Emily
MikeYesterday on a flight to DC, New York Sen. Chuck Schumer apparently called a flight attendant “bitch,” under his breath. The flight attendant had asked him to turn off his cellphone, and when she turned around, he muttered the insult. He has since apologized.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand was apparently seated next to Schumer at the time. Because of this, she’s now under fire by the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Why? Because she hasn’t made a public speech dissecting the incident– beyond the fact that she agrees that Schumer “did the right thing by apologizing.”
Schumer should not have called the flight attendant a “bitch.” The power dynamics involved with a man (especially a man in position of power) using that word for a woman are still serious and problematic, despite an argument that came out of this Jezebel thread (‘Has The Word “Bitch Lost Its Bite?’). Yes, women have started to reclaim the word, and I think that’s great– but that doesn’t make it okay for a male senator (or any man for that matter) to say that to a woman.
However, it’s ridiculously disingenuous for the NRSC to attempt to blame a completely uninvolved party– Sen Gillibrand. When the Republicans seem ‘genuinely’ interested in using feminism to make a political point (hell, I’m wary when most Democrats do it), it’s very frequently disingenuous (and hypocritical). But of course the onus must fall on the woman to illuminate the masses on the dangers of the word “bitch”– even though she had nothing to do with the original incident?
Then there’s, of course, the unacknowledged fact that a junior female senator speaking out against a male senior senator will clearly have personal and political consequences for her. Anytime a woman speaks out in general (i.e., Hillary Clinton during her campaign, or Barbara Boxer’s “ma’am” incident) she is told to “calm down” or faced with opposition because she is “playing the victim.” Of course in a perfect world this wouldn’t be true, and Gillibrand could feel free to speak openly on the issue– but this isn’t reality.
Schumer was at fault here, but apparently the NRSC brushes past this fact, and barely even comments on his actions. The NRSC goes straight to the only female senator who happened to be on the plane. The NRSC writes:
It’s our hope that those womens’ rights organizations that have already endorsed her campaign for the Senate will ask Kirsten Gillibrand why she believes it’s acceptable to call a female flight attendant a “bitch.”
Right, because Gillibrand has somehow shown that she finds this behavior “acceptable?” She has publicly stated Schumer’s apology was the correct thing to do, which leads one to believe she found his initial action unacceptable.
When a man makes a sexist comment to a flight attendant without involving another woman, it is not that woman’s responsibility or fault– it is still the man’s.
Filed under: Feminism, Harassment, Politics Tagged: | bitch, chuck schumer, Feminism, kirsten gillibrand, republicans, sexism
