"Traditional Values" is Just Code for "Men Can Do Whatever They Want"

[babylonsister]

http://prospect.org/csnc/blogs/tapped_archive?month=05&year=2011&base_name=traditional_values_is_just_cod

"Traditional Values" is Just Code for "Men Can Do Whatever They Want"

Jamelle Bouie | May 19, 2011 | TAPPED


Riffing off of Gail Collins' latest New York Times column, Steve Benen wants to know why Republicans are prone to crazy sex scandals:

{N}ot only do the Republican scandals seem worse in their scope and severity, but we’re talking about “the family-values party.” Indeed, except for Giuliani and maybe Schwarzenegger, all of the recent Republicans caught with their pants down have been sleazy and hypocritical.

It's generally wise to avoid double standards, but what about when a party invites one? For decades, Republican candidates at every level have emphasized the GOP's moral superiority on "family values." If you want to protect the "sanctity of marriage," the argument went, it's incumbent on you to vote Republican. There's a culture war underway, Americans have been told, and Democrats just aren't as reliable on these issues as the GOP.

In addition to their asserted superiority on "family values," Republicans also bill themselves as arbiters of "traditional values," and their hypocrisy on sex makes a lot more sense when viewed in that light. Indeed, it isn't even hypocrisy. Typically, the traditional values agenda is defined by opposition to gay equality, abortion rights, and feminism. And while culture warriors offer different explanations for each issue, the core concern is deep opposition women's autonomy, and a belief in the right-ness of patriarchal rule.

Affairs, even ones that result in children, flow naturally of this worldview. Women are objects to be dominated (and if possible, claimed), and men -- as the "natural" leaders -- are free to indulge every whim, including those forbidden to people of "lower status."

Not every Republican holds to this belief system, but among the people we're talking about -- who, with the exception of the Governator, bill themselves as defenders of traditional values -- it's endemic. And understanding the sexist roots of this view goes a long way toward understand the behavior of its adherents.

[canetoad]

1. Have you no VALUES woman?

You'll never get a man, posting shit like this.

[babylonsister]

2. omgggggggggg!!! You woke up from the haze!!

How are you? Long time; I've been so darned busy; will be in touch. :loveya:

[Lance_Boyle]

3. Sarah Palin sure is a nasty, nasty man.

So is Phyllis Schlafly. And Michelle Bachmann. Horrible men, all of them. Those damned men - root of all the world's problems, I tell ya! :eyes:

[riderinthestorm]

21. Within any group like this, there are exceptions for "enforcers".

Jewish concentrationn camp enforcers got special privileges for example. The women you cite are a rarity amongst millions and millions of women to whom they speak the 'subservient" line. Mainstream groups have always relied upon these anomalies to try to prop up their deficiencies. Micheal Steele would not otherwise be the RNC chair. These folks are tokens used in an attempt to help some angle of the message whilst gaining perks and power that will never flow to the rank and file.

Hell, there are even women who will force other women into burkas.

[dkf]

4. No they are just hypocrites.

Obama has great family values. I love him for it.

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[JoePhilly]

7. That's why the GOp supports equal pay for women .... oh wait,

they don't.

But they do support funding planned parenthood who provides numerous forms of preventative treatment for women, oh wait, they don't.

But they do support having the pill covered by medical insurance, oh wait, they don't.

But its not like they try to pass legislation that makes it harder or impossible for a women to get a legal abortion, oh wait, they do.

But its not like they recently tried to redefine rape, oh wait, they did.

A few references on this ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/26/opinion/26sat1.html
http://pol.moveon.org/waronwomen/
http://www.alternet.org/story/149761/9_new_laws_in_the_gop%27s_war_against_women

[babylonsister]

8. Thanks, JoePhilly, for those links and comments.

:thumbsup:

[get the red out]

10. Exactly!!!!!

Also, the GOP clowns hate gay people because they are a threat to the strict delineation between strictly male and female roles. These are people that see only in black and white, that's why they tend toward supporting (if not obeying) strict religious rules. If something doesn't fit this way of thinking it has to be fought.

Another thing that came to mind is if gay people are permitted to marry then that could create equality within marriage because you would not have a male leader and a female follower, that definitely screws with their world view.

[PassingFair]

9. Yes, on the matter of gay marriage, Obama is a bigot. His religion requires it.

I don't believe he is a misogynist.

Enjoy your visit from "Ireland".

[babylonsister]

11. ?? How does his religion require it? And did you see this?

It hasn't happened yet, but you may have to change your tune, hopefully...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x676250

[PassingFair]

13. He lives by the Christian bible, right?

"You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female. It is an abomination."

Your link just goes to PROVE that he's a bigot,
"struggling" with his bigotry.

snip> New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand thinks President Barack Obama will REVERSE COURSE next year and support gay marriage.

Obama has previously said he's “wrestling” with and “evolving” on the issue of marriage equality and currently supports recognizing gay and lesbian couples with civil unions. <unsnip

What's your point?

[babylonsister]

14. I also think he tries to do the right, moral thing. If he's evolving

towards that, I'm okay with it. And no point, just sharing what I read. You have a good day now, k?

[PassingFair]

15. You too.

:hi:

[Manifestor_of_Light]

17. What about David and Jonathan being real tight?

David loved Jonathan as his own soul.
They embraced, and wept, and David "enlarged" not "exceeded". :D Oh boy.

[Warren Stupidity]

6. Well that ain't really code, that is the fundamental basis

of traditional values in a patriarchy.

[Fumesucker]

12. Well, unless they are smoking pot..

Then we need to crack down on them big time.

[raccoon]

16. Absolutely. Before the Citadel went co-ed, you heard a lot about "tradition."

When Southerners mention "tradition" or "Southern way of life," they are usually talking about keeping a group of people down.

I'm a Southerner, so don't jump on me for posting that. Anyway, this behavior is by no means limited to Southerners.

[Initech]

18. I'm a guy and I totally puke at the concept of "traditional values"

There's no such thing anymore! It doesn't exist!!

[donheld]

19. They mean "Straight" Men Can Do Whatever They Want

[Vinnie From Indy]

20. For many on the right the proper term is "white men can do whatever they want"

Cheers!