One Direction fans are right to be outraged by GQ

[redqueen]

On Wednesday, teenage One Direction fans opened the newest issue of British GQ to find they’d been described, in no uncertain terms, as a collective of vaginal wetness. “A dark-pink oil slick that howls and moans and undulates,” wrote Jonathan Heaf.

...

In and around the men’s mag's coy preview of the band and its members was condescension and sexualization of the fans themselves. But when the first full scans of the article appeared on the Internet Tuesday, fans learned exactly how deep GQ's misogynist portrayal of the fanbase actually went.

...

What is threatening, however, is the way that the GQ article treats female sexuality: as something animalistic, primal, out of control, a giant quivering peach, ripe for eating by GQ's hetero male readership. And this is what no one is saying about fangirls' response to GQ: Sending profanity-laced messages that assert strength and power against the writers who treated them like oozing sexual garbage is an absolutely valid response.

...

That irony—that the media can describe fans wholly in terms of their vaginas, reduce the fan's interest in their idol to being purely sexual, and then berate them for their anger in response—speaks to a core part of rape culture. It's the part that Newman is aware of when she lets her daughter engage in rudeness. It's the part that tells women that they must at all times be polite and well-behaved. As the blogger Fugitivus points out, the continual cultural reinforcement that women are to be passive, never to fight back, argue, yell, or stand up for themselves is part of the reason that women don't fight back, argue, yell, or stand up for themselves when they become victims of actual sexual violence.

...

http://www.dailydot.com/opinion/one-direction-fans-gq-outrage-is-valid/

[ismnotwasm]

1. I hope One Direction responds to this

I hope they support their fans and support an anti-misogyny platform. They have a voice at this point in their career. It would be awesome to see them use it.

[seabeyond]

2. tells women that they must at all times be polite and well-behaved.

cultural reinforcement that women are to be passive, never to fight back, argue, yell, or stand up for themselves is part of the reason that women don't fight back, argue, yell, or stand up for themselves

if any person has such a bad reputation on the site that they cannot get a fair shake from a randomly selected group of six fellow DU members, that is their own fault. This is perhaps the most powerful incentive we have to encourage good behavior on DU. Every person you interact with on DU could potentially stand in judgment of you at some point. Common sense says that it would be wise to avoid pissing them off.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12592956#post1

[redqueen]

3. Hey there :)

As long as you're the nice, polite, patriarchy-friendly pro-porn, pro-objectification, pro-prostitution kind of feminist, you'll get along just fine!

[seabeyond]

4. i think i still have.....

Last edited Fri Aug 16, 2013, 03:12 PM - Edit history (1)

attitude. lol.

my bad.

maybe it iis a man on du telling our women.... scratch that, our girls.... they are bitches in the litter and jury let it stand. glad our community is so oh..... righteous.

[redqueen]

5. On a site like this it slides by because liberal feminists...

But elsewhere, shit like that is called out routinely.

[seabeyond]

6. can you believe... that GIRLS can be called bitches in a litter by a MAN

and not a single person is appalled and we are lectured how good we all are? our children called bitches in a litter. i mean. it has been about a week or less, i have been thinking about this one thing.

our GIRLS called bitches in a litter and there does not seem to be a problem with this.

[redqueen]

7. I wish I found it to be even a little bit surprising.

The way this site has been run really doesn't allow it.

When women collectively asked for sexism to be reinstated as an example of behavior that would not be tolerated, and were met with a refusal because 'gender', that really did kinda spell it out in no uncertain terms.

Anti-woman slurs are socially acceptable, so acceptable they are hardly noticed. And liberals are just fine with that.

[seabeyond]

8. i have to believe that you and i are wrong and calling girls bitches from a litter

really is not offensive and sexist since jury system works so well in not allowing homophobia, racism and sexism.

i do not know how you do not see a MAN calling our girls bitches out of a litter as sexist. but, it isnt.

i mean. tell me the thinking. cause i have turned this around in my mind for a couple days now. i cannot see any justification for a supposed progressive board to EVER allow children to be called BITCHES from a litter by a man.

[redqueen]

10. Cause "bitch" means whatever the person wants it to mean.

When it comes to anti-woman slurs, different rules apply, see.

We don't get to insist on in-group use being the only socially acceptable kind. We don't get to define it, it is defined for is. I mean come on, who would trust a feminist to understand what the word 'bitch' means?

Obviously we can't possibly work out the complexities of why men using anti-woman slurs whenever and however they like is totes acceptable. Like, it's all liberal and progressive and shit, even. Get a sense of humor right? Lighten up! Misogyny isn't bad unless you're, like, physically harmed. Duhuh.

[seabeyond]

11. Misogyny isn't bad unless you're, like, physically harmed. Duhuh.

hold on now. not so fast. of course there is a study from three decades ago, where some YOUNG, really young women want to be forced???? so, where is the harm

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

13. OT - It's nice to see you back

[ismnotwasm]

12. I remember when I got accused of posting 'doggie porn'

Here in HoF. Because I posted the real definition of a bitch. I laugh about that to this day.

What's not funny is the irony of it.

[msongs]

9. GQ has "heterosexual male readership"? hmm, times HAVE changed nt