Althouse: "The big test of sexism is whether you can reverse the genders of the people involved and get the same outcome."

April 5, 2016

"The big test of sexism is whether you can reverse the genders of the people involved and get the same outcome."

"If you can, sexism probably isn’t the issue. And Trump’s tweet about Cruz’ wife is totally reversible. Imagine your favorite female comedian running for office. If she’s married to George Clooney, and someone mocks her husband’s shirtless movie roles, you can certainly imagine a response like Trump’s tweet in which she humorously showcases her mating success compared to her rival. People would think it was hilarious if men were the target. In Trump’s case, confirmation bias caused folks to see this as one more drip in the rainstorm of his sexist behavior. If logic and reason mattered, people would have seen Trump’s tweet as an attempt at humor that is inappropriate by design. That’s why it is funny to some. But on the field of persuasion, it was one more piece of confirmation bias that Trump has a woman problem."

Scott Adams analyzes.

24 comments:

pm317 said...: Ha.. the age old role reversal idea.; 4/5/16, 8:37 AM
traditionalguy said...: Trump is a connoisseur of womanly beauty. He has the eye for Models and. beauty pageants.

But he has a blind spot to the other 90% of the women who refuse to even have a picture of them survive.; 4/5/16, 8:37 AM
MayBee said...: I do think the reversal idea is a helpful guideline.

I tried to get people to look at it like that when Katrina happened. People said the response to Katrina was racist, but then imagine the deliberate actions of the Federal Government to the Koresh compound in Waco. That would have been even more racist, but the victims were white.; 4/5/16, 8:39 AM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: People would think it was hilarious if men were the target.

Same as people think it's hilarious to call a person with Downs Syndrome a retard.; 4/5/16, 8:42 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: Girl with the Pony Tail on the Treadmill:

Donald Trump is a Dick.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

I hate how treats women.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

We deserve better.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

Except I don't like that Bitch on Fox News, either.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

Yeah, you're pretty and smart, Megyn: we get it.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

I hate women like that. Get over yourself.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

Trump's wife is Hot, though.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

I wonder how far SHE runs on the treadmill.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

Maybe I run the same amount as her. That'd be cool.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

But she probably doesn't then get a Mocha.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

I hate myself when I get that Mocha.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

When Bernie gets rid of my college debt I'm gonna get that Audi.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

I'll drive my Audi through the Starbuck's drive-thru and just get a Water.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

Oh! Wouldn't that be sweet if the Audi was a convertible?

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

Me at Starbucks in an Audi convertible, just getting a Water.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

I can be that person.

(pony-tail swish, pony-tail swish)

I am Laslo.; 4/5/16, 8:42 AM
Anonymous said...: We already know that charges of "misogyny" are based on "who", not "what".; 4/5/16, 8:52 AM
amielalune said...: Trump's "woman problem" is that he thinks of women as people instead of women. He treats them as he would men, and that will get him in huge trouble with the PC/leftist/feminist crowd.

I personally, would prefer to be treated by my government as a human being instead of as a "protected class."; 4/5/16, 8:55 AM
Qwinn said...: So does this sort of logic validate the eleventy million examples of "Imagine the outrage if Bush had done it?" that we've accumulated since Obama took office? Can we review all the things Obama has done that would've been utterly unacceptable if Bush had done them, and subject Obama to all the over the top histrionics he deserves based on that metric?

Yeah, didn't think so.

(Note: I do think it is a valid metric, I just know it only gets applied selectively when it favors the Left.); 4/5/16, 9:07 AM
pm317 said...: My second toastmaster's speech was about the role reversal idea (that was in 1992) and I started talking about it and then felt it was so preachy that I could not continue. Maybe there was a better way to deliver the idea but the way I prepared it on that day didn't work for me.; 4/5/16, 9:11 AM
Henry said...: Adams confuses his logic with some kind of universal logic.

Reversibility is an analytical tool, not a proof. But all Adams has is his hammer.; 4/5/16, 9:13 AM
Bob Ellison said...: It's your blog and all that, but Scott Adams's musings are not worthwhile.; 4/5/16, 9:17 AM
Henry said...: But on the field of persuasion, it was one more piece of confirmation bias that Trump has a woman problem."

Why does Adams rush to confirmation bias here? He's spent buckets of pixels arguing that Trump is a master of persuasion. Now that the persuasion hammer coshes Trump, he backpedals into accusing the audience of this spectacle of confirmation bias?

What a tool.; 4/5/16, 9:19 AM
Paddy O said...: Yes Trump may have killed someone, but people die all the time, so Trump is really participating in the cycle of Life.; 4/5/16, 9:23 AM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: Trump may be a master persuader, but so is my friend's seven-year-old daughter. She has a vast array of smiles, pouts, scowls, laughs, puppy-dog looks, pleading, threats, and temper tantrums in her arsenal. She'll be an even better persuader than than Trump once she grows tits.; 4/5/16, 9:27 AM
Fernandinande said...: The big test of sexism is whether you ...
let feminists define it.; 4/5/16, 9:30 AM
grimson said...: Adams completely misses the point: (1) sexism was not the issue; attacking the spouse was; and (2) switching sexes would not make it any more hilarious to the people who found the original appalling.; 4/5/16, 9:32 AM
Brando said...: "Trump may be a master persuader, but so is my friend's seven-year-old daughter. She has a vast array of smiles, pouts, scowls, laughs, puppy-dog looks, pleading, threats, and temper tantrums in her arsenal. She'll be an even better persuader than than Trump once she grows tits."

Back up there! Trump's man-tits are second to no one's! He has fabulous tits, everyone loves them, best in the world, really the best deal you can get in tits. His tits are so good once you have them you'll be begging for less tits, you'll be so happy with his tits.; 4/5/16, 9:37 AM
DKWalser said...: In large part, it was rude of Trump to make fun of Heidi Cruz' looks precisely because historically a woman's looks were more important than were a man's looks. A woman's (self)worth was largely dependent on her being attractive. Men's worth was more dependent on their abilities (and wealth) than on their looks. While good looks for a man could be a plus factor, often it was a detriment. If a man was too good looking, it was thought he might care more about getting his shirt dirty than on getting the job done. While these attitudes have softened somewhat, most woman today are more concerned with their looks than are most men.

You cannot judge Trump's tweet without this context.; 4/5/16, 10:04 AM
pm317 said...: Reversibility is an analytical tool, not a proof.

The idea is that if reversibility produces the same effect, maybe it will take hold and neither party will be the worse for it and one party significantly benefits from it.; 4/5/16, 10:04 AM
jr565 said...: SO, if a male said "we need to vote for a male politician" that would be sexist. Reverse it and what do you get? Hilary supporters are sexist.; 4/5/16, 10:21 AM
Henry said...: I just reread Adams post in light of DKWalser's and pm317's responses and realized that it makes no sense at all. It is incoherent and self-refuting. Here are four claims:

1. Trump’s tweet about Cruz’ wife is totally reversible.

Actually it is not, as you proceed to prove.

2. People would think it was hilarious if men were the target.

But women were the target and it wasn't hilarious.

3. [F]olks [saw Trump's tweet] as one more drip in the rainstorm of his sexist behavior.

Folks are right. That raincoat isn't reversible.

4. Trump’s tweet [was] an attempt at humor that [was] inappropriate by design.

Because women were the target and the attempt failed. Make men the target and it's "hilarious". Make women the target and it's "inappropriate by design." See DKWalser and grimson, above.; 4/5/16, 10:41 AM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: @Brando

You're right about Trump's man-tits. They're second to none. They're YUUUUGE! Blacks love them, Hispanics love them, Jews love them, men love them, women love them, Melania loves them. I'm just saying that my friend's daughter will give him a run for his money once she can compete on an even playing field.; 4/5/16, 11:15 AM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: So to speak.; 4/5/16, 11:37 AM
Brando said...: "You're right about Trump's man-tits. They're second to none. They're YUUUUGE! Blacks love them, Hispanics love them, Jews love them, men love them, women love them, Melania loves them."

We have to believe this because Trump tells us it is so. He would never lie to us! And maybe he lies because he loves us! You don't understand him like I do!

"I'm just saying that my friend's daughter will give him a run for his money once she can compete on an even playing field."

Your friend's daughter would have to be no smarter than a block of wood to give Trump a fair fight.; 4/5/16, 12:14 PM