Currently, I'm sitting smugly in my office and pumping my fist in the
air because FINALLY it would appear that the world and the rest of the
*feminist* blogosphere are finally waking up to the fact that Jezebel is run by a bunch of fucking morons.
I've disliked them for a long time for various reasons:
They repeatedly stole content I wrote on Dollymix and NEVER linked back
to me. They ignored the friendly emails I'd sent them. They glorify
drug use. They exude this overly snarky, exclusive Gawker-ish attitude
and stick their nose up at smaller blogs.
Yet for some reason tons of women like them, and even media outlets
like Fox News act as if they are the first group of women to ever blog
about women's issues. My god, those Jezebels are different! They're
apparently anti-"body snarking" (like hell they are) and delete mean comments! (Or, comments that criticize them.)
I've always had a problem with them, I've always stood by the fact that
they're not as revolutionary as everyone would like you to think they
are. I've always felt as if they don't actually give a shit about
women's issues, and LO AND BEHOLD IT WOULD SEEM THAT I AM RIGHT.
The blogosphere is on fire with comments and complaints and anger from Jezebel readers and
other feminist bloggers...and, you know, women who don't believe rape
is a joke, and don't give interviews on serious issues drunk off their
ass. (And say things like if you get raped then you just "live through
it" or "I guess I regret being date raped".)
Tracie Egan and Moe Tkcaik went on Lizzie Winstead's show Thinking And Drinking to discuss "sexuality, feminism, freedom, power and responsibility". According to Lizzie, both women were both given information about the nature of the show and what they would be talking about, and Lizzie explained that:
"Tracie assured us she would be cool with anything we talked about in
the feminist, political arena, that she was an expert on China, and
that they had been talking a lot about rape lately."
Sounds great, right?
Watch the clips above (if you can stomach it) and I'll give you £20 if your head doesn't explode.
A great moment for me was when Tracie explained that women shouldn't just get abortions instead of using birth control because it's "too much of a pain". I also enjoyed when Moe explained that she didn't turn in the guy
who date raped her and "go through fucking shit" because it was "a load
of trouble" and because she "had better things to do, like drinking more".
Tracie "Slut Machine" Egan (who I have talked massive shit about
before, then felt bad, and apologized to her in an email and a column
which she never responded to and now greatly regret ever doing so) said
that she "hates talking about rape" and that she knows it happens to
"smart girls" but that, personally, she's never been "put in that
situation" and she's had "lots and lots and lots of sex". (Also, she "doesn't hang out with frat guys".)
She thinks this is down to like, you know, like maybe "education" and
because she's just "smart about it". Then, Tracie retracts these
statements and defends herself by saying that
"i really, really, really didn't want to talk about rape, and i said so
on stage. i also admitted that i can't relate to the whole issue
because i've never been raped, and couldn't begin to understand what
that's like... i was trying to keep my mouth shut during that whole discussion. (at one point, i even put my head in my hands.)"
Hmmmm....so, who is it that needs some education on rape again? It is
ye old Slut Machine who says stupid, horrendous shit about rape because
she "can't relate to it" - or is it the women who have been raped?
WHAT. THE FUCKKKKKK!?!?!?!?!?!
Also, if you were wondering who the rapists of our generation are like, Moe and Tracie, like, totally know and shit:
Tracie: "I live in Williamsburg, there aren't very assertive men there"
Moe: "The thing about the rapists of our generation, is that they all
use drugs, they all have some sort of drug they use on you, so it's
good to feel, and I don't know if this has happed to me or if I just
drink too much...
Moe: "It's really hard to prosecute them (rapists), so you should try to avoid them at all costs."
Tracie: "I once paid someone to rape me once."
Tracie: "Well, I didn't pay for it, I had a magazine pay for it
Tracie: "I moved here when I was 18 and you think you would
encounter more rapists in a big city like this, but, I don't know, I
just haven't."
Personally, if it were up to me, and they were my writers, I would have
them fucking fired. But, I suppose Nick Denton is too high and mighty
to do that. (Wonder how long it will take for his Google Alert to pick
up on what I said and for how long it will take for him to leave me
another comment about how Gawker is so IRONIC and FUNNY and how they
were JUST KIDDING AND BEING IRONICAL.)
They're the two most popular editors of a WOMEN'S ISSUES blog that has
loads of traffic and that tons of women (blindly...maybe stupidly)
trust, and here they are, wasted, and talking flippantly about date
rape and how rape is basically a woman's fault.
Fuck you, Jezebel and an even bigger fuck you to Gawker Media.
I'm not saying that they should only employ people who report rape or
who are "perfect feminists", but Jesus-Fucking-Christ. Wake the fuck up
and smell the responsibility you have as a role model for women. (And YES, you are a role model whether you wanted to be or not.)
A fucking million points to Lizzie Winstead for screaming at them about how their entire blog is based off of EMULATION. On The Huffington Post and Shoot The Messenger, Lizzie Winstead expressed her disgust with Moe and Tracie by saying:
I don’t know if they came to the show drunk, or just ended up drunk by
the time they hit the stage, but what I do know is that the discussion
that ensued was deeply disturbing to me for a few reasons:
Because they had no regard for the people who came that night and paid money to hear them speak.
They do not understand the influence they have over the women who
read them, nor do they accept any responsibility as role models for
young women who are coming of age searching for lifestyles to emulate.
Words and actions matter, and those of us who are given a forum to
share opinion should always be mindful of that, and those of us who are
trying to be watchdogs for the truth, should always call out harmful
inaccuracies when we see them. I feel a responsibility to hold these
young women accountable for the statements they make as they seem sure
to keep repeating them.
As a perfect example of the power these two bloggers have, when one college student expressed her criticism and disappointment with the Jezebels, Tracie and Moe left a comment on her blog defending themselves, she backpedaled and made excuses for the pair. Apparently poor Tracie just doesn't like talking about rape! It's not her fault!
To be fair, as she pointed out in the comments of this post, Tracie was
very skittish about discussing the topic of rape because she fully
admitted she knows nothing about it. The whole discussion was just very
awkward.
And also, it's not their fault they were drunk and saying stupid
things! They thought it was a comedy show! Like ,why the hell were they
made to talk about all that serious stuff!?
...This show was supposed to be a COMEDY show, which explains why all the
intensity took me by surprise, and also kind of explains why Moe and
Tracie weren't necessarily prepared. I don't think any of us were ready
for the maelstrom of seriousness hurled at the panel/audience.
I don't care what the fuck kind of show you're on, you DO NOT imply
that women who have been raped just weren't being SMART ENOUGH or say
that if you're raped, you just "live through it".
These women are SO MISINFORMED.
And here they are, in the position to reach out to thousands and
millions of women online who are starved for something real, for
something honest and funny and different....
And they've obviously just shit all over it and shown their true colors.
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