Per's MANifesto: A newsletter of news and opinion on man-bashing, anti-male stereotypes and other progressive moral ideals. September, 1997. WELCOME, READERS. In the movie theaters right now is a propaganda film called "G.I. Jane," purporting to show that women are tough as nails and can handle any adversity. Meanwhile, in the real world, feminists are doing their best to demonstrate that women are too delicate to stand up to naughty words, or pictures, or even a certain "Peyton place." And feminists aren't the only ones trying to pull a fast one with sexual harassment rules today -- men are getting in on the act. But men and woman alike are being affected by feminism's neo-Victorian insistence that they be treated like royalty. So we'll call this issue "Feminism: Doing A Job On Us All." (Per's MANifesto is available on the web at http://idt.net/~per2/manifest.htm Featuring links to back issues, Mondo Feminism, and The POW Page.) INDEX: I. AN ACCUSATION EQUALS A CONVICTION II. THE POLITICS OF FALSE ACCUSATIONS III. BUDDY, CAN YOU SPARE A JOB? IV. PORN TEMPLE PILOTS V. G.I. JANE NEEDS TO TRAIN VI. TAKING A CRACK AT CASHING IN VII. FIRED FOR A "LACK OF SENSITIVITY" VIII. MICKEY MOUSE LAWSUIT ========== AN ACCUSATION EQUALS A CONVICTION Joseph Holley was pleased that he had landed a new job, writing speeches for first lady Hillary Clinton. To take the job, he had to break his lease, quit his old job, pull his kids out of school and move his family to Washington from Texas. Then, in the middle of this, the job offer was revoked. The White House had learned that Holley had been the defendant in a sexual discrimination and harassment lawsuit seven years ago. Holley's employer at that time, the San Diego Tribune newspaper, had settled the lawsuit with no admission of wrongdoing. The suit had been brought by a writer Holley once supervised. He says the accusations were "absurd" and "fiction." The paper's internal review showed Holley did nothing wrong and recommended no disciplinary action against him. But the White House said the job was off. They wouldn't even give Holley a chance to tell his side of the story. His accuser, San Diego journalist Lynne Carrier, is applauding the decision. Yes, that's right, she's a journalist. What she accused Holley of was allowing a "male locker room" work environment featuring coarse sexual comments. Even if her accusations were true, it brings up the spectacle of a feminist journalist explaining to us why the First Amendment no longer works. Or at least why it doesn't apply to men. Feminists like Carrier are demanding Victorian protection from naughty words. Carrier might demand sensitivity for herself, but the newspaper described her as having an uncontrolled temper. Sensitivity seems to be a one-way street. Harold W. Fuson Jr., vice president and legal counsel for The Copley Press Inc., owner of the San Diego Tribune, said: "Frankly, I think Joe's the victim of a modern form of blacklisting, and I don't think it's a lot different than the 1950s version." It would be interesting to see what would happen if the standards the White House used against Holley were applied to Bill Clinton himself. After all, he has had a few accusations of his own. (See "White House Rescinds Job Offer to Writer Once Accused in Bias Suit," by John F. Harris, Washington Post, Monday, September 1, 1997; Page A04.) ========== THE POLITICS OF FALSE ACCUSATIONS Holley's case wasn't the only one to hit the White House recently. The Drudge Report, an internet newsletter of political gossip, recently claimed that White House aide Sidney Blumenthal "has a spousal abuse past that has been effectively covered up." The newsletter quoted an unnamed "influential Republican" as saying "There are court records of Blumenthal's violence against his wife." The story turned out to be utterly unfounded -- something planted for political purposes. Matt Drudge, author of the newsletter, retracted the story and deleted it from his web site on American Online. He also said: "I apologize if any harm has been done." If? Since when do we assume there is no harm in smearing innocent people? It appears that Blumenthal was the target of a politically motivated smear. Some Republicans had been upset over unverified abuse accusations leveled against Republican political consultant Don Sipple in Mother Jones magazine. It appears that someone put out a false story on Blumenthal as retaliation -- an attempt to switch the spotlight from a Republican to a Democrat. "Someone was trying to get me to go after [the story] and I probably fell for it a little too hard," Drudge acknowledged. "I can't prove it. This is a case of using me to broadcast dirty laundry. I think I've been had." This sorry state of affairs shows just how politicized the entire debate over sexual harassment and abuse has become. Extremist feminists have created an overheated emotional atmosphere that is ripe for this sort of abuse. False or trumped-up accusations of harassment or abuse have become weapons in the political arena, in divorce and custody cases, and in the chase for fat legal judgments. And it is not just radical feminists who are making them. Even Republicans can get in on the act. We wonder how far this will go, how much damage will be done, before society says that false accusations are never acceptable. (See "Blumenthals Get Apology, Plan Lawsuit: Web Site Retracts Story on Clinton Aide," by Howard Kurtz, Washington Post, Tuesday, August 12, 1997; Page A11) ========== BUDDY, CAN YOU SPARE A JOB? Patricia "Patti" Tehaney of Oxnard, California, recently lost her job at a termite control company. She says it's because she posed as Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month more than twenty years ago, in May 1976. She says her employer felt that this made her far too much of a risk for sexual harassment. The company didn't want to get sued if she ever claimed harassment in connection with her nude pictures, so she says. Her former employer says that Tehaney was fired for other reasons, but that she violated an agreement to never discuss her Playboy pictures with anyone at work. The company also says she once brought to work a copy of her nude centerfold (she says she did so reluctantly, at the request of her supervisor.) Maybe that sounds like a raw deal for Tehaney. But with all the lawsuits and claims over sexual harassment, can we really blame the company for protecting itself? The reader who alerted us to this story also included a quote from Warren Farrell, who said that discrimination for women would become discrimination against woman. It sounds like that might be happening to Tehaney. If we are not hyper-vigilant in protecting women, the result can be a devastating lawsuit. That can only make an employer think twice when hiring. But Tehaney has taken her case -- and her centerfold -- to the web. A friend put up a web page for Tehaney, at http://home.earthlink.net/~tehaney/, in which she pleads for help in finding work. A lot of people thought the page was a gag, but Wired magazine checked into it an verified the story, and she's been written up in the December 19, 1996, Los Angeles Times. (You can see the Wired article at http://www.wired.com/news/topframe/2205.html.) Tehaney's page starts off by saying: "If you remember the 70s, you may remember my centerfold pictorial in the May 1976 issue of Playboy. Or my controversial cover in Nov. 1975. This may all seem glamorous, but these 70's memories have suddenly become my 90s nightmare! If you saw my recent story on NBCs Dateline (1/12) or the LA Times on 12/16, you know that all this "glamour" has cost me my job and continues to prevent me from finding a new one." Tehaney had the page put up so that she could ask for work and for donations to see her through her job search. But right up at the top of the page, so it's one of the first things you see, there is a reproduction of Tehaney's Playboy centerfold. She's looking for work and money, and she's showing her body. It seems to us that any prospective employer concerned about harassment issues would have second thoughts about a woman who is using a nude picture as part of her job search. For one thing, it invites all sorts of jokes about her "resume" and her "assets." And those jokes are precisely the type of thing that could get someone sued for harassment. ========== PORN TEMPLE PILOTS If you think that the company that fired Tehaney is being overly cautious, remember that sexual harassment lawsuits over nude pictures are a very real concern, and very expensive. For example, Continental Airlines is being sued by a female pilot, Tammy S. Blakey, who says male pilots belittled her and left pornography around the cockpit. The company says her accusations of harassment began only after she was cited for poor attendance. It's interesting to note when a harassment accusation is made after an employee's job performance is criticized. Blakey says she was belittled once when she found a 10-inch doll in the pilot's seat with blonde hair in a ponytail, like hers. "I was belittled. That was uncalled for," she says. It will be interesting to see how many thousands of dollars she thinks will soothe the trauma. (And remember, when companies are hit with large damage awards, they have to find a way to pass the cost onto the consumer. In the end, the public ends up paying for our efforts to shield women from life.) She also said that pilots left "pornography" around the cockpit (insert bad pun here) and in flight manuals. "It was embarrassing. I knew those guys were looking at it," she said. Now, we don't support porn. But do people lose their rights to read what they want as soon as a woman is embarrassed to know they read it? Maybe we can try this tactic the next time a Women's Study class reads Andrea Dworkin or excerpts from "The S.C.U.M. Manifesto." (http://www.wps.com/texts/SCUM-manifesto.html) Just go to your diversity department and tell them to stop the feminists from reading it because it's embarrassing. "I knew those feminists were looking at it." Hmm. It would certainly be ironic if some of those pilots were viewing Patti Tehaney's Playboy centerfold. ========== G.I. JANE NEEDS TO TRAIN While the propaganda film "G.I. Jane" purports to show a woman undergoing the same rigorous military training as men, the Army is finally planning to narrow the difference in its separate-and-unequal fitness standards for men and women. In the wake of accusations of sexual harassment against women in the Army, a special Army panel conducted a gender investigation. In reporting the story, the Washington Post sounded amazed at the "surprising results" indicating that men feel aggrieved by gender bias. What do you know! Men resent gender bias against them. Why, who ever would have thought it! Mainly, the men are concerned about the far-easier fitness standards for women. Only half of the men said they thought that women "pull their load." But nearly all soldiers, including the women, felt that male soldiers "pull their load." Many of the men felt that women received favorable treatment, and 28 percent of men said "women have an advantage over men when it comes to having a successful military career." And 30 percent thought female soldiers get treated better. Feminists will probably try to dismiss this as backlash among men who don't want women in the service. But nearly 70 percent of the men said they felt women should be allowed to do any job "for which they can qualify." The problem is, the qualifications for women are often remarkably lower. A 25-year-old man is required to do 40 push-ups and 47 sit-ups in two minutes and run two miles in 16 minutes and 36 seconds. A 25-year-old woman must do 16 push-ups, 45 sit-ups and run the same distance in 19 minutes and 36 seconds. (The difference in running ability is notable. Apparently the Army thinks the enemy will be courteous enough to wait until the women catch up.) The standards for women are so low that overweight smokers could pass with ease, while men often struggled to meet their higher standards. This is one form of discrimination you didn't hear feminists complaining about. There is no demand for a "level playing field" when the field tips so far in women's favor. New rules will require women to do a few more push-ups and will slightly lower the time for the two-mile run. The number of sit-ups will stay the same. As the Washington Post noted, men found extra burdens being placed on them when women soldiers got pregnant: "Men complained about a battalion-level fuel handler who became pregnant and was assigned a desk duty until she gave birth so her unborn baby would not be exposed to chemical hazards. There were only a few fuel handlers assigned to the battalion and because she technically remained on the unit payroll, the battalion could not request a temporary substitute." The remaining men had to take up the slack. So women's "equal" rights translate into more responsibilities for men -- as usual. (See "Army Moves to Toughen Fitness Standards for Women," by Dana Priest, Washington Post, Saturday, September 13, 1997; Page A01) ========== TAKING A CRACK AT CASHING IN Jamie Whited is in the money after reaching a settlement with the University of Tennessee. Whited, a female athletic trainer, netted $300,000 in the settlement. What terrible trauma merited giving this delicate woman more than a quarter of a million dollars? She supposedly was mooned by quarterback Peyton Manning. Manning says he was joking around with a male track athlete in a training room and didn't see Whited. You can't really blame Whited for being so traumatized. What has society done to prepare women for such an assault on their delicate sensibilities? And how could Whited have even known that an athletic trainer might one day go into a room and see a bare butt? ========== FIRED FOR A "LACK OF SENSITIVITY" District Judge Alexander MacNichol of Maine has lost his job because he was accused of not being sensitive enough to women who claimed they were abused. Governor King refused to reappoint MacNichol -- although reappointment of judges has been almost automatic in Maine. His supporters say MacNichol is a victim of political correctness. "He wasn't a rubber stamp for anybody. He has always been willing to look at both sides," Henry N. Berry III, a lawyer and former political adversary, told the Associated Press. "That's what got him in trouble -- he wasn't politically correct." Obviously, looking at both sides in domestic violence accusations is deadly for your career. Extremist feminists have been trying for years to make sure the public gets only one side -- the side that paints men as evil. They've been pretty successful. Most campaigns depict domestic violence as something only men do. What's remarkable about the case is that MacNichol is not accused of botching any cases or causing harm. He often granted the restraining orders that women sought. But he is being fired for a "lack of sensitivity." Advocates accused him of "revictimizing" a woman seeking a protection-from-abuse order. "Revictimizing" is a feminist code-word meaning "you did not automatically believe our accusations against a man." In this case, MacNichol actually granted the protection order to the woman he was "revictimizing." But he also ordered the woman to repay $800 she was accused of stealing from the man and he gave the man instructions concerning small claims court. To bystanders, it sounds like MacNichol was trying to use legal channels to defuse the dispute that brought the man and woman to court in the first place. But, to activists, this was "revictimizing" the woman. And out he goes. That'll teach a judge to listen to both sides of a case. ========== MICKEY MOUSE LAWSUIT Billie Jean Matay, a grandmother and former Mouseketeer, sued the Walt Disney Co. for negligence after she was robbed at Disneyland in August 1995. In particular, she says her grandchildren were traumatized after the robbery because they saw employees taking off their Mickey Mouse and Lion King costumes. Matay had been in her car the parking lot with three grandchildren, ages 5, 7 and 11, when a robber put a gun to her neck and demanded her money. After the robbery, employees took her to a staging area where cast members were changing costumes. In court in Santa Ana, California, she often sobbed and cried uncontrollably on the stand. She panted and sobbed so much on the stand that the judge removed the jury from the courtroom. She did manage a mournful account of how she had taken her grandkids to "share the happy feeling" at Disneyland. But she said Disneyland was negligent for allowing the robbery to happen. And she said that her grandkids were traumatized all over again when they watched employees get out of their Mickey Mouse and Lion King costumes. Lawyers for Disney Co. said the company is not responsible because a crime takes place. Superior Court Judge Richard Luesenbrink agreed with Disney's request to dismiss the suit. "There's nothing to suggest this incident could reasonably have been avoided," he ruled. What a lack of sensitivity, huh? Imagine the legal precedent this sets. Now someone could even unmask Santa Claus and not spend one day behind bars. ============================= THE FINE PRINT MANifesto is a monthly newsletter containing news and opinion for people interested in gender equality and gender stereotypes. Subscribing: To have MANifesto e-mailed to you, message "subscribe MANifesto" to [email protected]. Send comments, kudos and castration threats to this address as well. What if you subscribed but did not get the latest issue? Our experience is that the issue "bounces" for a couple of people every month -- probably because some server between here and there is on the fritz at the time. If you don't think you received the latest issue, please e-mail us again saying "subscribe, send latest issue." Each month's current issue of Per's MANifesto is on the Web at http://idt.net/~per2/manifest.htm And the Per's MANifesto Home Page is at http://idt.net/~per2/index.htm featuring links to back issues. With a link to The POW Page! -- a collection of favorite satire featuring Colleen Hyphenated-Lastname and the Propaganda Organization for Women. You also can find Per's MANifesto on the Usenet each month in the following groups: soc.men, alt.feminism, and alt.mens-rights. (MANifesto is copyright 1997 by Per. Please feel free to copy, forward, repost, fax and otherwise distribute MANifesto. If you excerpt any section, please excerpt it in its entirety.) ========== ----- A giant eunuch Jesus? "Patriotic" human sacrifices? Cosmic patterns striking a convention of feminists? Gloria Steinem getting down with Satan? What's it all about? It's about MONDO FEMINISM! Learn the truth, if you dare. See the MONDO FEMINISM Page at http://idt.net/~per2/mondofem.htm