Ok...how should we respond to this...

[VelmaD]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3973000#3977719

The girly-man thing bothers me and I'm not sure what the appropriate response is.

[Hello_Kitty]

1. I understand where it comes from, sort of

Because male crying has been used to batter Dems for decades. From Muskie back in the '70s to Durbin recently, Conservative assholes mock and castigate them it so it's soooo tempting to give it right back to them tenfold when their swagger-y pseudo-cowboy does it. I'm kinda tempted to scream "Girly man!" myself.

But it also bothers me too because it's not cool to denigrate my gender for a fleeting political benefit.

[FizzFuzz]

2. I thought you did very well

and didn't get hostilities started either!

I called mopaul on sexism before, and got a rather insulting photoshop back.

[Warpy]

3. When I confront this stuff, I always

think "drag queen," because that's where to find the hyperfeminine behaviours and attitudes, not to mention the hyperfeminine appearance that the term "girlyman" connotes.

After all, they can't possibly be talking about comparing that jerk to WOMEN, can they? Think of him, or ANY man, passing a HUMAN BEING out of his body without being drugged unconscious, not only for the event, but for the last three months of gestation and the first three months after the birth.

I wish they'd get their damn terms right, too. If they want to call him something, call him "as weepy as the last winner at Wigstock."

Just stop insulting the stronger half of the human race.

[Eloriel]

4. How to handle it?

Did you alert on it? Do you not think it's homophobic? Are you not familiar with DU's new guidelines:

While specific words are not automatically forbidden, members should avoid using racist, sexist, homophobic, or otherwise bigoted terminology. This includes gender-specific terms such as "bitch," "cunt," "whore," "slut," or "pussy," and terms with homophobic derivation, such as "cocksucker," which are often inflammatory and inappropriate. One common exception is the use of the phrase "media whore," which is permitted.

[Gelliebeans]

5. I think what might

bother me the most is when posts are by women and they think nothing of it. I myself have become more conscious of terms that might be considered sexist. It takes a little work at first but it is so much better than selling our fellow sister's short by getting a few laughs. IMO.