Who is more sexist, Arlen Specter or Scott Brown?

[Brittain33]

I have a female friend who works at the state house who got hit on by Scott Brown while trying to do her job, which she didn't love.

But I'm not about to defend Specter. I don't expect politicians in his age cohort to be sensitive about most things like this, and Democrats had their say about his views on gender during the Anita Hill hearings.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

I have a female friend who works at the state house who got hit on by Scott Brown while trying to do her job, which she didn't love.

But I'm not about to defend Specter. I don't expect politicians in his age cohort to be sensitive about most things like this, and Democrats had their say about his views on gender during the Anita Hill hearings.

She was likely very busy getting hit on by the other 199 letches up on Beacon Hill, so it is impressive that Brown made the time!

The man is a dick.

[A18]

How, conceivably, can Specter's remark be taken as sexist—even in the broadest sense of that term?

[Brittain33]

How, conceivably, can Specter's remark be taken as sexist—even in the broadest sense of that term?

It's demeaning and insulting to someone whose job is all about talking and trying to persuade people. A lady in the sense that Specter uses it traditionally keeps her mouth shut and doesn't challenge men, even if she thinks they're wrong. That's a cage, not a compliment. Specter, like the vast majority of men, sure wouldn't put up with someone telling him to keep his mouth shut and phrasing it like it were a sweet compliment.

[Brittain33]

She was likely very busy getting hit on by the other 199 letches up on Beacon Hill, so it is impressive that Brown made the time!

The man is a dick.

Yeah, it's dangerous when you have that attitude and the looks to get away with it (which distinguishes him from 90+% of his former colleagues, never mind the women and Carl.) He's into the Gavin Newsom/JFK Jr. high risk zone when he hits Washington.

[A18]

Of course it's demeaning and insulting—perfectly analogous to the phrase "act like a gentleman." A lady is a woman of polished manners; Specter was suggesting that she was lacking in that department. But I see no trace of (for lack of a better phrase) "sex specificity" in his remark.

Interrupting someone is, even among this Wondrous Generation, widely counted as rude—whether the interrupter be male or female. Nothing in his language suggests to me that Specter thought only women were wrong to interrupt others.

[Brittain33]

Of course it's demeaning and insulting—perfectly analogous to the phrase "act like a gentleman." A lady is a woman of polished manners; Specter was suggesting that she was lacking in that department. But I see no trace of (for lack of a better phrase) "sex specificity" in his remark.

But it's not analogous, because traditionally a gentleman had a wide range of acceptable behaviors and power that were denied to a lady. Gentleman and lady aren't just two silhouettes on the bathroom doors, they also represented a power structure that constrained women and kept them subservient in public life.

Women who aspire to success in politics today have a much narrower range of acceptable behavior than men do. Stray too far outside the range in how you act, how you speak, and how you dress, and you get caricatured as a harpy, a weakling, an ice queen, a bad mommy, a ditz, or a barbie doll. It was worse in the past, but it's still quite bad. Men in politics face some limits, but nothing nearly so bad. Can you imagine a woman surviving a scandal like Ensign's or Vitter's, or looking like Jim Traficant?

[A18]

Oh, at different times there have been different notions of what constituted good manners, and those norms (formed by both men and women) have often been sex-specific. But nothing in the use of the term "lady" indicates that the speaker shares those (unspecified) ideas. Certainly, they are not what I have in mind when I use the term.

Your second paragraph is extremely dubious, but in all events it has no relationship to what we're talking about.

[k-onmmunist]

Specter is a sexist pig.

[Gren]

If Bachmann had told Specter to act like a gentleman, this wouldn't be happening. And anyway, we do not know what shade of meaning has the term "lady" for Specter. I do not think that it implies submissiveness; in my opinion, he's just asking her to act civilly. He's not going to say "act like a citizen" or "act like human being", is he? I could be wrong, though. But as far as I cannot read Sen. Specter's thoughts, I have to believe that he had no bad intentions. Just as I think that Brown didn't hear that comment.

[Joe Republic]

You have to cut Specter some slack in one respect: he's 79 years old!  The elderly have a habit of using insensitive terms; it's just their way.

In any case, I'm moving this thread to Political Debate.  This isn't a discussion about an upcoming congressional election.

[Torie]

I have a female friend who works at the state house who got hit on by Scott Brown while trying to do her job, which she didn't love.

But I'm not about to defend Specter. I don't expect politicians in his age cohort to be sensitive about most things like this, and Democrats had their say about his views on gender during the Anita Hill hearings.

She was likely very busy getting hit on by the other 199 letches up on Beacon Hill, so it is impressive that Brown made the time!

The man is a dick.

It appears that Brown and I, beyond both being "old" men,  have the same "hobby," at the moment. The only differences are 1) I am not married, and 2) I don't engage in it at work.

[Bo]

I have a female friend who works at the state house who got hit on by Scott Brown while trying to do her job, which she didn't love.

But I'm not about to defend Specter. I don't expect politicians in his age cohort to be sensitive about most things like this, and Democrats had their say about his views on gender during the Anita Hill hearings.

She was likely very busy getting hit on by the other 199 letches up on Beacon Hill, so it is impressive that Brown made the time!

The man is a dick.

It appears that Brown and I, beyond both being "old" men,  have the same "hobby," at the moment. The only differences are 1) I am not married, and 2) I don't engage in it at work.

Were you ever married? Forgive me for asking, but I am just curious.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Neither

[ARescan]

Specter combines stupidity and sexism!

[Bono]

I have a female friend who works at the state house who got hit on by Scott Brown while trying to do her job, which she didn't love.

But I'm not about to defend Specter. I don't expect politicians in his age cohort to be sensitive about most things like this, and Democrats had their say about his views on gender during the Anita Hill hearings.

She was likely very busy getting hit on by the other 199 letches up on Beacon Hill, so it is impressive that Brown made the time!

The man is a dick.

It appears that Brown and I, beyond both being "old" men,  have the same "hobby," at the moment. The only differences are 1) I am not married, and 2) I don't engage in it at work.

Yea, trust a completely unverifiable source with an ax to grind on an internet forum.

[Conservative frontier]

Arlen Specter, because what he said was clear and on purpose.

[Mechaman]

Scott Brown.

The creep told his crowd of supporters that his banging hot daughter Ayla was available, how in the cock is that not sexist?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SdzSw96soM&feature=player_embedded

And he said that while in ecstatic celebration, Specter said his supposedly super duper evil unforgivable sexist remarks in the heat of the moment. No contest.

[Barnes]

Definitely Brown. It's just wrong.

Specter is also kind of offensive, but I also get a kick out of it every time I read it.

[JohnFKennedy]

Oh, at different times there have been different notions of what constituted good manners, and those norms (formed by both men and women) have often been sex-specific. But nothing in the use of the term "lady" indicates that the speaker shares those (unspecified) ideas. Certainly, they are not what I have in mind when I use the term.

Problems like sexism or racism are not ones that are necessarily easily discernible on the surface, but will permeate a cultural discourse in a far more subtle - and in many senses more insidious - way. If we were to substitute the word 'Jew' or the word 'Negro' for lady, would that then become an offensive statement? All three of these words do not simply denote 'something', they also connote 'something'. The difference between the two examples I give and the quotation from Specter is that terms like 'Negro' or 'Jew' carry a set of cultural baggage that is seen in a more negative fashion; if you call someone a 'Jew' or a 'Negro', you're probably not simply stating a fact. Specter chose to say in this instance that she should act like lady, something which obviously carries specific cultural connotations, even if he did not go on to say 'and by that I mean you should do x and not y etc'. If it didn't carry a specific cultural connotation, why would he choose that particular word? There is clearly some set of values which he would associate with the term 'lady'. Language is a powerful weapon and it is not one that we have full control over: most - if not all - terms have signifiers beyond what a dictionary tells us they mean.

Your second paragraph is extremely dubious, but in all events it has no relationship to what we're talking about.

How is it dubious? You need only look at the media portrayals of any number of female politicians to see that they are treated and represented in a very different - and heavily gendered - fashion (and language) from their male counterparts.