Elisabeth Hasselbeck on Lesbians: Older Women Lesbians by Forced Choice (Videos)

Is Elisabeth Hasselbeck Getting More Extreme in Her Views?

Saul Relative, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Jul 28, 2010 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."

Elisabeth Hasselbeck is no stranger to controversy. The openly conservative talk show co-host of "The View" is constantly putting her spin on topics about which her opinion is decidedly extreme, like rape and the morning after pill, stalking and Erin Andrews' dancing outfits, politics and Sarah Palin, and, now, lesbianism as it applies to older women. Setting the blogosphere, especially websites like Popcrunch, on fire, Elisabeth Hasselbeck told her round table of "The View" co-hosts Tuesday that she believed that older women were being forced into a choice of lesbianism due to the lack of older men to date or marry.

"All the older men are going for younger women, leaving the women with no one," Hasselbeck said.

Of course, she was called on her presumptuousness at once. Joy Behar, who constantly tangoes with Hasselbeck, said that her theory was "ridiculous." "Being gay is not just holding hands and walking through the tulips," Behar told the 33-year-old. "I don't think that you suddenly wake up and say, 'You know, I think I want to do that.' You wanted to do it; you were just trapped in a system that said 'get married.' "

Hasselbeck, who got a little miffed ("thank you for educating me") then qualified her theory by saying that many older women might choose another woman for companionship -- as opposed to sex -- in their later lives.

But choosing a woman for a live-in companion isn't lesbianism. In point of fact, two women having sex isn't lesbianism, either. It is simply two women having sex. Hasselbeck, like many heterosexuals, tends to conflate sexual relations among members of the same sex with a gay lifestyle. As Joy Behar pointed out, being homosexual -- in this case, lesbian -- does not come down to a matter of choice. At times, it comes down to societal pressures. What Behar did not say was that homosexuality is a matter of biological, emotional, and psychological factors that conspire to make homosexuals gay, just as much as those same factors make heterosexuals straight. And sex is another topic, although sexual attraction is very much interwoven into interpersonal relationships.

In the following video, Elizabeth Hasselbeck seems to slip into lesbianism-as-a-choice mode:

Hasselbeck, in espousing her older women lesbian theory, seems to also forget the "cougar" sociological phenomenon, where older women are "going for" younger men. She seemed a bit more reasonable in a March episode of the "The View":

In fairness to Hasselbeck, the current wave of controversy over her statements may be a bit over-reactonary. But she does seem to favor the choice argument over biological predisposition, going a little more conservative as time wears on.

The point remains that Elisabeth Hasselbeck seems to have no trouble saying things, both as co-host on "The View" and in other forums, that sometimes push the limits of reason. She once said that the morning after birth control pill should be banned, even in cases of rape and incest. Her most recent controversial statement came when she criticized ESPN reporter Erin Andrews for her "next to nothing" outfits on "Dancing With The Stars," noting that Andrews' stalker and surreptitious peephole videographer was probably thinking he should have waited a few more months.

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Sources:

"The View," ABC Television via Popcrunch.com

"The View," ABC Television via YouTube.com

Published by Saul Relative

WVU graduate, with degrees in History, English, Secondary Education, Computer Programming, and Psychology (and nearly a degree in Political Science). Originally from West Virginia, with stints in Virginia,... View profile

Elisabeth Hasselbeck on Lesbians: Older Women Lesbians by Forced Choice (Videos)

Is Elisabeth Hasselbeck Getting More Extreme in Her Views?

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