-
Website
http://www.americablog.com/ -
Original page
http://www.americablog.com/2008/12/is-this-sexism-or-something-else.html -
Subscribe
All Comments -
Community
-
-
Top Commenters
-
Popular Threads
All Comments
I have to respectfully disagree here, I think his statements were completely sexist. There's an implication that because she's single, she has no life. Had he been referring to a single man, the implication would have been he's out living the good life in his "off hours", probably chasing wine, women and song.
Think about it - it's that same old thing - when a woman is tough, she's called a bitch. When a man is tough, he's shrewd, or a "go-getter" or whatever. It's that double standard, and it's entirely what his comments were about.
Stupid comments? Yup.
Sexist? Don't be naive, of course they're sexist.
Jamie in Vegas
I'm the only one who benefits when I leave early....but when a married person leaves...it benefits that worker and his spouse and kids etc....
You "help" 2 birds with one stone when you let a married person leave early... The spouse then has goodwill to the other spouses employer.
Single man or woman are shafted.
and I was the last one to leave the office on Christmas Eve...so the "others with family" could leave earlier to shop and be with their famiuly.
That's how single people are treated.
Sexist. And how you can think that it's not is a mystery to me.
"what's so important that he needs to have off Christmas." is what I would always here.
It wasn't a sexist comment Rendall made...it was "singleist" comment he made
The reality of the situation is that people without kids are treated like second class citizens in the workplace. Their time is less important. It's even worse for folks who are single or gay. I am not single anymore, nor am I gay, but I can look at them in my workplace and see the truth. Those who are childless end up pulling up the slack for those who CHOSE to have children. They are more important. how is that fair?
i also think Rendell was probably using code for "she's a lesbian" ...
but that's just me!
ps. i don't know if Napolitano is or is not gay...but i've heard some things.
we'll see.
I've heard and wondered the same thing.
The video you are attempting to embed does not exist.
Please check your URL and try again.
Get your Obama holiday fleece
https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/...
Yes, to me this was sexist. It's actually the worst sexism because the sexist would be shocked to think what he said was sexist, and many are shocked women might view his comments as sexist.
Governor Rendell was stating a truth. Homeland Security is a big job these days. It requires a lot of dedication and a lot of time and effort. If anything, what he said about Janet Napolitano should be construed as a compliment.
Campbell Brown is definitely wrong on this one.
I don't think I am being "overly" sensitive.
While the same comment would apply to singles of both sexes, women are unfairly scutinized in the workplace on their domestic situation. CB is right that men don't usually get the scrutiny because it is assumed that they are either 1)single and therefore no conflcits at home or 2) married and his wife frets over all the family details.
It was sexist then and it's sexist today.
How is what Ed Rendell said different?
As far as whining goes, a question was asked, I answered it according to my own experiences.
But it is true that Janet will devote all her time to the job - she is a workhorse
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=...
snark:
Combination of "snide" and "remark". Sarcastic comment(s).
Also snarky (adj.) and snarkily (adv.)
His commentary was rife with snark.
"Your boundless ineptitude is astounding," she snarkily declared.
In the old days we would call it being a smarty pants. lol
I am not angry with Rendell, but I had hopes we had moved beyond this.
And I can absolutely see a couple of men in a private room, looking through applications for some high-workload job, and one of them says, "Did you see this guy? He's 45, umarried, no kids. No life to speak of. He'd be perfect."
It was stupid and insulting of Rendell to imply that having no family means you have no life, but I don't see any reason to add "sexist pig" to that pair of adjectives.
Would they be saying this about her if she were a man? No, I do not think they would be. Reeked of sexism to me.
and Im glad I now work with someone (a woman) who I met in the workplace and we have a great working relationship.. we've known each other for 20 years.... she signs my checks... and I make her a fair amount of money...
The other thing I'd like to point out that I don't think anyone else has yet is that single women are still carrying huge family responsibilities--taking care of ailing parents, siblings, etc.--despite the fact that they don't have an immediate family of their own. It's aggravating that the workplace sees us as footloose and fancy free simply because we're not "settled." At my work, women with children (not men, mind) can get away with doing much less than I can. I don't blame the women, either--many of whom agree with me--but the older men who run things.
Come on. You *have* to know that sexism is more complicated than simply men can/women can't statements. As for playing the role of victim ... good lord, no. What in my comments suggested that???
Im single, but when I worked in corporate America I had to listen to married straight folks talk about their wives, thier kids, blah blah blah... but it always irked me when I heard straight people say they don't care about someone being gay as long as they don't talk about it... but mentioning your partner to them means talking about it... but yet we have to listen to them talk about their spouses or that they mention they have a spouse... but somehow thats ok... .........Im just venting here, but it is relevant to the conversation about sexism and equality in the workplace...
So, here I'm asking the couples without kids, since I haven't been a "live in" couple in almost 50 years: Do you pretty much have lives of your own, or are you at each other's command? Do you make your own decisions about working, or do you consult with each other? And if the job requires more than something you as a couple have agreed on, do you change jobs?
I think the same question could be asked of couples with kids, though, who don't have a relationship where his/her job is considered lesser than his/hers .
This is mostly a personal issue, I think, which may on its face seem sexist, but economy, job status, and a lot of other factors sometimes enter the picture, having nothing to do with a person's gender.
But I think this is more to do about being single than being a man or woman. After all, any person, man or woman, who is totally a workaholic really doesn't have a social life unless it's all business. When that happens, delegate at work and give yourself time to have one if you want it.
Just because Chris didn't recognize (or perhaps realize) that Brown's show airs opposite Keith's doesn't mean her motives aren't suspect. She only started doing commentary recently after Keith's great success with his firey comments. Don't forget that ratings are king in television.
I still think that Rendell's comment was presented as a slice of a conversation without context. We don't know whether anything had been said about her qualifications. I spent more than 20 years in the private sector and the remainder of my career in non-profits, and experienced plenty of employers (both male and female) who expected employees who were unmarried to work longer hours.
Brown has achieved one thing in airing this editorial comment: discussion. That's not bad
I feel sorry for Janet, but if anyone can sort it out and get this damn agency working properly it would be her. She is amazing. Now if they could just start by changing the damn name to exclude the word 'homeland'.....
Rendell is right about someone, anyone, having to work 24/7 just to get that mess of a government agency up and running again.
She is right about one thing, however - single people (and married people without children) do get shit on a lot in both the work world and the rest of society. We foot tax bills with very little say in the operation of schools, and are constantly reminded that we are required to make sacrifices for someone else's children. Of course we can't adopt any in Arkansas unless we are married. . .we have to stand by quietly while every dumbshit breeds and teaches their children the finer art of hating other Americans. . .but we are always expected to write another check, be a good neighbor, work the crappy shifts, and give up our holidays so we can help out the "families."
And just get a load of the laws written by legislatures predominantly filled with "married" and "family" people for unmarried people. We are essentially perpetual old maids and fey bachelors who are barely more than legal wards of the state - as if we really don't become independent adults capable of forming secure relationships unless we are "married."
Folks like me are the forgotten bunch in our society and tax system. Sometimes I get so tired of giving and getting so little back.
The second anyone is permitted to draw inferences based on gender, race, sexual preference, etc, that's when those who wish to use such factors feel it's permissible to discriminate. They just look for such openings and wait. We can't give them the opportunity.
I'm a strong feminist and would have no problem calling out Ed Rendell or anyone else on sexism and I don't see this as an example of same. Calling attention to one particular attribute of a person does not necessarily mean that the speaker values only that attribute. I think we can give Ed a pass on this one and caution him to walk away from mics when he's involved in a private conversation.
Yelling at a screen challenges no one.
I have never heard, ever, a male politician praised, or considered more fit for a position, because of his lack of family.
And who is Ed Rendell anyway? I mean, I know he's Governor of Penn., but so what? Why does anyone care what he said? Is he Obama's right hand man? Did he influence the pick by pointing out that Gov. Nepolitano is an "old maid" or lesbian or whatever everyone seems to implying he said?
Give me a break! Grow up, people. I'm a woman in my mid-50s and understand that sexism exists and how detrimental it can be, but this is just silly. In fact, it's the type of thing that the Karl Roves of the world seize on and use to whip the left wing into a frenzy (get us fighting among ourselves) while the right wing laughs their butts on.
Just let it go. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar...just like sometimes a rude and insensitive comment is just rude and insensitive and nothing more.
Aren't there a LOT of more pressing issues we should all be have constructive arguments about?