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AKIN LET THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG

8/22/2012

 
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Akin Let the Cat Out of the Bag
    Pre-teen males have their own folk lore. My bunch in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, 11 to 13-year olds, talked about putting a “boner” into a girl.
    “They all want you to do it,” said Buddy.
    “What if you take a piss in there?” asked Georgie.
    “Probably kill her,” answered Buddy.
    Buddy, 13, was our voice of authority because he’d actually “done it” with Dorine, who was 14 and lived across the street. I could never look at Dorine without wondering what “it” was like.
    In the army, my B-17 crew mates disclosed their own childhood beliefs. Ike, our navigator, laughingly said that as a kid in Rock Hill, SC, “We didn’t think women had to shit, They took chemicals.” Another was that rape wasn’t possible unless a woman “wants it,” especially if she was a virgin.
    “Can you slip a hot dog into a roll that hasn’t been sliced?”
    At a lecture for new recruits, a smart-ass young captain said, “Strive with all your might for virtue, but if rape is inevitable, lean back and enjoy it.”  Got a laugh, but the idea that a woman can “enjoy” being raped is young male folk lore.
    Todd Akin, mild as a muffin, speaking about pregnancies that result from rape, said:  “It seems to me, from what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare.  If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”
    Ignorant pap that he still believes! Disarmed by the friendly presence of fellow conservative, Mike Huckabee, Akin let it slip. His weak protest that he used the “wrong words” proves that he’s still in thrall to pernicious pre-adolescent notions, and the frantic screams that he step down come in the hope it will convince voters that no one else shares them. Which of course they do. That’s why Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, and the other so-called social conservatives are so riled up.

    Akin let the cat out of the bag.

CH
8/22/2012 03:02:53 am

"Can you slip a hotdog into a bun that hasn't been sliced?" Yikes! What a window into what you call "young male folklore." Except its so much more terrifying and dangerous than folk tales. It's strategic Patriarchal indoctrination. It's effective shifting of responsibility from the perpetrator to the victim, creating a culture of victim-blaming that serves men like Akin, Ryan, Romney and even more moderate/progressive men very well. It reaches way beyond innocent boys hanging out on a Brooklyn corner. As a girl, and now a woman, (raising a hopefully enlightened son), I know too well the fear that dogs us on every street.

Jack Gescheidt link
8/22/2012 05:09:30 am

Exactly, Stuart! He didn't mispeak, he let slip what he actually believes, much to the stunned amazement of (I hope) most of the country. Wow.

And of course if you toe the conservative line that no baby should ever be aborted, which means you'd force a woman (or teen girl) to have a baby from a rape, believing what Akin believes, gets you off a very cruel hook. Which means I understand why it serves him to believe this fantasy.

Martha
8/22/2012 09:43:41 am

I was looking forward to your comments on this latest from the Republicans, Stuart. And hoping, too, that reader CH would weigh in, as I always appreciate her further reflections and convictions. Ignorance + misogyny and patriarchy = Republican Party in 2012.

Susan link
8/23/2012 10:32:04 am

As a psychotherapy intern, I was sexually assaulted by 3 psychiatrists, bloated with self-importance. I've worked with many sexual abuse and rape victims. But I confess I also found myself laughing at some of Stuart's boyhood reminiscences. As a girl I hung with a pack of boys who sometimes talked like this, but would have died rather than hurt a woman, or even make her uncomfortable. Sometimes young men do this as a response to a culture that demands hyper-masculinity, defined by heterosexual conquest. Then again, there really is a slippery slope, in the hands of some, from this sort of talk to the acceptance of violence against women. Life is so damn complicated. Except for Todd Akin - he's simply a turd.

Schaumburg Strippers link
10/11/2013 03:50:28 pm

Great blog, I just created an account here too.


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    Author (Yuma, AZ, 1944)

    Being 90 years in this world,  with great kids,  great grandkids, great wives (two, one at a time) and great memories, I wonder why some people seem to have stopped loving the U.S.A.? I will wonder in print right here. If you wonder too, or can provide some answers, please comment.
                                   Stuart Hodes

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           With my friend, Nero.
                   April, 2012.
        Photo by Ray Madrigal

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