Rush Limbaugh says it’s feminists’ fault that women get catcalled
It’s no secret that Rush Limbaugh, sensationalist right-wing talk show host and television personality, doesn’t care much for women. Limbaugh, who has vehemently expressed his disdain for women who speak their mind and wish to be treated as equals, had something to say about the recent NYC catcalling video that went viral, because of course he did.
If you haven’t watched the video of the woman being harassed while walking in NYC for ten hours, please watch it. It sums up the continuous conversation we’ve been having about catcalling and the blatant sexual harassment women have to face every single day. In the video, a woman’s walk through busy parts of New York City is secretly recorded, revealing constant bombardment of men telling her smile, whistling at her, asking her out, asking for her number, making crude remarks about her body, and commanding her to acknowledge them. It’s hard to watch, because I’ve been catcalled. I’ve been hooted and hollered at from men in cars when I was just fourteen. Catcalling is a very real problem, and unless we tackle it head-on, it will most certainly continue.
In response to the video and how the media has been covering our collective anger toward our street harassers, Limbaugh essentially laughs it off. On Thursday’s segment of The Rush Limbagh Show, he says, “Most of it was just men being polite. You don’t see a pretty woman; you react to it.”
He then accuses feminists (or “feminazis” as he refers to them) of creating this problem. He states, “What we are living here in the middle of is the failure — a massive failure — of modern day feminism. Modern day feminism was going to protect women from this kind of mean-spirited, extremist, boorish, predatory behavior, and it hasn’t.”
A problem with Limbaugh’s rhetoric here (besides everything), is that he seems to go back and forth between “there is no problem I’m seeing here with women being harassed since I don’t think they’re even being harassed” and “women are being harassed because feminists aren’t doing their jobs.” To say that feminists aren’t doing their jobs is to admit there is a problem, so you’re gonna have to pick one, Limbaugh.
Before he declares that the actress in the video was “asking for it,” he says, “People misunderstand me and the women’s movement. I love the women’s movement, especially when walking behind it.” Listen to the rest of the segment here:
This recording perfectly sums up Rush Limbaugh’s attitude toward women, and while we really shouldn’t take anything this man has to say seriously, it’s disappointing to know that he does have an audience. For now.
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