Sexism and Man-Bashing - Humor that Isn't Funny

Sexism and man bashing has taken on an even uglier face, with the San Francisco Chronicle on September 22, 2008 giving free promotion of a website which features such 'creative' and 'humorous' products as male-shaped voodoo dolls (complete with instructions on giving "him" a migraine), a male-shaped toothpick holder, and a knife block for skewering him in symbolic retribution.

Have ugly and threatening innuendo and statements really become acceptable behavior? When did the National Organization for Women send out the memo? Does Andrea Dworkin's man-hating spirit found a new acolyte? When did sexism become funny?

Even venerable "Time" magazine is in on the act of establishing man bashing and the ugly sexism it represents as acceptable behavior. In their February 11, 2008 issue they lead off their story titled "Bye, Bye, Love" with an interview with the site's creator - who named the site after who she calls "the other woman."

Later in the same month, the site's creator got television time on Fox News "The Morning Show With Mike and Juliet" in which she put on display the originations of her web site's name - in which she said she envisioned smashing in the head of the alleged homewrecker with a brick - and the idea for her business was revenge.

Fast forward to August 28, 2008 when the magazine "Financial Times Deutschland" piled it on even thicker, spreading the word that sexist behavior - as long as it is done by a woman - is totally within the realm of respectable behavior.

If the level of vitriol and obvious man-hatred found on the web site is any indicator of what the husband had tolerated, perhaps that "other woman" should display some pride in herself for helping pry this man away from site creator Angie Schmidt, who now resides in San Francisco.

Ms. Schmidt's very first product should make you stop and pause to wonder just what sort of vengeful spirit drives this woman's venture, a t-shirt that says "Ask XXX Where My Husband Is." The XXX replaces the name of the next door neighbor Ms. Schmidt believes to be the cause of her marriage's meltdown. She called this humor - others might call it simple harassment.

Maybe instead of looking in the mirror and chuckling at what her neighbors were going to see her displaying, she should have instead looked herself in the eye and pondered who was looking back.

An interesting tidbit to note - all three articles were written by women.