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I don't want a political blog, but here's an update on Anthony Weiner anyway.
Jun. 16th, 2011 12:26 pmIt's looking like Representative Anthony Weiner (D-NY) will be resigning today during a news conference scheduled for 2:00 PM ET. This is after at least one woman has stepped forward and stated Weiner tried to "turn the conversation into sexual banter" even though she did not reciprocate.
In case you can't figure out what's wrong with this, it's called sexual harassment. And yes, I am aware that Ginger Lee is a former porn actress, but that doesn't really have any bearing on Weiner's actions. He's still in the wrong. Melissa McEwan summed it up nicely:
All women (and men), regardless of background, have the right to say no. They have the right to expect that when they interact with a politician be it in real life, via email, or via a social network online, they'll be treated with professional respect and not as a potential sexual outlet/object. Ms. Lee contacted Mr. Weiner because she liked his stance on Planned Parenthood. Tell me, how does that equal "I want you to hit on me"?
What Mr. Weiner did may not be illegal according to the letter of the law, but it sure as hell is skeevy and downright wrong on an ethical and moral level. And now I wonder how many more women are going to step forward.
Mr. Weiner isn't resigning because of some sexually repressed prudes. He's resigning because he sexually harassed women in his professional capacity as a member of the United States Congress and he's realizing this is about the only opportunity for a graceful exit he's going to get. And a part of me hates that he's going to get off so lightly while the women he harassed are going to be called liars, sluts, gold-diggers, and various other misogynistic terms. He's just a man who, yuk-yuk, let his penis do the thinking for him. Because, you know, men just can't help themselves around pretty ladies.
Lee, from La Vergne, Tenn., said the pair exchanged about 100 emails between March and June, but said she never received photos from Weiner and never sent him any. She said she followed him on Twitter because she liked his stance on Planned Parenthood funding and health care, and that he repeatedly tried to turn the conversation into sexual banter.
"My package and I are not going to beg," Weiner emailed at one point, according to Allred. Another email said "I have wardrobe demands too -- I need to highlight my package."
"I did not reciprocate," Lee said Wednesday.
In case you can't figure out what's wrong with this, it's called sexual harassment. And yes, I am aware that Ginger Lee is a former porn actress, but that doesn't really have any bearing on Weiner's actions. He's still in the wrong. Melissa McEwan summed it up nicely:
Please note that we are supposed to assume that Lee is an opportunistic liar because she is a former porn star and a stripper, and we're definitely not supposed to consider the possibility that Weiner figured she'd be axiomatically receptive to his sexual overtures because of her vocation—because, in a culture in which all women are assumed to exist in a perpetual state of consent unless they say no, women in sex work are assumed to not even have the right to say no.
All women (and men), regardless of background, have the right to say no. They have the right to expect that when they interact with a politician be it in real life, via email, or via a social network online, they'll be treated with professional respect and not as a potential sexual outlet/object. Ms. Lee contacted Mr. Weiner because she liked his stance on Planned Parenthood. Tell me, how does that equal "I want you to hit on me"?
What Mr. Weiner did may not be illegal according to the letter of the law, but it sure as hell is skeevy and downright wrong on an ethical and moral level. And now I wonder how many more women are going to step forward.
Mr. Weiner isn't resigning because of some sexually repressed prudes. He's resigning because he sexually harassed women in his professional capacity as a member of the United States Congress and he's realizing this is about the only opportunity for a graceful exit he's going to get. And a part of me hates that he's going to get off so lightly while the women he harassed are going to be called liars, sluts, gold-diggers, and various other misogynistic terms. He's just a man who, yuk-yuk, let his penis do the thinking for him. Because, you know, men just can't help themselves around pretty ladies.
