Sexist Biological Essentialism on AlterNet

[queerbychoice]

I just submitted the following to AlterNet's feedback form:

The reason I started reading AlterNet was to see articles written from a pro-equality perspective. The new article "My Problem with Her Anger" by Eric Bartels, however, instead assaulted my eyes with sexist claims about "the degree of intuition and empathy that seem an integral (natural) part of a woman's nurturing instinct." It's a betrayal of everything that AlterNet supposedly stands for when AlterNet actively helps perpetuate the patriarchal myth that biology rather than patriarchy is what stuck women with an unequal share of the childcare, that women posses some fictional "nurturing instinct" beyond what men possess that causes having an unequal share of these chores forced upon them to just magically not really be as unpleasant for them as men know perfectly well that it would be if they men were stuck doing it.

If I cannot receive any assurance that AlterNet is a forum I can read without its writers actively oppressing me in their writings here, the unnecessary stress added to my life by encountering such statements here will cause me to stop reading AlterNet at all.

I can't imagine why they ever published that article in the first place. It's just some guy complaining for several pages that his wife complains too much, and although I can agree with him that based on the quotes he provided it seems that the tone of the conversations in their household would make their household an unpleasant place to live, the question of exactly how the anger level in their household escalated to the point of such rudeness and to what extent the fault lies with her or with him is very difficult to determine when we only hear his own version of it in this article. As a result, the political analysis viability of the article is pretty much zero, and then he makes it even worse when the ridiculous "Men Are from Mars"-style of gender-relations "analysis" he attempts to tack on is just blatantly sexist and insulting.

Comments

[unitarymatrix.livejournal.com]

One thing to note is that these aren't articles, but both essays from a book where ordinary people discuss their feelings, and should be seen as such. I don't know if you've noticed this, but there's an interview with the editors of the two books posted too, and it's quite good and shows how the essays should really be viewed.

[unitarymatrix.livejournal.com]

Anyways, I hope I'm not annoying you by my repeated comments... I just have too much free time tonight :) I also enjoyed reading these articles, and just diagree that they are in support of "Sexist Biological Essentialism"

[queerbychoice.livejournal.com]

People have to be able to leave disagreeing comments in order for the issues to be explored properly. That's what the comment function is for, so don't worry about it.