Jezebel.com writers make absolute jerks of themselves publicly
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We at Styledash are unabashed fans of Jezebel.com. We have long enjoyed their edgy and witty writers--but then we saw them in person.Last week on Shoot the Messenger, The Daily Show co-creator Lizz Winstead (pictured)'s weekly live show in New York, Jezebel writers Tracie Egan and Moe Tkacik showed up drunk, kept drinking, and said some outrageous things about rape. That's right. Rape. It wasn't funny. The audience was infuriated and saddened, and I know, because as a New York blogger who happens to have three friends on that show, I was there.
Watch it all here (warning: NSFW language). Don't worry, the sound kicks in after a second. No wait. Worry. You're about to be totally flabberghasted. If you don't have 57 minutes, cool. We recommend Clip #2. You get everything from Moe's defense that she always felt safe around the guy who date raped her (WTF?) to Tracie's claim that she hasn't been date raped because she's smart, to Moe's final comment:
"If any of you guys use the pullout method, but you read you know, anything I wrote about Ben Bernanke, or you know, whatever, at least you'll go to the grave with your syphilis, slightly informed, that's all I care about."
From Sarah Hepola's review on salon.com: "Feminism: UR DOIN IT RONG."
Lizz wrote a terrific article on the whole experience with more gems like the above quote from Moe here on The Huffington Post. She coins the phrase "Jezebelism," which I think means something along the lines of grossly misguided sexual-political terrorism; not really the best press for Jezebel.com.
When it was over, I tittered nervously as the friend I was with tried not to cry. That kind of sums it up. We were shocked. We were mad. We were sad, for them and for our society that breeds and encourages this kind of self-congratulatory disconnection with reality. Frankly, we wanted them ripped to shreds for mindlessly dismissing the common, frighteningly underreported experience of rape and tromping all over feminism with a blase, drunken nonchalance, and it's a good thing Lizz Winstead is a pro and kept her cool (though we loved how she shrieked when Tracie implied there are no rapists in Williamsburg).
Some Jezebel fans have criticized Lizz's composure, claiming that she was deliberately trying to trap the Jezebels into saying the wrong thing. From my friend Darbi Worley, who plays Emily Rackcheck on Shoot the Messenger:
"Shouldn't any interviewer sitting across from them ask the same question that was going through the minds of everyone in the audience? You may think that Lizz's question (ie, why didn't you report it?) wasn't the right question, but no interviewer with a brain would let those comments go by without asking a follow up question."
It's so sad to watch your sisters fall--Tracie knows; she watched Moe fall farther than she did (but notice how she didn't even try to help). Sorry, Jezebel ladies. You suck at interviews like George Bush sucks at flying.
Nicole Joy 7-09-2008 @ 2:02PM
Still haven't got to watch the video (stoopid work) but what you said about: "our society that breeds and encourages this kind of self-congratulatory disconnection with reality" seems to be right on the mark. I also like Hepola's insight on a world where people are so focused on their own experiences that they forget that they share the world with others. There is a remarkable lack of empathy and understanding in our nation today.
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brandonmarilee 7-09-2008 @ 1:09PM
There is a distinct line between being sexually liberated, owning one's body, being open to new experiences/partners, and lacking shame when experiencing pleasure, and the violent language that the women on Jezebel.com spewed.
Rape is a violent, controlling, demented act that has no place in a conversation about sex. It is not sex, but rather an act that abuses sex as a weapon.
Personally, I respect the members of that particular audience for taking the high road, and not charging the stage screaming, "It's women like you that ruin the word "feminist!" Women like you keep women from reporting rape out of fear! Women like you make women consciously or unconsciously wonder if they brought on that violence themselves, and are living with a societal branding of self hatred! You make me sick!" So, I'm sorry AnnieScott and others had to experience that display of anti-woman rhetoric. But reading stories like these reignite our desire to rise above, and seek a peaceful, equitable, and just downright better world for the women yet to come.
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Adia Morris 7-09-2008 @ 1:19PM
*shudder*
My friend Jess asked, "Was there any sign that they were being ironic at all?" I thought about it for a moment, just to be fair. And then I said, "No."
Maybe they were. Only they can say. But gee, I don't know, maybe rape isn't something to try be funny about.
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Annie Scott 7-09-2008 @ 2:10PM
You ladies rock. Keep the comments coming, people. Send this to your friends. I think these women voiced an attitude we could all stand to talk about for a minute. There's another great review here by Sacha Zimmerman:
http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_plank/archive/2008/07/08/party-grrlzz.aspx
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Jonathon Morgan 7-09-2008 @ 7:23PM
I'm glad you posted about this Annie. Jezebel's writers have evolved into the poster children for modern feminism, and it was embarrassing to watch them be so careless with that reputation.
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marella 7-10-2008 @ 4:03AM
tracie egan is a pig. ask some of the people who have been on the receiving end of her unwarranted nastiness. she's got nothing to do with feminism; she is about herself, and nothing else. she understands feminism about as much as she understands anything else outside her narrow purview. her display on the show was nothing more than tracie, as she is. she's a pig.
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M.E. Williams 7-13-2008 @ 9:16PM
I'm surprised to see a post like this on Styledash -- but not unpleasantly. Big love for you guys. :)
I don't know the Jezebel writers, and I tend to enjoy it as a site. However... this kind of thing happens more often than you'd think, just not so publicly and not with such well-known participants.
I have found that what Hepola says about disconnection (maybe it's even a kind of solipsism) is common in feminist communities, possibly because of the general watchword that "the personal is political" -- which I think is often played out pretty poorly, because we're all still just people with issues and personalities and hang-ups, not perfect political machines.
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