Oh, ladies. Just when you thought we were emerging again from the sudden backtrack into 20th-century gender politics, this happened. (Before continuing, I warn: this is the most offensive bit of so-called Christian, “red pill” patriarchy that I have ever read.)
A blog post written on the website of the Christian Men's Defense League — yes, an organization dedicated to protecting the rights of white American Christian men is apparently a thing — blames Mitt Romney's loss Tuesday night on what the author brilliantly coins "the slut vote."
Hat tip to Gawker for finding the cached version of this post, as it was quickly locked down post-publishing. You can view snippets of all of author “BSkillet’s” witticisms HERE.
Most disturbing in this man's tirade against so-called "sluts" — and trust me, there's a lot in there to creep us out — is that he is doing so from a Christian perspective. The banner of the blog cites Psalm 144:1, "Blessed be the LORD, my rock, Who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle."
The verse of choice is interesting, to say the least. I usually cringe when I hear terms like "war on religion," "war on women," etc., but if anyone is waging it, it's this guy.
There is so much here that completely defies logic, but I thought I'd pull out a couple of gems for our review.
1. "While the right usually wins married women, the fact is that married women constitute an ever-decreasing share of the female population. Women want to delay marriage as long as possible so they can 'have it all,' and usually 'have it all' means 'have as much hot alpha sex as possible without any consequences.'"
Where to begin …? Stop trying to figure out what “hot alpha sex” is for a hot minute to get to the heart of what he’s actually saying. Good, chaste, and supposedly republican women get married early. What is early? Post-high school? Before crazy, liberal professors get ahold of them and expose them to the “myth” that they can have happy, healthy families (whatever that means for them) and satisfying careers utilizing their God-given talents?
Why could women possibly want to delay marriage? Well, let's look at some actual facts.
- Every year a woman delays marriage up until about her early 30s decreases her chance of getting a divorce.
- Early marriage, especially when combined with early childbearing, typically means the end of formal education.
- The earlier a woman gets married, the more likely she is to experience domestic violence. (General Social Survey, sda.berkeley.edu)
Add to those the anecdotal benefits of kicking off a career before settling down, economic independence, and, you know, the desire to find a suitable mate before tying the knot.
2. “… all the Obama administration had to do was scare them that Mitt Romney was going to take away their birth control and their access to abortion. The fear for them is that, without birth control and abortion, they might actually get pregnant and have to give birth. That is scary not simply because of the economic burden of having a child (since, hey, they can get all kinds of cash and prizes if that happens), but because if that happened then everyone would know they’re sluts, and their image as daddy’s pure little snowflake princess goes out the window.”
Again, it’s hard to know where to start with this one. How about the myth that all women who take birth control are unmarried and/or promiscuous?
Many married women — married Christian women — use contraception as a family planning tool. Many women, married and unmarried, use the birth control pill as a medical necessity to regulate their — warning, I know it’s a scary term — menstrual cycles.
His assertion that women are scared that they “might actually get pregnant and give birth” because of what “daddy” might think is absurd and offensive. He’s not talking to frightened 16-year-olds who go too far on prom night. He’s talking to all of us, pretending to have some knowledge of childbearing.
Having kids is not scary because it’s proof to the world that a woman has had sex. Sometimes having kids is scary, because having kids is scary — economically, physically, in every life-altering way possible.
Motherhood is a beautiful thing — but giving women easy access to contraception so they can decide when they’re ready for that beautiful thing doesn’t make them sluts.
3. “Admittedly, the desire to slut it up isn’t the only factor in the gender gap. America has a fiscal problem primarily because women want free stuff without ever having to work.”
Wait. … what? Didn’t he just … tell us that delaying marriage because we “want it all” is a bad thing? And now he’s claiming we want free stuff without having to work? Did he just blame the economic cluster-y’know-what on women? I’m just going to let that one lay there. I’m done.
Look, you may wonder why I even deigned to comment on such a ridiculously fringe opinion. But there’s a danger in his words. Every time a man calls a woman a slut for having an opinion on things that affect her life — for voting for a democrat, or for taking birth control, or for having a career — others hear it. Others absorb it. And, unfortunately, some others believe it.
Add to that where this is coming from: This man claims the badge that I cherish — the title of Christian. Like it or not, he may represent Christianity to others. Blog posts like that are why people hate us. It’s the reason people are leaving the church. It’s the reason it’s harder than ever to defend a faith that says such defenseless things.
But he’s not what Christianity is, and I hope more people speak up about the Christ that I worship — the one who offers dignity and freedom to everyone, even that guy.
Sandi Villarreal is Associate Web Editor for Sojourners. You can follow her on Twitter @Sandi.
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