Interview: Bill Maher Goes Full Frontal Misogynist

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Thursday December 18, 2014 · 7:38 AM PST

2014/12/18 · 07:38

I'll keep this brief.

In response to Sony pulling "The Interview," Bill Maher tweeted:

#TheInterview Is that all it takes - an anonymous threat and the numbers 911 - to throw free expression under the bus? #PussyNation

Now, I was with Maher until that second hashtag.

But misogynist (women-hating) responses aren't acceptable whether they originate with Republican candidates or liberal comedians. Please see my response and ideas for what we can do after the vulvar icon.

I thought, though The Interview might turn out to be an obnoxious, pro-CIA movie, once the movie screenings were threatened with violence, every movie theater should show it simultaneously as an act of solidarity. So, I was with Maher as he protested against Sony's decision to pull the film, but then he went there.

Here's what I tweeted in response:

@billmaher I started to agree with you, and then you went full frontal misogynist with your #PussyNation hashtag.

and:

@billmaher Re: #PussyNation: Equating corporate cowardice with a part of women's anatomy reinforces women-hating. #TheInterview #HeForShe

Interestingly, Maher's use of a misogynist epithet echoes too much of the "liberal" opposition in Russia. Some liberal Russian dissidents use homophobic insults in misguided attempts to respond to Putin's "Man on Horseback" macho-militarist propaganda. (Please see my last diary about the new book: Sex, Politics, and Putin, which analyzes these themes).

Which brings me to the #HeForShe hashtag. So far, over 200,000 men worldwide, and over 50,000 in the US, have signed the pledge to promote the HeForShe Commitment:

Gender equality is not only a women’s issue, it is a human rights issue that requires my participation. I commit to take action against all forms of violence and discrimination faced by women and girls.

I encourage all of us who are men to make this commitment. Please sign up at www.heforshe.org.

Please also join the effort to tell Bill Maher:

@billmaher #LiberalMisogynyIsMisogyny (and betrays the best of enlightenment liberalism). End it. #HeForShe

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Interview: Bill Maher Goes Full Frontal Misogynist

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