Women's Rights & Issues
Related: About this forumBill Maher Is Gross
JULY 18 2014 10:18 AM
Bill Maher reminded everyone Thursday evening that no matter how progressive he claims to be, when it comes to women, hes an old school misogynist. Despite a long history of being called out by both liberals and conservatives for his tendency to use sexist slurs, Maher still thought it appropriate to tweet this:
"Dealing w/ Hamas is like dealing w/ a crazy woman who's trying to kill u - u can only hold her wrists so long before you have to slap her"
So much sexism packed into one tweet! As others have already pointed out, Maher is making light of the serious problem of domestic violence. But hes also trading on the tired stereotype of women as irrational children who need to be brought in line by more stable men. (See: Clark Gable or Cary Grant putting a hysterical woman in her place with a calmly delivered slap that swiftly reminds her of the proper order of things.)
Theres also the matter of the whos trying to kill u part of the tweet, a nice bit of ass-covering that turns domestic violence into self-defense. (Bill: If a woman is ever actually trying to kill you, slapping her probably isn't enough.) Maher may admire men of yore who slapped screaming women with aplomb, but he fails to have their courage of conviction. Also, his Israeli-Palestinian conflict commentary is dumb.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2014/07/18/bill_maher_s_sexist_tweet_the_so_called_progressive_makes_light_of_domestic.html
http://billmahersucks.tumblr.com/
The misogyny apparently goes unnoticed by many.
BlueJazz
(25,348 posts), he should know better. Don't piss off part of your base.
Having said that, I still think that overall, he does a lot of good things.
undeterred
(34,658 posts)to give him blowjobs. I'm not part of his base.
BlueJazz
(25,348 posts)...up a lot of topics that benefits the left side of the tracks.
Sometimes you like people in spite of their flaws.
I know my words on the subject have no weight with you...Just telling you how some of us feel.
undeterred
(34,658 posts)but he has no filter between his brain and his mouth. I can't watch and I won't defend him.
MisterP
(23,730 posts)shenmue
(38,506 posts)but it never seems to affect him. People feel sorry for him because, you know, he's rich and he's a guy.
littlemissmartypants
(22,667 posts)theHandpuppet
(19,964 posts)Just too smarmy -- any time I accidentally trip across him on the tube, I wonder if someone dragging their fingernails down a blackboard wouldn't be preferable.
Skittles
(153,164 posts)somewhere in his past some gal pissed off poor Bill and he hates women because of that