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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-02-2019 Public Comment , JouetMetro 1C2 Double standard for Potty-niouleld politicians SAO CITY CLERK CAROLYN KASTER/ASSOCIATED PRESS Representative Rashida Tlaib of Michigan By Stephanie Ebbert GLOBE STAFF JANUARY o8, 2019 If there's anything weirder than hearing a politician shout the four -syllable curse word that starts with "mother," it may be hearing it from a woman politician, recounting a conversation with her adolescent son. h 1 tp!;:/1w,.,jvj, I ne! 1 Wo'! [)),)I I I I I 2 "I mo I ii ic'ia! I "'a I q (\4 RoODgild-10"Mo I, ;�. hi I I 1 311261/19, 41-1 !)M of True, the public discourse is growing ever coarser — as an analytics firm called GovPredict confirmed with a recent report called "Potty -Mouthed Politicians." That report didn't even examine the m -word, focusing on milder offenders found in lawmakers' social media posts — from "crap" to variants of the s -word that spiked 148 percent after President Trump's inaugural use of the phrase "shithole countries." But the blowback to Representative Rashida Tlaib's public battle cry to "impeach the motherf-----" owes not just to the rarity and severity of the word, or her target's standing in the most dignified office in the country (regardless of his own potty mouth). Women are judged more harshly for using profanity than men, linguists and feminists said. That holds true not just in the minefield of partisan politics, but in all fields across the country. "In America, at least, the attitudes toward men swearing and women swearing are very, very different," said lexicologist Kory Stamper, the author of "Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries." (She noted that after her book was published, numerous readers contacted her solely to condemn her book's use of profanities, which they felt made her look like "an idiot.") Women of color have it even harder, she said, since profanity is often seized upon by those who want to stereotype or dismiss them as out -of -control, wild, or disrespectful. Tlaib is a Palestinian -American who was sworn in on the Koran last week as one of America's first two Muslim congresswomen. (Also, she seems destined to keep drawing fire. This week, she drew criticism for a tweet about Israel that many read as anti-Semitic.) Her profanity was blasted by Republicans and led the Christian Broadcasting [oIg.L 71e.�Or!1 �,`!:?�f sil: .713/0 /il 1f;d !)0 Ifs '�,(.013, Q1 I '? !fill �?i i,J, a i/ f•'Gi Network to label her a "foul-mouthed Islamic congresswoman." Even Trump — the guy who singlehandedly launched the p -word into prevalence with his "Access Hollywood" vulgarities — said she had dishonored her family. Democrats, too, called her language inappropriate and the discussion of impeachment premature and unhelpful. The more marginalized a particular speaker is, the more likely her language is to be policed, the feminist writer Mona Eltahawy argued in a spring NBC News article that ricocheted around social media in the wake of Tlaib's comments. Eltahawy recommends female profanity as a tool for disrupting the patriarchy. She advocates it so strongly, in fact, that her piece, much like this one, had to use asterisks as fig leaves in vain attempts to conceal the full heft of her four-letter words. (An editor's note explained that while her words had been censored to meet editorial standards, "The editors appreciate the irony.") Eltahawy, who is also Muslim, noted in an interview that Tlaib is smashing stereotypes about how Muslim women behave. But the new congresswoman is drawing backlash both from Muslims who fear she's not representing them well and non -Muslims who are "discombobulated" to hear such words coming from her mouth, "because in their view, a Muslim woman is a submissive being," she said. But in general, cursing women are regarded as weak, crass, and unintelligent, said Stamper, whereas men who swear are still likely to be regarded as bold and assertive. They might even be viewed as mavericks who "tell it like it is" or merely engaged in "locker room talk." But let's skip the obvious and think back to 2004, when Vice President Dick Cheney told Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont on the Senate floor to go "f---- yourself." https://v,+wwbostongIuhe.coni/meluo/201;9/G1/9t/clonblr-s,'.,Ida_tlywnutI)edPC) IWCialIs/P3(AaNSct C=rdfV,BeC>E3grIFIO/stnry.l?trni 3/26/19,4:17PM Page 3 of 4 "You'd be surprised how many people liked that," Cheney later told comedian Dennis Miller on his radio show. "It's sort of the best thing 1 ever did." More recently, Texas Democrat Beto O'Rourke told his supporters during his election night concession speech, "I'm so f --- ing proud of you guys!" on live TV. And many are old enough to remember the day when Kanye West wore his "Make America Great Again" hat to the White House and delivered a stream -of - consciousness press conference in which he referred to himself as a "crazy motherf-- That was in the Oval Office. In October. Across the Resolute Desk from President Donald J. Trump. Trump didn't blink. Afterward, when asked whether West would make a future presidential candidate, Trump said, "Could very well be." Stephanie Ebbert can be reached at Stephanie.Ebbert@ globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @StephanieEbbert. © 2019 Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC s:J/rr.rovr,Inwo Iq)I")IVO L'Iduu61P! lia;d I,olrtit:it,ifs F) kaH'A "Of ,ji,'.1".�10tIyt,fl; I,,hlml 7lCl. X3.11 {alp! Pll Cjl+ 4 of 4