Althouse: "I don’t think sexual assault is a gender issue as such, I think it’s very much it’s all around us now. It’s provoked by this pornography culture..."

September 9, 2015

"I don’t think sexual assault is a gender issue as such, I think it’s very much it’s all around us now. It’s provoked by this pornography culture..."

"... it’s provoked by pop stars who call themselves feminists. Maybe they’re feminists on behalf of prostitutes – but they are no feminists on behalf of music, if they are selling their music by bumping and grinding and wearing their underwear in videos. That’s a kind of feminism – but, you know, you’re a sex worker is what you are. I think it’s provocative in a way that has nothing to do with music. I would say those women are responsible for a great deal of damage."

Said Chrissie Hynde.

36 comments:

rhhardin said...: Pornography is competition, not incentive.; 9/9/15, 9:35 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: She says all of this like it's a negative.

Maybe I'm not reading it right.

I am Laslo.; 9/9/15, 9:39 AM
Dude1394 said...: She talks as if media actually has an impact on society? I thought we had effectively discounted that when the media went after Dan Quayle.; 9/9/15, 9:43 AM
RAH said...: She is right. Miley Cryus is a pole dancer who sings; 9/9/15, 9:44 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: Miley Cyrus:

"For those who don't know me,
I can get a bit crazy
Have to get my way,yep
24 hours a day
'cause I'm hot like that

Every guy, everywhere
just gives me mad attention
Like I'm under inspection
I always gets a ten,
'cause I'm built like that"

Chrissie Hynde:

"Gonna use my arms
Gonna use my legs
Gonna use my style
Gonna use my sidestep
Gonna use my fingers
Gonna use my, my, my imagination

'Cause I gonna make you see
There's nobody else here
No one like me
I'm special so special
I gotta have some of your attention give it to me"

Just saying.

I am Laslo.; 9/9/15, 9:45 AM
MadisonMan said...: Has she a book coming out?; 9/9/15, 9:48 AM
Cynicus said...: I've always been confused as to why "rape culture" has been blamed on 20 year old men rather than feminism, pornography and Hollywood. Who created the myth that women want sex with no strings attached? Who killed romance and chivalry? Who taught men not to respect women? Who taught men it was a woman's obligation to provide birth control and that she should get rid of it if she was pregnant? Who made women feel like virginity was a curse rather than a gift that should be protected? It wasn't little boys born in 1995.; 9/9/15, 9:49 AM
Michael K said...: The whole rap music culture is misogynistic and she is right but nobody will do anything about it until kids stop paying for this stuff.; 9/9/15, 10:03 AM
Etienne said...: Poisson Rouge

I don't mind being titillated if it has a nice beat and a nice voice...

(I love the shocked look on the judges faces); 9/9/15, 10:17 AM
Ann Althouse said...: It's all Ike Turner's fault.; 9/9/15, 10:22 AM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: I saw The Pretenders way back when and they absolutely sucked until Chris Spedding came on stage for the last couple of songs.; 9/9/15, 10:35 AM
mikee said...: Are we talkind "sexual assault" assault or just "sexual assault" which is defined at many universities as using words, even off campus out of the hearing of the complainant, that are subjectively offensive to a Social Justice Warrior.

Whoopi Goldberg would want me to ask that, so I did.

Apologists for the personal behavior of Bill Clinton, and his enabler Hillary, you are not allowed any further comment on gender issues. You have disqualified yourselves by demonstrating objectively an inability to apply any principles, morals, ethics, standards or beliefs consistently and are mere partisans.; 9/9/15, 10:44 AM
Etienne said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/9/15, 10:57 AM
Bay Area Guy said...: Chrissie Hynde has more wisdom in her little pinkie than the entire Women's Studies department at Harvard or Yale.; 9/9/15, 11:26 AM
Darcy said...: I too, like Laslo, was reminded of Hynde's super sexy singing/perfomring of the lyrics to "Brass In Pocket". I think she's going a little to far with her condemnation except for her point about the pornographic mixture of skin and song prevalent today. That's on the mark. But she sold that Pretenders single with plenty of sex AND a very sexy waitress outfit on in the video. (Memorable!) She should own that, I think, because it is along the same vein of what she's criticizing.

Still, I admire her courage.; 9/9/15, 11:28 AM
Fritz said...: She wants Miley off her lawn, now!; 9/9/15, 11:32 AM
jr565 said...: She;s slut shaming! she's slut shaming!; 9/9/15, 11:56 AM
Carol said...: Has she a book coming out?

Why...yes, she does...; 9/9/15, 12:12 PM
Wilbur said...: I loved Chrissie and the band doing "Middle of the Road".

Professor, the Tina Turner reference is spot on. I remember seeing her and Ike on Ed Sullivan when I was 14 and just sitting there agape (and straight-legged) at the raw sexuality of Tina, thinking "How can I ever find someone like that?"

Ms. Hynde is right, of course. It comes down to the axiom "No on ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public".

And another: Sex sells.; 9/9/15, 12:12 PM
Mary Beth said...: Coupe said...

Poisson Rouge

I don't mind being titillated if it has a nice beat and a nice voice...

(I love the shocked look on the judges faces)

9/9/15, 10:17 AM

She dances like a night elf. Or, I guess, it's actually the other way around.; 9/9/15, 12:13 PM
Virgil Hilts said...: Love Chrissie Hynde, but show me the proof that rape and/or other forms of sexual assaults are in the increase. Per Reason.com, "Between 1997 and 2013, the rate of rape or sexual assault against women dropped by about 50 percent." Why the drop -- could it be the unprecedented-in- human-history widespread free access to and availability of pornography over the same period? Or is that just a coincidence?; 9/9/15, 12:22 PM
Beldar said...: Reading this post, I was reminded of this quote:

"If you can't say something good about someone, sit right here by me." — Alice Roosevelt Longworth.

Then it occurred to me that I can easily imagine Miley Cyrus making a single with that quotation as its title. Indeed, I can imagine her leading a "We Are the World"-type music video as "Feminists for Prostitutes Responsible for a Great Deal of Damage." I think it would be very successful.; 9/9/15, 12:25 PM
Virgil Hilts said...: Also, there seems to be significant statistical evidence that when and where pornography is made legal and accessible the incidence of sexual assaults against children goes down, a lot. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101130111326.htm; 9/9/15, 12:29 PM
Mark said...: I remember that Brass in Pocket waitress outfit. It's where I first ran into the concept of MILF, as she is a bit older than me but her blatant sex appeal worked on my almost 18 year old brain.

Yes Mrs. Robinson, now that you had your fun why don't you condemn other for using sex to lure men.; 9/9/15, 12:51 PM
damikesc said...: You mean the coarsening of over-sexualization of culture has had NEGATIVE repurcussions?

I'm truly stunned.

Simply overturning sexual mores DIDN'T make the world a better place and make women happier?

Ah. Truly sad.

Outside of anybody with common sense, WHO SAW THIS COMING?; 9/9/15, 12:52 PM
jr565 said...: Though its true that Chrissie wrote Brass In Pocket (and Tatooed Love Boys), that seemed more a song about using her femine wiles to attract a guy, not ALL guys. And even though she had on a waitress outfit in the video she wasn't shaking her butt and twerking on stripper poles. So I do think she presented herself far differently in video and in concert than the Britney Spears of the world.
She its not exactly a fair cop to say that she was the same as Miley Cyrus.; 9/9/15, 12:53 PM
Big Mike said...: What "rape culture" is that? There's a hook-up culture, and sometimes the female decides afterwards that she didn't like who she woke up next to, or that she did something (e.g., let him do anal) she regrets doing, but that is not rape!

Once upon a time women took responsibility for their own actions. How does it advance the status of women in society if the men they hook up with are responsible for the women's actions?

You know, I just answered my own question.; 9/9/15, 1:07 PM
Brando said...: Whether the "oversexualization" of today's pop culture is a bad thing, I disagree that it causes "rape culture"--if anything, there are far fewer rapes today than in the past and rapists of women are far more stigmatized than ever before. Even the defenders of rapists don't come out and say "she deserved to be raped" or "it couldn't be rape because women always consent"--instead they say "the woman lied, Bill Clinton never raped anyone!" or "Roman Polanski's victim was agreeing to it!" The fact that rape is hard to prove in court is not a sign of "rape culture" it is a sign that we have a justice system that has a high burden for taking away a person's freedom. (Liberals normally think this is a good thing)

But consider what a pariah a person becomes when it is accepted that they actually committed a rape--there's no "justifiable rape" as there is "justifiable killing" or "justifiable theft". Rape--of a woman--is one of those crimes that gets you no street cred and is rightfully reviled.

I note there is a "rape culture" when it comes to male victims, though--how many jokes have you heard about "pound me in the a** prison" and "don't drop the soap"? Hell, even in "Trading Places", a mainstream comedy classic, the bad guy (who as I recall was only guilty of insider trading and pulling a gun on the heroes) gets repeatedly raped by a gorilla for laughs. Al Franken was in that scene, but does anyone ask the good senator what he thinks of making light of this? Can you even imagine a comedy where a female villain gets that sort of treatment?

So for female victims, there really is no rape culture--there's just the normal difficulty of proving a case (complicated by the fact that the perps are often people they know, or people they love, making them less likely to see through a prosecution). But for male victims? There certainly still is a rape culture.; 9/9/15, 1:44 PM
jacksonjay said...: Did Ms. Hynde run this by the First Lunch Lady, Michelle? Michelle just wished Vagina Vixen Beyonce a Happy Birthday, calling her "a role model for young girls around the world."; 9/9/15, 2:10 PM
damikesc said...: Whether the "oversexualization" of today's pop culture is a bad thing, I disagree that it causes "rape culture"--if anything, there are far fewer rapes today than in the past and rapists of women are far more stigmatized than ever before.

Don't disagree. But it has made sex far less special and has, in many ways, diminished the role of women. Men used to have to WORK to get a woman to have sex with them.

Now? A witty one liner on Tindr and you have a decent shot at getting some.

I don't see how this is progress or empowering.; 9/9/15, 3:22 PM
Douglas B. Levene said...: It's after Labor Day and Laslo is back, hallelujah!; 9/9/15, 3:55 PM
Mid-Life Lawyer said...: Several commenters point out that Chrissie performed sexually provocative songs, as well. Many of us did a lot of things when we were young and stupid. If we mature, then we realize our errors but that doesn't mean that we are forbidden from speaking out about what we have learned or how our opinions have changed.

I, for instance, bought into the idea of convenience abortions. I was 14 when Roe v. Wade was decided. I thought legal meant moral and I successfully advocated for the death of several of my unborn children. After I matured, I realized that I had been sold out by the culture and now I am an outspoken critic of abortion on demand.

Maybe Chrissie grew up. It happens.; 9/9/15, 4:38 PM
Joe said...: Ah, the resentments of an aging rock star. My children can look forward to Miley Cyrus at 64 whining about what a bunch of assholes the teen/twenties stars are. (BTW, the article shows a young Chrissie Hynde, not the current--she hasn't aged very well--version.); 9/9/15, 5:25 PM
JCC said...: "...feminists on behalf of prostitutes..."

See also Lena Dunham. Class all the way.; 9/9/15, 6:32 PM
Carnifex said...: RAH said:--She is right. Miley Cryus is a pole dancer who sings

She is right. Miley Cryus is a pole dancer. FIFY; 9/9/15, 11:59 PM
Franklin said...: It's a well known fact that pop stars have to sleep with producers for airplay, right? So I think this woman is right that pop stars are prostitutes, but for the wrong reasons.; 9/10/15, 12:23 PM