I typically waste the majority of my substantial free time on Facebook match-3 games and Youtube videos. Somewhere between the How it Should Have Ended series and the Honest Trailers, I occasionally get a suggestion for the Young Turks; which is a channel that tends to feature discussions about various political and social issues with a bit of a comedic flare. Kind of The Daily Show with a much lower budget.
So here is where I'm coming from. I'm not an avid watcher, but I've checked out a few of the videos and I generally find them pretty well thought out. I may not always agree with the conclusions they draw but I find they have a respectable/logical thought process, and the expressed opinions are usually insightful.
And then I came across this one video from about eight months ago where Ana Kasparian, Jimmy Dore and John Iadarola were responding to actress Alice Eve's Instagram response to Bruce/Kaitlyn Jenner. And I was bothered. It's been a week since I saw the video and it's still gnawing at me.
The story broke back when Bruce Jenner revealed himself to be transgendered, and had gotten at least part of a sex change to adopt the identity of Caitlyn. I wrote a whole blog about my response to that, and my feelings on the topic haven't really changed. I still believe Transgender is an important issue to discuss but Caitlyn Jenner is a terrible face for the issue; living in rich Hollywood World and getting credit for being 'courageous' when Jenner literally has nothing to lose by being openly transgendered and has a Vanity Fair cover shoot and a whole new series of checkout counter magazines to take a whole new interest in the least valuable Kardashian player.
So while most vocal celebrities went on record in favor of Caitlyn (probably because it was the IN thing to do) Alice Eve posted these statements on Instagram:
“If you were a woman no one would have heard of you because women can’t compete in the decathlon. You wouldn’t be a hero. You would be a frustrated young athlete who hasn’t given a chance...Until women are paid the same as men, then playing at being a “woman” while retaining the benefits of being a man is unfair. Do you have a vagina? Are you paid less than men? Then, my friend, you are a woman.”
Shortly thereafter she removed the comment, but nothing ever truly disappears on the internet. Someone will always dig up the comment and splash it in front a new audience for their own purposes. Um...kind of like I just did...
Now before I get to the Young Turks, let me say I don't think Eve did anything objectionable. The point that she's making may be a little more emotionally charged than a more inviting conversation would merit (which is likely a factor in her removal of the comment) but I don't feel she crossed any line.
I don't know anything about Alice Eve as a person. She could be a wonderful humanitarian or a horrible person for all I know. But regardless, these particular comments in this particular context really don't feel like any kind of an issue to be lambasted.
Until the Young Turks got hold of them.
Ana Kasparian went first, reading out all of Alice Eve's comments and pausing to deem them ignorant. She referred to Jenner as "so incredibly courageous and brave" and yet "you somehow turn this into a feminist issue?"
After a few more condescending remarks from Kasparian, Jimmy Dore chimes in with the most obvious lowbrow joke he could possibly have come up with. "I think what happened is Alice Eve is on her period."
This was the point that the whole conversation stopped mattering. John Iadarola does his best to follow up with what's probably intended to be a somewhat thought out take on the topic, and he admittedly manages to walk away with some semblance of respect, but honestly the damage was done.
So backtracking into Dore's comment, I know it's a joke. I know he's saying it to be a joke. It doesn't matter. It's a terrible joke. And the fact that he even has to take the time to explain why it's a joke only confirms how offensive the joke actually is. Very poor form, Dore.
And that was the final coffin nail in what was already turning out to be such a disappointing display of sexism from Ana Kasparian. Yes, her comments were sexist towards women. Just because they were coming from a woman doesn't grant her belittling of Eve absolution from sexism.
How is it sexist? I hear you ask. (and when I say 'you' I mean my wife who's been kind enough to proofread my blog). Let's look at the phrase 'you somehow turn this into a feminist issue'. Eve isn't turning it into anything that it isn't already. She's acknowledging that there's a side to this story that it isn't IN to be talking about. Issues are complicated because different people have different reactions to them. As I pointed out quite modestly in my previous blog, there are two primary issues on the table with the Bruce/Caitlyn transition. One, an understanding of transgender. Two, the ramifications of a sex change.
Kasparian finds Jenner to be courageous, or she did at the time. A more recent video has her taking a viewpoint closer to mine, but whatever, I get the sense she's just in love with her own voice. But someone having a sex change is not off the table just because she happens to be inspired by Jenner's transgendered revelation. And a sex change IS a feminist issue. And it's also a non-feminist issue because issues are complicated.
What makes someone a woman? Is it the second X Chromosome? Is it artificial breasts? Is it a lifetime of experience of being treated a particular way because of the way women are perceived? Or experiencing the world through a woman's brain? I believe these are the question Alice Eve was raising. Valid questions. And Kasparian was taking on the view of someone who believes them to be invalid, and these concerns and emotions regarding the nature of gender should be silenced. And that is the nature of sexism.
So bottom line: Kasparian, you make me very sad, and I highly doubt I'll ever think you're worth listening to. Dore, you're not funny and I don't respect you. Iadarola, I confess I have no idea how to pronounce your name. I don't agree with some of the things you said but I'm totally cool with you. I'm sorry you had to be on that panel. Jenner, you don't live in the real world. If you want to walk away from Hollywood World, I'll stop putting 'courageous' in quotations. Until then, you're a sideshow attraction.
And finally to Alice Eve, I'm sorry if I reprinted your statement against your wishes, but I honestly feel like you said something that was at least worth reading and responding to. But I happen to agree with you. I believe our culture still tips the scales in the favor of men, and no operation or dress or makeup could ever grant me an insider's understanding of what that unfairness feels like for decades from childhood to the present. I truly hope it has gotten better, and I pray that equality will happen in our time. Most of all, I just want to say that I feel you were right, and mistreated for it, and I'm not okay with that.
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