be grateful to her for making things just a little bit easier for us. It’s not really her fault that she’s had to be a ‘bitch’ just to be allowed to play with the ‘big boys.’ And now that ‘bitchiness’ is translating to coldness. A lot of women in high-powered jobs face the same quandry. Be a bitch and get things done or be all fluffy and likeable but lose power and respect. It’s disgusting that women have to choose between the two. Women fawn all over a man with power who shows a sensitive side but if a woman does the same she’s a crybaby. Ugh.
Becky — I can see that you already experience that which I just mentioned above. I’d be interested to hear more about how your perceived ‘toughness’ at work influences how people react to you and how it effects your job.
I’d like to see just how well those sexist men would handle PMS. Thank goodness for my hubby.
BTW, ever notice how big tough manly-men turn into whiney babies when they get the sniffles? Poor babies.
my husband (further proof of the aforementioned comment that feminist women get the best husbands) enjoyed telling me this version of the joke, which comes off much better spoken than written:
Question: How many feminists does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
Answer: THAT’S NOT FUNNY!