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GENDER, SEXISM, AND SONIA SOTOMAYOR'S "TEMPERAMENT."
Via Twitter, TPM News Editor Justin Elliott points out this "creepily gendered" Times headline: "Sotomayor’s Sharp Tongue Raises Issue of Temperament."
Indeed, I can't remember the last time I heard a man referred to as "sharp tongued," which strikes me as a synonym for catty, pushy, nasty, and a whole bunch of other terms usually reserved for aggressive women. The Times article, by Jo Becker and Adam Liptak, goes on to call Sotomayor "testy" and "combative," though also "formidably intelligent" and "gregarious." But the piece buries what should have been very close to the top, a comment by Judge Guido Calabresi, former dean of Yale Law School. He said:
Some lawyers just don’t like to be questioned by a woman. It was sexist, plain and simple.
Right. If you're laboring under the assumption that the current Supreme Court is made up of a bunch of passive nice guys who make lawyers feel warm and fuzzy inside, read Jeff Toobin's profile of Chief Justice John Roberts.
In any case, by acknowledging that critiques of Sotomayor's "temperament" must be understood within the context of her place in a male-dominated profession, the Times reporters clearly one-up Jeff Rosen's now-infamous "Case Against Sotomayor." But while it's perfectly legitimate to debate Sotomayor's potential shortcomings, I'm still not thrilled with the way this "temperament" story is being framed. As Ann Friedman and I discussed in our first episode of "Ask a Feminist," there is a well-developed body of sociological research demonstrating that within workplaces, male aggressive behaivor is accepted by both men and women as a "leadership" quality, while similar aggressive behavior by a woman gets her labeled as a difficult bitch. In some surveys, even women have reported that they prefer male bosses.
All I ask is that coverage of Sotomayor's "personality" be put in this context.
--Dana Goldstein
Update: Josh Marshall made a similar point (very) early this morning.
COMMENTS (8)
These folks didn't think temperament mattered when they nominated Scalia, now did they?
This should be an issue when confirming judges, given the behavior of some judges. There's nothing here of the things you usually see (judges stomping off the bench at 'not guilty' findings, dressing down attorneys because they don't like them, etc.)
This is just 'OMG, how dare she ask me a question!!'. That's not a legitimate complaint.
Posted by: soullite | May 29, 2009 10:42 AM
If it makes you feel any better, a googling the phrase in google news came up with a San Francisco Chronicle lead:
"In an unexpected twist, sharp-tongued, conservative talk show host Michael Savage, who in the past savaged Hillary Clinton as a "dangerous human being" and "fraudulent huckster," has asked for help after being banned in Britain - from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton."
The reporter's way of implying that he's catty, I guess.
Posted by: Royce | May 29, 2009 11:21 AM
"Indeed, I can't remember the last time I heard a man referred to as "sharp tongued," which strikes me as a synonym for catty, pushy, nasty, and a whole bunch of other terms usually reserved for aggressive women."
As Royce points out, a simple google search shows Dana Goldstein is making this up. "Sharp tongued" is used to describe men as well as women.
Posted by: Alex | May 29, 2009 12:06 PM
Alex, are you seriously going to pretend women aren't punished more harshly for being assholes than men are?
Feminists, overwhelmingly, dislike me. I disagree with them on all sorts of shit. I think their crusade to turn drunken party sex into rape is infantile (assuming steady consciousness exists). I think their 'OMG someone is selling a product shaped like boobs!' BS is hypocritical for people with mechanical penises in their drawers. Their hostility towards male sexuality in general is extremely troubling, and their belief that they can tell males how to be Men is laughable.
But come on, I have eyes. I have ears. I've lived in this country all my life, and so have some of you. Girls that pretend to be sweet and innocent get rewards, while women who act human get treated like bitches. A lot of men really do have a hard time accepting women as authority figures, and get offended at behavior they would easily accept from a male authority figure.
I'm not sure how a human being with a brain doesn't see that.
Posted by: soullite | May 29, 2009 12:47 PM
Soullite - agreed. Most of the post seems fine to me. I just think the beginning of the post (the "sharp-tongued" comment) is wrong.
Posted by: Alex | May 29, 2009 1:29 PM
Scalia's a raging asshole and Sotomayor's a raging asshole. I politely insist that I do not want either of these raging assholes dictating to me from the High Court.
Posted by: No More Raging Assholes | May 29, 2009 1:52 PM
Actually, I rescind my earlier arguments. Partly anyway. After a recent discussion on Washington Monthly's Political animal, I have come to the conclusion that while sexism exists, it is fucking awesome.
Shit, I had forgotten how judgmental and petty Women really are. Play video games, like star trek (okay, it sucks yes. But everything is cool to someone), play D&D (a board game, really?), like anime (yeah, jp's are wierd. but so what?) and you're a loser in their eyes. Hell, I gave up what few things there I liked years ago, and had forgotten this.
I have come to the conclusion that patriarchy is truly awe-inspiring. A magnificent display of arch-villainy. Racism has nothing in how self-perpetuating patriarchy really is.
Convince young women to be judgmental, gold digging bitches >> Make men resent them for this >> Men treat their wives like shit >> wives teach your daughters that they need to find a great man who doesn't do anything 'loserish' so he won't treat her like shit>> wash, rinse, repeat.
Also, teach women that real men are emotionless. That way, when men open up to them, women know they are unmanly and dump them!
How the fuck do you overcome that? Hell, I recognize it as evil and still love it. It's awesome to be able to laugh in the face of some chick who just tried to put you down, remind her that society doesn't give a shit about her, and then wish her luck making 70 cents to ever dollar you do.
It's fucking glorious. You're never going to beat that, the phyllis Schlaffy's of the world may be scum, but they are probably right. Better to buy in than be sold out.
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