[posted on March 1, 2013]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can’t take it anymore. If I read one more ‘rant’ about Seth MacFarlane’s misogyny at the Oscars (2013) I will explode. I do not believe the straight, white male in our culture needs defending but this is ridiculous. Am I a bad feminist – no. Maybe my brand of feminism is reflective of the 3rd wave status I’ve been aligned with.

 

First of all, the ‘boob’ song was so ridiculous that it seemed blatantly absurd to me. I mean really, ‘The Accused’ and ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ are the antithesis of a boob-peek. To get hardcore ‘literal’ is to miss the point. To show that great actresses can be reduced to a sexualized body part is BRILLIANT.

 

To say that the youngest female ever nominated for Best Actress will be old enough in 9yrs. to date George Clooney speaks volumes in my books. That older men routinely date smart, young, gorgeous women is a standard especially in Hollywood. To reduce the young girl’s status to a Clooney ‘date’ is unbelievable – you’d think. I cannot believe people bought into this – that to me is way more disturbing than a MacFarlane twist on [appropriate] culture.

 

MacFarlane congratulated women who gave themselves the ‘flu’ to look good for the show. An eating disorder where women make themselves skinny and sick – sound familiar? When MacFarlane said they looked good, do you really think he was promoting this ‘diet?’ I remember one Family Guy episode where Meg is taught to stick a finger down her throat. There is a very real knowledge about the prevalence of eating disorders and kudos to MacFarlane for shedding light on this area.

 

What is so disturbing about this is that I am on the opposite side of this argument – people who I often resonate with are now contentious to me. My fight is usually against dominant culture but now even some  ‘fringe’ elements are conservative in my estimation. I will be vilified for saying the following: It was brave of MacFarlane to go against a dominant form of prejudice. Give him credit - he knows what he’s doing.