For example, this Mail article - which is, incredibly, credited to four journalists - contains only 1095 words (mostly anonymous quotes) in between nineteen photos of one of the women involved.
The Sun were also relying on anonymous quotes, including one spotted by Anton where someone described as a 'pal' said of the same woman:
She's not a very nice person.
Some pal.
However, a now-removed comment left on the Sunday Mirror's website was even more eye-catching:
Posts
I'm not sure who to pity more, Mitchy or his wife.
ReplyDeleteMe thinks Mitchy isn't very good in bed.
ReplyDeleteMitchy must be titchy.
ReplyDeleteIf you ever feel like truly, truly melting your mind when it comes to gender politics, check out the guy who names himself "govt_helper" on the Your Freedom site. Mind-blowing stuff, along this vein.
ReplyDeleteHe can be mocked here:
http://ifyoulikeitsomuchwhydontyougolivethere.com/2010/08/18/razzle-for-psychiatrists/
If you can't stomach his entire post, it's understandable...
Me thinks Mitchy hasn't got a woman!
ReplyDeleteJust one small thing. While I do find this blog informative and certainly very important, I do think it should concentrate on the quality of the journalism rather than going for readers. The world is full of people with weird and not-so-wonderful ideas and opinions, and they will comment on websites just for the sake of doing so. "Mitchy" may not have believed what he wrote; he may have thought he was trying to be funny, or he may have been trolling.
ReplyDeleteSince that comment had a score of -98 in your screenshot, and since it was subsequently removed, I think it's fair to say that it probably doesn't reflect the opinions of either the website or its readership; so I'm not sure that reproducing it serves any real purpose.
Had it met with a hugely positive response, you could probably have drawn conclusions from it. As it stands, though, it looks to be like one idiot being idiotic, and everybody else recognising the idiocy for what it is.
I wonder if it's ever occurred to poor old Mitchy that maybe women just don't like sex WITH HIM.
ReplyDeletewell, it makes a change from women's hormones being blamed for everything.
ReplyDeleteseriously tho - this shows a little bit how irresponsible reporting of biological determinist theories are helping fuel sexist ideas, such as men are programmed to sleep around, women are programmed to catch men etc etc.
so much evidence has debunked the most popular biological determinist theories (such as, women like pink because it's the colour of berries that we picked in primeval times) but they are rarely reported in the media. instead, the ones that promote the idea of essential difference are.
this means that dangerous stereotypes such as girls biologically are bad at maths, and stupid ones, such as men need to have affairs to be real men, are taken as read and not examined.
all the papers that rapturously reviewed simon baron-cohen's books on biological determinism are strangely silent on the book 'delusions of gender' that shows them all up.
know it's a little off topic but it just an example of irresponsible journalism fuelling sexist attitudes in readers.
Rewboss - Thanks for the comment. I don't totally disagree. Generally I do try to avoid mentioning individual comments but sometimes, as with this one or the Bongo Bongo Land one, they are too jaw-dropping to ignore. Plus it adds a bit of variety to the posts.
ReplyDeleteI also think that with websites moderating the posts even if they are left by the public they are 'approved' by the newspaper and their agenda. Which often gives an insight as to what the editors would say if they dared to print it themselves.
ReplyDelete