The women you're watching edit
Jezebel. Jezebel is a huge female blog in the States that tries to be different to other women's magazines. Sometimes, they actually manage this, other times they just spend a lot of time slagging off Cosmo and talking trash. So in that respect, they're exactly like Glamour. Although with less pretty pictures of shoes.
Unfortunately, as with most blogging wars (yes, there is such a thing - take a look at
Shoot The Messenger.) the point of it all has got a little lost. Like one of those rows you've been having and now you can't remember why it started but you know you're fucking angry. It's rare for me to comment on shit like this, but the whole saga has really pissed me off. Now look what's happened you silly Jezebel girls! You've pissed me off and now I'm gonna get on my soap box and it's all your fault.
It seems that instead of looking at what's really going on people have fallen into one of two camps, they either like the two women or they don't. That is the basis of the argument. It's really very grown up. One of them is called
Slut Machine for goodness sake. Dammit, that's what I was going to name my first kid.
I feel I can comment about this objectively because don't care who they are, although frankly I'd pick a better less erm... slutty alter-ego than Tracey Egan.
Do these women have a responsibility as a role model to young women? They blog for a huge network and they're followed by millions of women all over America and the rest of the world. Should they have to watch what they say just because they write a blog? Yes. Yes they should. If, say,
Hadley Freeman had gone onto Richard and Judy pissed and got into the same conversation, the Guardian would have fired her ass. At least I hope they would.
I have no issue with them defending their personal lives, not at all. I can understand why on TV someone would clam up while talking about their own rape. But rape is an issue that is important to women and they should have been willing to discuss it maturely. I really believe that if you edit a woman's magazine, whether it's online or not, you are in a position of role model whether you asked to be or not. Rape is not something to be flippant about. Not when there will be 14 year old girls watching that show who look up to those women and will think that date rape is OK.
That's not acceptable. No. No fucking way.
I'm not saying censor what you think. No. But at least don't get trollied, go on telly and talk shit. That's not clever. These women are meant to be able to put their thoughts together in an intelligent and funny way. That's what they're paid to do. Yeah, have an opinion. But make sure you're in a state where you can back up what you're saying without your eyes rolling about in your head.
As for whether or not they were 'trapped' or 'cajoled' into the subject by the woman who interviewed them, well isn't pushing them on an issue just good journalism? If you're in the middle of an interview and someone says something
silly really fucking stupid, then you pull them up on it. Of course you do. Otherwise you're not doing your job properly.
Unfortunately, the women haven't really said a huge amount about the media soap opera they created. They appear to be slapped on the wrist by Gawker (not that you'd ever know, Gawker never print bad stuff about themselves or apologise for anything. They are
above media, you see.) and will go on their merry way.
The sad thing is, more women will tune into Jezebel after this. More women will aspire to be a 'Slut Machine'. Gawker won't have to do a thing. The editors will carry on like normal (they're online hacks after all, it's not like they have to go face anyone in the real world.) And in the future, maybe one girl will think it's her fault that she was date raped.
Well done, Jezebel. Well done.