[photo of my sister, Stacey Lazos, yogi extraordinaire, who also happens to have a Masters in education proving that woman are a lot more than just eye candy.]
Author’s note: There’s a lot of woman-maligning these days attributable in large part, I think, to he-who-shall-remain-nameless (hint: it’s not Lord Voldemort, rather he’s a presidential candidate — and I swore I would never willingly mention his name again on this blog). Yet he-who-shall-remain-nameless is not alone in his woman-bashing, he just happens to be the most vocal of bashers. Three years ago, I posted the following essay on my old blog, Persephone’s Stepsisters. Not surprisingly, things haven’t changed much and women are still under siege, although this time, it’s because we have a shot at the big prize and it’s making some men a little dizzy. And so to all those men who would rather see a narcissistic, lying, (fill in adjectives of your choice), (fill in noun of your choice), who thinks not paying taxes makes him smart and filing for bankruptcy is just good business, who bilks the little guy in order to make a buck even after receiving the work, who judges a woman by her face, her weight, and the way she eats, and who is such a control freak that he would start a war before suffering an insult, to those who would see that guy be president of the U.S. instead of a woman who has spent her lifetime preparing for the job I say, haters gotta hate. I mean, what do we ladies have to do to get noticed? Stand on our heads? Read the rest of the post here…
Green Life Blue Water 
Misogyny is being legitimised during this campaign. I can only hope that Americans choose well.
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From your mouth to God’s ears, Damyanti. We are holding our breath over here!
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So is most of the world. I hope our prayers win.
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It never ceases to amaze me how insular and isolated we remain as a country. Most Americans would have no clue that the rest of the world was even interested in our election. Those in the republican camp are acting as if this kind of behavior is normal where a candidate for President spews such vitriol at random and with gusto. Personally, I’m embarrassed for us as a nation.
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I love this post! And needless to say, I completely agree about he-who-shall-remain-nameless. Two little nits, though: 1. I think it’s Sandra Fluke, not Susan. If this is who you mean: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandra_Fluke
And 2. Something I have noticed in my forays into Trumpland, is that much of the backlash against Hillary Clinton, and a big reason that (some) women can still bring themselves to support Trump, is rooted in the behavior of Bill Clinton. I think Juanita Broaddrick is credible, and her story is troubling beyond the narrative of infidelity. I don’t personally think Hillary did anything wrong, and I don’t believe all the “coverup” and “nuts and sluts” swill that’s being used against Hillary by right-wing haters. But when I first read Broaddrick’s story back in the 90s, I dismissed her as another liar and opportunist out to smear the Clintons. She’d filed an affidavit denying the rape to Paula Jones’ lawyers, so how could she be trusted? Now, as the culture has changed and more rape survivors have come forward to tell their stories, especially about the behavior of powerful men, I think I was wrong to dismiss her, even with the affidavit she filed. Wanting to keep it quiet is a normal response for rape survivors, especially in that time and place. I am not sure what to do with that information moving forward, though. I certainly don’t think the answer is to support yet another alpha-male asshat. In fact, the best answer right now might very well be to support one of the women who was deeply wronged by an alpha-male asshat and emerged stronger for it.
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Asshat! Do you watch “Supernatural,” too?! Thanks for the name catch, Karen. I need an editor.
And I think that yes, our culture is so f—d up that women are damned if they do and damned if they don’t on this issue so many choose to stay quiet and hide what has transpired. Look at all the women who came forward against Bill Cosby after decades. The horrific case of the Stanford U woman who was raped while she was unconscious behind the dumpster has really galvanized people, women especially, in support, but I think we still have miles to go. I love the idea of supporting the woman who was “wronged by an alpha-male asshat” especially because, as you say, she did emerge stronger for it. I’ve never been in the camp that said Hillary should have left Bill for what he did regardless of how it looked to the outside world because it was her life, and her marriage and only the people in the marriage can truly decide what is right for them moving forward. It took courage to just keep on living regardless of her choice. As a friend of mine says, theirs is truly a love story, all the crazy and lies and secrecy notwithstanding. She is still the girl with the coke bottle glasses being pursued by the colloquial and stud-ley boy and neither of them would be where they are without the other.
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