When is a woman in her prime?
Breaking news from CNN this week: women are officially past their prime in their 50s. Although, it’s possible that they age out of their prime in their 40s. It’s not entirely clear. Maybe try asking Google about it.
These thoughts are brought to you courtesy of 56-year-old CNN anchor Don Lemon, who is paid millions of dollars a year to share his wisdom with the world. Lemon was doing a segment about Republican Nikki Haley, who launched her campaign for president this week with a call for Americans to put their faith in a “new generation” of political leaders. In a blatant dig at both Joe Biden (80) and Donald Trump (76), Haley said in an event in Charleston that “our politicians are past their [prime]” and called for “mental competency tests” for politicians over the age of 75. This didn’t go down well with Lemon who launched into a misogynistic rant about 51-year-old Haley’s age.
“This whole talk about age makes me uncomfortable,” Lemon said on Thursday morning. “I think it’s the wrong road to go down,” he added before immediately setting off at full speed down that road himself. “She says people, you know, politicians or something are not in their prime. Nikki Haley isn’t in her prime, sorry … If you Google when a woman is her prime it will say 20s and 30s and maybe 40s.”
Let me just repeat Lemon’s age again here: 56. He’s 56. He’s five years older than Haley and yet he thinks she’s over the hill. Making all this even worse is the fact that he had the audacity to make these comments while sitting in between his two female co-hosts. Needless to say, they weren’t impressed.
“What are you talking about, wait … Prime for what?” Poppy Harlow, 40, asked Lemon. “Are you talking about prime for like childbearing?” Lemon wasn’t able to answer that. “I’m just saying what the facts are!” he protested. “Google it!”
I don’t know if Harlow acted on that suggestion, but I did. Unfortunately, due to the way that Google works, the top result is now Lemon’s comments. I will reach out to Google, however, to see if they have an official corporate policy on what constitutes a woman’s prime. Stay tuned.
Lemon has now issued an apology of sorts for his comments, calling them “inartful and irrelevant.” (If he was determined to alliterate I think “stupid and sexist” would have been more to the point.) I’m sure he’d like to move on from this episode as quickly as possible, but I hope he doesn’t: I hope he takes the time to really think about how ingrained misogyny is in society, and what led him to make these comments in the first place. Particularly as this isn’t the first time he’s made sexist remarks on air. Back in December he said that male athletes should earn more than female athletes because men’s sports get more media coverage. “I’m not sexist,” he insisted. No, of course not.
While Lemon has dismayed a lot of his colleagues with his remarks, he’s made Haley very happy indeed. She’s already using the video clip as a fundraising tool and a way to get in the headlines. And since she’s currently in the headlines, now is a prime moment to remind everyone that Haley’s age isn’t the problem – her bigoted views are. Haley is just a more eloquent version of Donald Trump. Indeed, Fox News host Sean Hannity repeatedly asked Haley on Wednesday which policy proposals separate her from Trump and she was unable to answer.
Lemon’s comments weren’t just a gift to attention-hungry Haley. The rightwing media as a whole are having a great time using his remarks to attack liberals and pretend that they care about sexism. Ben Shapiro, for example, tweeted: “this is one of the most sexist things a ‘news host’ has said in recent memory, but nothing will happen to Don Lemon, of course.” Not to defend Lemon here, but either Shapiro has the memory of a gnat or he’s never watched Fox News. But Shapiro makes a good point: it’s rare that anything happens to men who are casually misogynistic. Indeed, often they’re rewarded for their misogyny. Just look at Shapiro’s own career.
Scientists say they’ve found evidence linking expensive sports cars to small penises
Well, “evidence” may be stretching it somewhat. Researchers from University College London have come out with a study finding that “males, and males over 30 in particular, rated sports cars as more desirable when they were made to feel that they had a small penis.” The study has yet to be peer-reviewed.
American teenage girls are experiencing high levels of emotional distress
57% of girls report depression symptoms, compared with 29% of boys, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control. They’re also reporting a massive increase in sexual violence. “These are not issues that can be solved by simply hiring more guidance counselors,” Moira Donegan writes in the Guardian. “They will require cultural shifts – ones that the United States, and many of its most influential policymakers, have been unwilling to initiate.”
Spain has become the first country in Europe to provide paid menstrual leave
On Thursday the Spanish parliament also approved legislation expanding abortion and transgender rights for teenagers.
‘Gender trolling’ is curbing women’s rights – and making money for digital platforms
A new study, Monetizing Misogyny, looks at how the online “gender trolling” of women has become a key part of the rightwing playbook. If you are a woman who dares to have an opinion, particularly a journalist or a politician, then the right will target you online in an attempt to silence you and keep you in your place.
US women are being charged a gendered underwear tax
The average US tariff rate on women’s undergarments is 15.5%, compared to 11.5% for men’s, CNN reports. “America is unique in taxing women’s underwear more heavily than men’s,” according to Ed Gresser, a former US trade official. American exceptionalism, eh?!
The week in pawtriarchy
Bailey, a husky shepherd mix, recently escaped from her new owner and was lost for 36 hours. Well, not actually “lost”, more like on a mission. Bailey managed to find her way back to the animal shelter where she once lived, which was ten miles away from her new digs. Once there, she rang the Ring door bell. If you need a timeline cleanse after so much depressing news I suggest you take a little look at the video doorbell images. Pawsitively adorable.
