Why Women Get ''Hysterical''

And now the news ...

Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., pressed her campaign ahead of Tuesday's West Virginia primary as Democratic Party leaders warned her not to do or say anything that could hurt Democratic front-runner Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., in November.

Clinton is considered likely to win West Virginia's primary, perhaps by as many as 30 percentage points, but the victory in the small state is not expected to shake Obama's apparent hold on the party's nomination.

What Democrats fear could have a lasting impact is what Clinton might say about Obama that could split the party or be gleefully reused by Republican John McCain in the fall election.

Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn, an Obama supporter, compared Clinton to the Glenn Close character in "Fatal Attraction" -- a spurned woman turned stalker who was apparently drowned in a bathtub only to jump up one more time to be shot dead.

"Glenn Close should have stayed in that tub, and Sen. Clinton has had a remarkable career and needs to move to the next step, which is helping elect the Democratic nominee," Cohen said during a local TV interview. He later apologized for his comments.

Ah yes. Who doesn't remember bunny-boiling Alex (with the mannish name) Forrest, the strong, sexy, independent mad woman who didn't know when to quit the perfect-family-man-who-cheats-on-his-
wife-and-mother-of-his-children Dan Gallagher (Michael Douglas)? Of course, the Close character ends up dead in the end.

It was no accident that the 1987 thriller came out at the same time as padded-shouldered female MBA graduates were elbowing their way into boardrooms as well as bedrooms.  It's not like there were many positive portrayals of women at the time. What's more, the original script had been doctored to make Alex even scarier and stalkier and Dan less the heel.

Anyway, the point is, Congressman Cohen, ostensibly a liberal politician, who is free to dis the candidate Clinton as a politician/candidate, used one of the most negative anti-female archetypes out there to do so.

Sure, he has since apologized for the remarks.

But let's face it: He said them. And the dirt did not hit the news fan, as it should have.

Yeah, well. Misogyny. Nothing to talk about here. Move along, folks.

I am trying to think of a male equivalent comment. Like, say, if the shoe were on the other foot and it was Barack Obama on Cohen's hit list. Hmmm, what would the comparison be? I'd note it here but it's so vile and racist that it sickens me that I even thought it up.

Comments

[jb]

Did you check this out in today's online star?

http://www.thestar.com/USElection/article/424410

I was also horrified when I went to an Obama supporter website and saw the "obamagirl" stuff- absolute soft porn! If that is what young democrats represent today, I'd be ashamed to be one of them. There's absolutely nothing about the issues, just half naked girls complaining that Hillary is bitter and old. Made me want to puke. Americans finally have viable options for change, and they're throwing it all away on celebrity culture/porn... seems there's no hope for those mindless idiots afterall.

[Ashley]

Interesting title, did you know the word 'hysterical' since in Ancient Greek times it referred to women's insanity due to lack of having a baby in their womb?
Like 'rule of thumb' we still have these masogynistic expressions that are so ingrained we don't even realise what we are really saying.

[sooey]

Damn. I googled him and he's got the 2008 Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) Award of Excellence for Public Service AND the 2007 Planned Parenthood "Bob James Award".

Still, these little incidents just go to show that Feminists have to watch the Democrats almost as hard as the Republicans the closer we get to power.

Special sex-ray glasses would help.

[Antonia]

Thanks Ashley. I did. That's why I put ''hysterical'' in quotes.

[Chris Moorehead]

It was indeed a sexist, and totally unnecessary, metaphor. There are enough legitimate issues on which to criticize Hillary (her hyper-macho stance on Iran, her obvious dislike of Canada, and her shameless pandering to the NASCAR crowd, among others) without resorting to sleazy tactics worthy of Karl Rove.

I would be more inclined to compare Hillary to Philip Francis Queeg, captain of the USS Caine in Herman Wouk's "The Caine Mutiny". Hillary's steadfast denial of what the end result of the primary will be is akin to Queeg's obstinate search for the missing strawberries. Judith Timson attempted to make the same reference, albeit ironically, in yesterday's Globe & Mail, though she got it wrong (Queeg was not the captain of the Bounty, nor was he a "demonic" character - simply delusional). However, there is indeed a certain similarity in the two quests.

The sad truth of politics in the US is that the most likable candidate usually wins. This is the method that saw the election of JFK, George W Bush, and even Hillary's own spouse. Unfortunately, it means that the skill set required to be elected President is almost 180 degrees opposed to that required to actually do the job effectively. In a sense, our system works better in that we do not elect the Prime Minister directly. (However, the continuing existence of our current government might lead one to believe otherwise.) At least it becomes somewhat less of a popularity contest.

[Elvid]

Much as I don't care for Hillary, the Star's editorial cartoon today ranks with anything that Roger Stone might come up with and its not very funny either.