WE ALL KNOW WHAT THOSE WHOLESOME ETHNIC TYPES ARE UP TO

I was going to let it go, but I find myself still pondering this comment discovered by Amanda at Ann Althouse's place in the wake of boobgate:

"[Jessica's] blog [Feministing] uses sexuality for promotional purposes."---Althouse

Yes, but it's a certain kind of sexuality. I've looked at her Flickr photos....hers is a a kind of wholesome--nice-Jewish-girl-ethnic-Brunette-who-just-happens-to-have-breasts...---sort of a look.She has pictures of her cherub father interspliced between semi-wholesome, yet all-knowing, shots of her emphasizing breasts. Women know how NOT to expose body parts. I don't care if you are a 44 DD, there's a certain style of dressing, and body language, whereby you can turn it completely off.  Jessica hides behind this veil of the good-Jewish-wholesome-Italian-Ethnic-brunette facade, which probably makes her unassailable on the surface.  Yet, it's so obvious what she's intentionally contriving to put out there.  It's that wholesome/semi-ethnic look....you can't criticize her, she's got her father up there, for God's sake.

Very clever.

For all but those who can see through the act.

Peace, Maxine

This jaw-dropping comment was left by one Maxine Weiss, presumably a woman herself and possibly of an "ethnic" variety.  (Ever heard the term "self-loathing"???).  As a wholesome appearing female of both Jewish and Italian extraction (albeit with a small rack), I had no idea folks like me were so suspect.

But seriously, plenty of people out there really DO hate and despise women just for being.  Especially young women with young women's bodies.  If you doubt, comments like this are Exhibit A.

Belledame222  immediately rides into battle and nails it.  Here are her lengthy but oh so fab comments at Althouse (immediately below Maxine's):

Okay. I have to ask. "Wholesome, semi-ethnic look?" What on earth can this mean? As opposed to...what? The NON-wholesome look? which is...? more "ethnic?" Less ethnic? Some other KIND of semi-ethnic? Help me out, here.

anyway, very sinister of her, to pretend she's wholesome. of course she simply COULDN'T just be who she says she is: a feminist blogger who actually does quite a lot of work and who is rather down about all this gleeful shredding of her character. which she did NOTHING to deserve.

you want to exhume the creaky bones of Clinton's dreary scandal, six YEARS after he left office? just bloody do it, then; it's not like you could bore the rest of us any -more-; anyway you hardly need to fixate on some random woman's breasts to do that, do you? I mean, if you're so concerned about -his- BEHAVIOR, and all?

and as to her being unassailable, well, gee, apparently not. Yay you. I'm sure she'll be properly shamed, and...what is it, now? take down her blog? take down all the naughty scandalous language and her sarcastic mudflaps AND her own pictures? put big black X's over anyone with the audacity to have breasts in the picture? cover her head with sackcloth and ashes? write to Ann for advice on how to be a better feminist?? or just, what, next time she gets an invite to a luncheon with the ex-President, turn up her nose and say, "my feminist principles cannot allow it, SIR."

which is exactly what you, Ann, would've done, had you been invited yourself, riiiiight?

even though you voted for him twice, I believe you said?

well. good to meet someone with uh character I always say. yes indeedy.

"Surely, I thought, someone out there who claimed to simultaneously hold Clinton in high esteem and embrace feminist ideals would explain why there's not a gaping dichotomy there... explain how Clinton doesn't personify the very misogynistic attitudes that the feminist movement sought to rightfully bring to public scorn and shame."

You know why people aren't doing this? Because it -isn't the bloody point.- There IS no principle here; this is an ass-cover. Y'all were being sniggery seventh graders over the brunette with the big tits (huh, huh, guess what THIS reminds me of, huh huh CLINTON huh huh); woman herself stops by and says, "please don't do this." What does Ann do? Not only -not- apologize or at least let the thread die a natural death, but ESCALATES. and escalates, and escalates, and escalates, and you know what? That is what bullies do. That is what HARASSERS do. Yeah, you got it. I'm not Clinton's number one fan; I don't in fact give a rat's ass about Clinton. I do give a rat's ass that a bunch of you flying monkeys are laying all your own fucked-up sexual shit on this woman who has done nothing, repeat, NOTHING to deserve this. There IS no justification for this; twist all you like.

You, Ann, are a bully.

And a coward.

And a liar.

And you could stop this any time you like.

But keep on digging if you must; hey, anything just so you can maybe splatter even MORE shit on the young woman who had the audacity to, well, have breasts, pretty much. At this rate maybe you'll get all the way to China. Where they'll -also- probably find you completely horrible; but, hey, change of scenery!

And you are completely talking out of your ass wrt her blog, as you well know.

Jessica is the serious writer here. I'm not even going to dignify your claims of "feminist" with a response. Tell it to Ann Coulter and Michelle Malkin: they're GREAT feminists.

The creepy breast-fixated airhead, dear Ann, is you.

Sorry. I know reality is really painful. But really, dear, I'm only hurting you for your own good.

"Why don't you defend yourself?"

Isn't that what you said to her, -Ann-? When that was pretty much what she WAS doing--oh, except not in a self-abasing way, that's true; she didn't concede you had any right to be talking smack about her. How strange. But no; now suddenly it's about her BLOG and her FEMINISM; not you making fun of her TITS.

This isn't Project Runway, Ann. And -you- are the Weakest Link, here, unfortunately; clearly it's been an unpleasant awakening. Rotten of the young girl to not lie down and accept that role for you, I know.

"Why don't you defend yourself?"

Why should she freaking have to defend herself? Why do YOU have the right to ATTACK her? You realize that's what you said there, don't you?

"I want to hit you! I WANT TO HIT YOUUUU!!! Fight back! ooh, but not like THAT, that HURTS ME!! fight back the way I TELL YOU, that's only reasonable."

Do you have -any- idea how -completely- screwed-up you are?

And yes, that was a rhetorical question. It just amuses me to watch you decompensate as the cognitive dissonance goes to overload. See, I have a sadistic streak, too; it's just that unlike you, I do my best to reserve it for people who dish it out first. So! Wanna go for the cookie? C'mon, Ann! Let's see your next trick! I can't wait for it! How much creepier and more bizarre can you and your sycophants possibly get? seriously, it's like Kraft-Ebbing come to life up in here.

Ann's response?

Belledame: Your head seems clouded by anger and hate... and dissonance about feminism. The breasts I wrote about were the images on Jessica's blog, which she uses to get attention to her blog. I did not begin by writing about her. She showed up in my comments to draw attention to herself, which motivated me to laugh at the way her blog looks. Since then, a horde of people have been insulting me, distorting what I said, and plainly lying as well. They've also been resorting to some of the lowest sexist and ageist hate speech. Why don't you address that?

Translation:  I am now going to ignore the fact that most of the comments thread below my original post focused on Jessica's hotness, apparently in response to my sniggering statement about Jessica's placement in the picture. I will then blame Jessica for "drawing attention to herself," even though she was just minding her own business until people started making sexualized and derogatory comments about her on my blog.  And even though I immediately responded by criticizing Jessica for having breasts, I will now pretend this is about feminism.   

It's a disgusting spectacle, but I can't seem to avert my eyes.  Althouse supporters themselves are too dim to let it die -- as evidenced in Charlotte Allen's moronic post.

Hat tip: Pandagon and Feministe.

Comments

[dragonsmilk]

I'm really just curious as to how one "turns off" DD breasts. Seriously.

Also, anyone who thinks of a picture of the whole of a normally-fitting t-shirt with a woman inside it (which is exactly what the feministing pictures were) as a picture of breasts thinks of a clothed female torso as a set of boobs. End of friggin' story.

I get more than enough annoyance from males who think any body part (including eyes) whose existence I have not concealed is actively on display. Hearing a woman say the same thing makes me want to spit in her drink.

[Vervain]

Ah, the "If I can see it, you're displaying it and thus inviting me leer, ogle and/or comment on it" philosophy.

So charming. So parochial. So egocentric.

Brought to you by the people who brought us the "Everyone in the world should have the same values and beliefs as ME, because somehow out of billions of people on the planet, MINE are all the RIGHT ones" philosophy...

*end of PSA*

[The Grouch]

The best part is Ann whining about the sexist comments being made about her.

Ann, sweetie? If you not only allow but invite your commenters to sexually harass a young woman and analyze her boobs (and if you tell me you didn't know they would do that, you're either a liar or an idiot), you lose all right to feminist defense when people respond by insulting you. Sorry.

[three martini breakfast]

>"(and if you tell me you didn't know they would do that, you're either a liar or an idiot)"

Why limit yourself to just one, when they go together so well?!

[Richard]

>>> Happy wrote: TRANSLATION: I am now going to ignore the fact that most of the comments thread below my original post focused on Jessica's hotness, apparently in response to my sniggering statement about Jessica's placement in the picture. (emphasis added)

Wrong, wrong, wrong. Happy, read at Althouse's orginal post (link below). Not a peep in the post about Jessica. Nothing! Zip. Jessica entered the comments HERSELF after some other comments, NOT Althouse, made joking reference to "the intern" in front of Clinton. The subject was always Clinton. Althouse didn't even know who any of the bloggers were at first. Here's the link to Althouses ORGINAL post.

http://althouse.blogspot.com/2006/09/bill-clinton-lunching-with-bloggers.html

[The Happy Feminist]

From Althouse's original post:

Let's just array these bloggers... randomly.

So what in the world is Althouse talking about? Her commenters seemed to interpret it as a reference to Jessica.

In any case, whatever. The point is that after other people made derogatory comments about Jessica, and Jessica made a comment, Althouse piled on with some downright nastiness that was NOT about the adoration of Clinton (as contained in writings of bloggers who are not Jessica) but that WAS about the alleged inappropriateness of Jessica's tits.

[belledame222]

And whose fault is it that instead of going "gee, we're just messing around at Clinton's expense, sorry 'bout that, Jessica," Althouse promptly upped the ante by a) telling Jessica not to "flatter herself" b) some insane crap about her "posing" c) starting a brand new post entitled LET'S TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THOSE BREASTS.

What, Jessica was -asking for it,- by coming in and saying, y'know what, i don't appreciate this? She should've just let them have their fun at her then-unknown expense; it's her fault for protesting? Fuck that noise.

I am so motherfucking tired of these penny-ante bullies. It's bad enough that we're at the mercy of this kind of venal heartless ratbastard at the serious-as-a-stroke level; who the hell has time for this kind of trifling bullshit? Althouse deserves a good swift kick in the ass. Pity no one's ever actually going to deliver it to her.

[belledame222]

By the way, she deleted those posts; as she did the post wherein i laid out Jessica's feminist credentials for her, seeing as how she was apparently too blinded by the boobies to notice she's got some rather formidable chops on her. And then promptly froze the topic. Gee. Was it something I said?

And I -still- don't know what whosis meant by "are you gonna eat the last bagel." It sure -sounds- clever, though.

[belledame222]

I spent some time browsing around Weiss' site. Apparently she is, indeed, "semi-ethnic" herself, evangelist trumpetings notwithstanding. well, technically if yer Mom's not, you're not Jewish. still i did boggle at the whole (apparently completely unironic) fawning over the NY Society page and then her mild incredulity that Joan Rivers had made it; guess they let in just -anyone- these days.

she seems rather hung up on this "classy/not classy" notion, i notice. among other things.

she: freaks my shit out.

[belledame222]

--woosp, excuse me, i guess she just deleted...well, no, there was more than one. but those, yah, she left up.

i just love how she DEMANDS an -apology- (!!) from someone -else- in there calling her on her bullshit.