The mommy party, women’s agency and other sexisms

“Going up against cardinal masculine virtues like violence, wealth, and the unchecked use of power taints you with a feminine stain, and in our society, femininity is disdained.” is how Slate describes the perception in the press that Dems are the Mommy Party. We’re concerned with caring for people where Republicans are the strong Daddy Party. It’s an undead sexist cliche that crops up in lots of ways, such as Tucker Carlson warning that The Felon is going to give Kamala Harris a spanking.

Because the thing is, social stereotypes still default to the strong daddy being in charge and setting the rules. Even a creepy, abusive, homophobic, misogynist Daddy Party like 21st century Republicans is still entitled to lay down the law; Dems are supposed to be sweet, nice — just like women — and when Daddy’s in one of his demented fits our job is to protect the children, not confront Daddy in any way. As this image points out, Republicans are lousy money managers —

— but its Dems who generate shock and outrage in the media when they suggest spending to help people. ACA and federal aid during the pandemic show we can do it but the media treat it as if Democrats were Lucy Ricardo buying a new mink without any thought for the family budget. Once a Dem gets into office we’re expected to balance the budget and wipe out all of the Republican red ink.

And we certainly shouldn’t rile daddy up by changing all his policies, however insane. As Zack Furntess says on BlueSky, Dems rebuilding the government will be treated as controversial and confrontational. e.g.,”Liberal Activists Say Women Should Be Free to Leave Their Homes Again. It’s Not That Simple.” “Will Dems Cut Tariffs and Kill Chance to Restore US Manufacturing?” (inspiration here).

The Republican edge in branding is a major problem, particularly in the Republi-fascist era.

Another problem, as Rebecca Solnit points out, is that something I wrote about a couple of years back — only women have agency so men aren’t at fault — is now applied more widely. Men, Republicans, the Felon, they have no agency or responsibility for their actions, they can only respond and react like automatons. It’s up to us liberals to moderate our tone and our fault if they hit us.

Similarly we have David Brooks pontificating that liberals “really did pontificate to their unenlightened moral inferiors on everything from gender to the environment.” Of course the religious right has been doing the same since it got organized in the 1980s — pontificating that women belong in the home, gays are monsters, people who vote Democratic are Satanists and baby-killers, women who engage in casual sex are sluts, etc. But like I said, Daddy laying down the rules is acceptable — when Mommy tries to do the same, well that’s when he has to hit her (there is a creepy undertone to some of this).

Now some random sexism links:

A new law in Russia bans child-free propaganda without defining it. Which is both bad and “a reminder that mandatory childbearing for the right kind of women is as central to authoritarian reaction/neo-fascism as eugenic suppression of childbearing by the wrong kind of women is to the other side of the same “family values” coin.”

A woman fencer refuses a match with a trans male fencer even though (according to another article I read) she’s fenced cis-men.

When men pursue their dreams it’s inspirational; when women have ambition, it’s because feminists brainwashed them.

“Statistically, 100% of people who have succeeded in business have been men, including today.” — resident Daily Wire half-wit Michael Knowles, who is, of course, wrong. CJ Walker, Mary Kay Ash and countless other business owners have done it.

Moms for Liberty are guaranteed to be as full of shit as Knowles, particularly when they’re spouting a classic argument: feminists are lesbians or they’re irrationally angry at men. And a woman’s highest purpose (according to pundit Rachel Campos-Duffy in the same conversation) is to bear children and be a good mom! As the Matriarchal Blessing blog put it (I don’t have the specific link) some women love motherhood and they’re good at it. But no job, including full-time motherhood, is a good fit for everyone. Campos-Duffy likes it — she’s had eight — and nobody’s forcing her to stop, but it’s not for everyone. And that’s fine.

What’s not fine? North Carolina proposing a total abortion ban, one that only allows treatment for miscarriage if the fetus has expired. It appears the legislature won’t consider it this year, but be on guard. It won’t be the last such attempt.

I don’t know the creator of that image but all rights to it reside with them.