I'm not sure any witty comment I would make can add to this clear and concise analysis so I'll just quote my favorite part.
When a term such as “sex scandal” is used to describe behaviors running the gamut from the politically irrelevant to the legally actionable, I’d say we’ve got a problem. And the weird accident of timing here reveals how badly we still confuse consensual if illicit sex with violence against women.I think if the religious right would realize that adultery, although unfortunate, is unbelievably common and not a crime (other than against God, I suppose, if you believe in that sort of thing) then they could more clearly recognize the real crimes against women. I look forward to my move to London where I believe they have a much more appropriate opinion about sex. Adultery is immoral not because it's sex, but because it involves lying to someone that you promised not to lie to. Sexual assaulting someone is immoral AND a crime because you victimized another person and removed their right to say what can happen to their body.
Next quote:
We may hem and haw about the immorality of the act in question, but usually the real affront is the deception — the fact that someone presented himself one way in public but acted a different way in private. There’s humiliation, hurt, perhaps hypocrisy and reputational damage.Now I do agree that the news should cover an adulterer who is trying to tell other people what they can and can not do in own bedrooms and bodies (e.g., anti-marriage equality, anti-choice) because that's about hypocrisy. But if someone does NOT set themselves up as a paragon of morality, then anything they do with other consensual adults should be their own business.
I agree that infidelity and sexual assault are in no way related as the newspaper article said. I have been appalled by the coverage given to the Schwarzenegger scandal. He is obviously a lying piece of scum who has badly injured his wife and children. His biggest sin, in my opinion,was not the cheating but the ten years of lying about it. Kudos to Maria for leaving when she discovered the deceit. Now the media should just leave these people alone as Maria asked. Her children and Arnold's illegitimate child will be the ones who suffer the most.
ReplyDeleteKate Harding has a great post on Jezebel about this topic
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I agree with Cindy that Arnold's lying is appalling at the deepest level, especially as a mother and a wife. I can't imagine the pain of learning that one's whole life was based on a fundamental lie.
However, what gets me as a woman is that we are more outraged over this dispicable, though legal, scandal than we were collectively over the 16 documented cases of sexual assualt (groping) that came to light before he was elected Governor. That is illegally touching someone's body without their permission. This guy clearly has a huge sense of entitlement that allows him to think that all women are here for his enjoyment.
So, while the media shouldn't be confusing (legal) adultery with (illegal) sexual assualt, it is important to remember that Gov. Arnold has been accused of both.
I agree with Cindy as well, and thanks for posting that article from Jezebel, Idgie. I, like the author, had no idea that Arnold was accused of sexual assault before the election. I really dislike that foot tapping under bathroom stalls, which is a way to asking for consent, makes a bigger media splash than being accused of sexual assault.
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