It’s time to play “Spot the Sexist Language!” Identify the sexist language in this statement:
“Now, I think we need somebody whose got some experience cleaning house to go into the White House. So, I might ask you to grab your brooms and your mops, your vacuum cleaners and come on up and help me out.”
If you chose the references to housework, you’re correct!
But, wait! There’s more!
Today’s “Spot the Sexist Language!” statement was made by Hillary Clinton in Dallas, TX this afternoon. Is a woman perpetuating the “women’s work” stereotype – while in pursuit of the highest office in the land – sexist?
[nms:vaccuum cleaner,1,0]
So, references to women cleaning aren’t sexist, but describing Senator Clinton as “whiny” or “periodically feeling down” can be considered sexist?
The Geek Survey finds itself flummoxed by the mixed messages.
Score
The White House Cleaning Staff: 1 Geeks: 0
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Lisa Fary's earliest influences are Princess Leia, Rainbow Bright, Astronaut Barbie, and her 6th grade teacher, Ms. Palmer. She's angry that it's 2011 and she still doesn't have a hovercraft, but will accept a jetpack as consolation. That jetpack had better be pink with a rhinestone monogram. 
This is NOT sexist (nor did I think the use of the word "periodically" and "feeling down" were sexist. "Cleaning House" is a metaphor that everyone uses – yes, even men.
My personal gauge for what's sexist and what isn't is pretty simple. "Could I tolerate this coming out of a woman's mouth with regard to a man, as well as the other way around?" Example, I had a conversation about Eminem songs a while back, and a friend of mine was calling them "mysogynistic." Now, if a woman wrote a song about killing someone who was cheating on her, it would be seen as a Girl Power anthem. Angela Bassett setting her cheating husband's stuff on fire in "Waiting to Exhale" is considered totally OK, and is even cheered. So why is it that songs like The Beatles' "Run for your Life", Jimi Hendrix's "Hey Joe" or Eminem's "Kim" thought to be sexist? Are they horrific and irrational? Yes. Killing someone because they cheated on you, or did anything else you didn't like is horrific and irrational. But is it sexist? No. It's a very human thing to think about, and fantasize about, if not do. We've all sometimes imagined killing our boss, or giving people we don't like some kind of horrific comeuppance.
I think when we jump to Hillary's aid every time someone says something that can even REMOTELY be construed as POSSIBLY, MAYBE, KIND OF sexist, that says more about the state of things than the original statement. That Hillary, or powerful women like her, might be too sensitive, and indeed, feminine to be able to handle the kind of insults and mudslinging that contstantly happens between men. Are the insults different? Sure. So are men and women. But their purpose is the same. To throw her off her game, the way they'd want to throw anyone they were running against, or opposed to, off their game.
The fact that we might take HER to task for being sexist against HER OWN GENDER while using a metaphor that everyone uses…well, that just seems silly to me.
Hillary's a big girl. Scratch that. Hillary's a WOMAN, and a powerful, intelligent, hard-working woman at that. She can more than take care of herself, and I think we can trust her judgement about the words she chooses to use.