The Double\u2062 Standard Often Goes the Other Way<\/h2>\n
Megan Rapinoe in August\u200d forced the\u200b exit\u200d of the U.S. \u2063women\u2019s soccer team from the 2023 World Cup when she missed a penalty \u200bkick in the\u2063 team\u2019s round-of-sixteen match against Sweden. Afterward, midfielder Lindsey Horan declared she was \u201cproud of every player that stepped \u2063up\u2063 to take a penalty today\u201d \u200cand that it was \u201ccourageous to go take a penalty\u201d kick. First Lady Jill Biden in turn told the women\u2019s team \u2062they had inspired \u201cgirls everywhere to\u200c show up\u200b and fight for \u2064their \u200ddreams.\u201d As The American Conservative\u2019s John Hirschauer noted<\/a>: \u201cThat is the sort of thing you say to a child, not \u2062a professional \u200dathlete.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course, women\u2019s soccer is not all that unique among professional female sports. Simone Biles was \u2062 named<\/a> Time magazine\u2019s 2021 Athlete of the Year, for not <\/em>continuing to compete in the \u2062Tokyo Olympics.\u2063 Naomi Osaka the same year was lauded<\/a> for withdrawing from \u200bthe French Open<\/a> to address her\u2064 anxiety and \u201cprioritize her well-being.\u201d Proponents \u200cof\u2062 the WNBA meanwhile vacillate between celebrating<\/a> higher audience interest \u200bin women\u2019s basketball and complaining<\/a> that the\u200d sports \u2064industry doesn\u2019t\u2062 give them enough coverage. (Truth is<\/a>, 12\u2062 million people watched\u2063 the 2022 NBA finals; the WNBA championship garnered<\/a> \u200dless than half\u2064 a million).<\/p>\n
There are \u2063plenty of examples outside of sports. Until Lizzo was (ironically) accused<\/a> \u2062of \u201cweight-shaming\u201d and sexual harassment, many were her defenders as a symbol of the fat-acceptance movement<\/a>. When their \u200cwork is questioned, \u201cstrong\u201d female journalists such as Felicia \u2062Sonmez or\u2063 Taylor Lorenz<\/a> immediately play the harassment card \u2014 usually \u200cciting harmless, anonymous, obnoxious social media users \u2014 \u2064and claim they suffer from PTSD.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n
Feminists Want Women to Be Treated Like Men, Except When\u2063 They Don\u2019t<\/h2>\n
Since Mary Wollstonecraft\u2019s 1792\u200c book, A Vindication of\u2062 the Rights of Woman<\/em>, a constant rallying cry has been the demand for equal treatment. \u201cWe need to see men and women as equal partners,\u201d\u2062 20th-century feminist \u2063writer Betty\u200d Friedan \u200cdeclared. \u201cWomen will only have true equality when men share with them the responsibility of bringing up the next generation,\u201d argued Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader \u2063Ginsburg.<\/p>\n
But do feminists actually <\/em>want equality? Feminists demand that female \u200cathletes be celebrated as \u200damazing, unprecedented superstars whether they\u2063 win or lose.\u2062 Advocates for gender equality in sports don\u2019t want fair\u200c market competition based on customer preference, but to bully and coerce the sports industry to devote as\u200c much airtime as men\u2019s sports to indifferent viewers. Male soccer fans \u2062who\u2064 don\u2019t like women\u2019s \u2062soccer are\u200d sexist \u2014 that was the\u2064 conclusion of\u2063 a \u2064 2021 study \u2062at the University of Durham in the \u200bUnited Kingdom<\/a>. Thus \u2064the demand that \u201cchange starts with more media coverage,\u201d according\u2063 to attendees at\u200c the 2022 SportsPro\u2019s\u2062 OTT Summit\u2062 USA<\/a>.<\/p>\n
When male sports players make big mistakes<\/a>, they are endlessly ridiculed \u2014 ever \u200cheard\u200d of Bill Buckner<\/a>, Garo Yepremian<\/a>, or Scott Norwood<\/a>? Rapinoe, Biles, and \u200dOsaka are instead celebrated even more <\/em>for underperforming, as if failure is itself\u200d a \u200bfeminist \u2063victory. As Hirschauer notes, feminists inhabit an \u201calternative universe\u201d of professional athletics:\u200c Rapinoe once asserted that \u200dWNBA point guard Sue Bird \u2014 who averaged 7.8 points per game in her career \u2014 had \u201clike, arguably\u2063 the best career that anyone has ever had\u2062 in\u2064 the history of any sport ever.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Controversy \u2062that Proves the Point<\/h2>\nI once worked in a building with a large sign titled \u201cTen Ways to Empower Women in the Workplace\u201d conspicuously \u2064placed directly outside the cafeteria, so that hundreds of\u200d employees would see it \u200cevery\u200b day. Some of the suggestions amounted to little more than simply \u2062being respectful \u2064and professional to women (no harm in that!). But others<\/a> (like encouraging women to \u201cbe\u200c themselves\u201d \u2062or empowering them to \u201cspeak up\u201d) implicitly communicated the need\u200c for men to exhibit deference to members of the opposite sex, as if male employees must treat their female colleagues with kid\u200c gloves in case they hurt their feelings\u2064 or damage their confidence.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n
That sign itself was a symbol \u2062of an unspoken assumption \u2062today: Women must be recognized as the same \u200das men, except they \u200crequire special \u200ctreatment that \u200dacknowledges and respects\u200d their inherent differences \u200bfrom men. Women are just as resilient as\u2062 men,\u200d except when they need to \u200dbe especially encouraged. They are \u2062just as fearless and strong as men, except\u2063 they are grossly underrepresented<\/a> in \u2062all the most\u2063 dangerous\u2064 and physically strenuous\u2062 jobs. \u200dThey\u2063 are just as\u200d professionally flexible as \u200dmen, except when\u200c they \u2062are pregnant or nursing.<\/p>\n
My point is not that women can\u2019t have great\u2063 professional success, demonstrate remarkable resiliency, or exemplify tremendous courage. Of \u200dcourse,\u2062 they have done, and do, all these things. Nor is it that female employees shouldn\u2019t\u2063 be given paid parental leave<\/a>, nursing rooms, and other benefits to honor their\u2063 role as mothers (they should be). But the louder feminists assert that they want equal treatment in all\u200b things \u2014 even in \u200cthose places where their biological,\u2062 psychological, and\u200d emotional differences are most saliently obvious \u2014\u200d the more risible the argument becomes.<\/p>\n
Hesse\u2019s calumnies against male critics of Swift (while seemingly oblivious to years<\/a> of \u2062 thrown<\/a> shade<\/a> \u2062 against\u2063 Kelce for being overrated, thus\u200d vitiating her double-standard thesis) prove the point. Moreover, the very fact\u200b that The Washington Post has a feminist female gender columnist, and no male equivalent to\u200c present counterpoint, seems to as well, no?<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n
\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n
rnrn <\/p>\n
Celebrity Status and Personal Life:\u200c When\u2062 male celebrities are criticized for their personal relationships or actions, it is often seen as a separate issue from their professional achievements. However, when female celebrities face similar criticism, their personal lives are often used to undermine \u200btheir professional success. How does this double standard affect the public perception of female celebrities and their ability to be seen as competent professionals?<\/h2>\n
Title: The Fragility of the Feminist Ego: Examining the \u2062Double Standards of Female Celebrity Criticism<\/p>\n
Introduction:<\/p>\n
In a recent op-ed article for\u200b The Washington Post, gender columnist Monica Hesse argues\u2064 that male criticism\u2063 of Taylor\u200b Swift’s relationships is a manifestation of misogynistic hyper-masculinity. \u2064Hesse quotes representatives from the football community to support her claim and\u200c mischaracterizes\u200b a recent Federalist\u200c piece by \u2064Mark \u200bHemingway on Swift’s music. This article aims to explore the phenomenon of male criticism towards female celebrities and the \u2062role it plays in perpetuating gender stereotypes.<\/p>\n
Unfair Accusations of Misogyny:<\/p>\n
Hesse’s finger-wagging at male criticism of female celebrities is not uncommon. Whether it\u200c is directed towards the U.S. women’s soccer team, obese \u2063female musicians, or self-obsessed actresses, there is always a chorus quick to\u2064 defend them and accuse their detractors of sexism\u200d and misogyny. However, this reaction highlights the fragility of \u200bthe feminist ego, as it often fails to accommodate differing opinions and perspectives.<\/p>\n
The Double Standard\u200c Often Goes the Other Way:<\/p>\n
One poignant example \u2064can be seen in Megan\u2063 Rapinoe’s missed penalty kick<\/a>\u2063 during the 2023 World Cup, which contributed to the U.S. women’s \u2062soccer team’s \u200dexit from the \u200dtournament. Instead of acknowledging<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
According to Washington Post’s Monica Hesse, any male criticism of Taylor Swift is rooted in misogynistic hyper-masculinity. Hesse’s op-ed on Swift’s rumored romance with Travis Kelce highlights quotes from representatives of the football side’s “super-alpha-fragile-istic fringe” to support this perspective.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":658,"featured_media":2053502,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2053501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2053501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/658"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2053501"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2053501\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2053502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2053501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2053501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2053501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}