Ari_Emanuel wrote:ontnut wrote:Now that she's come out and said that it's NBD and they are cool with each other, cue the "Just because she's ok with it, doesn't mean the action is not sexist" arguments.
Honestly though, this reminds me a lot of other arguments we've had regarding racism, where white people in the media get disproportionately upset about, and condemn, some pseudo-racial remark; whereas the other population doesn't really see the big issue. After a certain point, it becomes more racist/sexist to actually get riled up about and condemn the act than it is to accept that there are differences between races and sexes, and their feelings of what constitutes racism/sexism. It can be viewed as "the white male still trying to exert his dominance over others by telling them what they should or shouldn't be offended about" as if others are unable to think or act for themselves.
Some valid points here.
My argument about Tristan's actions being sexist took a pragmatic stance rather than a moral one. To me there was nothing morally wrong with what he did i.e. flirting and a light kiss on the head aren't inherently sexist...
however the fact he did it on camera and while the reporter was working made her particularly vulnerable in that situation to the perception of the whole scene by her coworkers and the general public. Therefore, I felt it unwise for Tristan to do what he did.
I think this still reflects a bit on my point of people being overly gung-ho about condemning what's bad for people of different backgrounds/sex/profession etc. If it's sexist insofar as him doing it in front of her coworkers and peers made her feel uncomfortable, then it should also be said that it is sexist when women give men a little love tap or shoulder punch, or tell them to man-up, or be a man. I know of at least a few interviews where female reporters said something to make the male athlete/celebrity uncomfortable, and it's just blown off or laughed off by the guy. It can make the men feel vulnerable, open to jokes from their peers, and uncomfortable especially due to their lack of recourse or retaliation options. As Patrice says, women get to be inapproriate all the time at the workplace, and get away with things that if a guy did, he'd be in HR in a second. "Men can get in trouble for telling a woman in the office that they look beautiful today. That's how messed up the game is". In some ways, men are sometimes forced to shelve or hide their natural emotions and desires and feelings because it may offend women - there's something off about that, and you could argue that it's reverse sexism to tell a man not to compliment or look at a sexy woman, because it makes her feel uncomfortable. Well the man is now uncomfortable and awkward now too because he can't acknowledge the existence of that woman in the way that he naturally feels, without coming off as sexist/predatory/horny etc.
I don't know where the line is, (and this is a lot of verbal diarrhea), and I don't know if there's a logically possible world where men and women can be both different and equal, I'm just saying that sometimes the PC-ness of the modern media can actually cause or represent more sexism/racism etc., than the act itself. .
) .
