Tossing women under the bus

Yesterday I waxed poetic about how even the most incendiary articles have a point of view for the person writing it (or profiled in it), and I said I would refrain from tossing other women, especially journalists under the bus for sharing their beliefs.  But, here we go again, and the latest incendiary column was published by the Washington Post and the word that is causing all the controversy -- "dumb."  Shoot, even my kid knows it's not good taste to call anyone dumb.

But, in case you missed it, WaPo published an op-ed piece by Charlotte Allen called We Scream, We Swoon, How Dumb Can We Get? where she points out that women are the "less bright" sex.  While I tongue in cheek want to say, well, Charlotte, you may have just proved your point.  Most men wouldn't toss their entire gender under a moving bus just to get attention.

Yet, I have to admit, I believe people should have their opinions, even if it's unpopular.  What I found most interesting was WaPo's handling of it.  First they said it was a joke.  But, from what I could find out about Charlotte, she's no Dave Barry, or Tina Fey for that matter and is not well-known for her comedic writing talents.  Nor was it April Fool's Day.  Then they tried to sweep it under an "Obama/Clinton split" by putting all the raging letters to the editor under the innocuous title of Barack Obama and the Female Vote. Now they're letting her go online to defend herself today at 2 pm. 

I will include my favorite letter to the editor on this as it was short and sweet (and from a guy!):

Have you lost your minds? I can only assume no one at The Post has a daughter.

ROB KILLION

Feministing had even more fun with WaPo when they pointed out that they changed their online headline from "Women aren't very bright" to "Why do women act so dumb?" after they realized the controversy.  Nothing like a little lame backpedaling.

Not sure I know the answer here, except WaPo should clearly continue to run contrarian opinions.  However, it might be best if they either state clearly "the opinions are not those reflected by the paper" and allow for a competing view, or if they do share the views of the author, own up to it and let the consumers vote with their wallets - don't say "oh, we were just joking ..." ugh.  Besides, now we'll have to put up with another Christopher Hitchens article about why women aren't funny.

For more about the article check out the woman-owned Huffington Post!  We do have options to read better stuff.

**ADDENDUM** The Post stepped up and included a nice contrarian piece by Katha Pollitt today, aptly entitled Dumb and Dumber: An Essay and its Editors. 

Comments

[Carol L. Skolnick]

If Charlotte Allen were correct, her observations and opinions would effectively erase decades of history and progress. Good thing most men and women are not so dumb as to be affected adversely by her "findings."