Salon Author Amanda Marcotte Thinks Media Shouldn’t Judge Women’s Sexuality But She Has Mocked Women Over Their Sexual Choices Before (To Remain Virgins)

Salon Author Amanda Marcotte Thinks Media Shouldn’t Judge Women’s Sexuality But She Has Mocked Women Over Their Sexual Choices Before (To Remain Virgins)

My memory is a bit rusty here, but in a previous, older editorial on Salon, either Marcotte ridiculed women who choose to remain virgins until marriage, or, when she was mocking the concept of virgin- until- marriage, it escaped her notice that some women, of their own volition, choose to abstain until marriage.

I blogged about this before here, on my blog:

Either way it went, Marcotte ended up ridiculing the choice of some women to stay virgins until marriage – and some women do in fact choose to remain virgins until marriage, like this lady, who was in the media about a month ago:

This recent editorial at Salon, by Marcotte, is my reason for writing this blog post today:

(Link):  Now we’re leering at suicide bombers: The grotesque objectification of Hasna Ait Boulahcen by Amanda Marcotte

Here are a few excerpts from that page, about a woman terrorist who was blown up in Paris, France (I have some more comments below these excerpts):

by Amanda Marcotte

November 20, 2105

…But Boulahcen [woman terrorist] was female, and so the forces of sexual objectification are kicking in, creating a grotesque display.

…Both articles obsessively comb over every detail of Boulahcen’s pre-conversion life: Her partying, her drinking, the amount of sex they suspect she had, her clothes and even her “heavy makeup”, which both articles take pains to point out. It’s the same kind of thing you see these right wing rags doing day in and out, simultaneously inviting their audiences to leer at and sit in judgment of young women for their clothes, their sexual choices…

….Both pieces lovingly describe in the most macabre detail possible how Boulahcen’s body blew apart in the raid, and you can’t quite tell if they think it’s her just desserts for being a terrorist or for her previous life, which they clearly see as irredeemably slutty.

…If fundamentalists, even radical fundamentalists like ISIS are able to convince women that their morality lies not in their heart or their brain but in what they do with their vagina, that’s because theentire culture around them is saying the exact same thing.

…If the rest of the world didn’t constantly drum home the message that you’re a “slut” or “skanky” because you have sex or wear make-up or wear tank tops, then this fundamentalist message would lose a lot of its allure. But since women are going to be judged for their sexuality no matter what they do, it’s easy to see why a lot of women are going to decide it’s easier to be on the side passing out judgments rather than being called a slut.
— end excerpts —

I believe the reason some media outlets are calling attention to various aspects of Boulahcen’s pre-terrorist life – her sexy selfies, her drinking and so on- is for the same reason the media covered the same concerning MALE terrorists who were behind the 9/11 attacks. The media at that time reported that the night before the attacks, that some of the male terrorists visited bars and got drunk.

The reason the media discusses these issues is not entirely or partially due to sexism, but that Jihadists regularly say how much they hate the United States for being morally corrupt – yet these terrorist idiots participate in the very same behaviors (pre-marital sex, drinking, etc) that they criticize “infidel” Americans for participating in.

And most people find this contradiction bizarre and interesting: how can such conservative religious types, who rail against cultural immorality particpate in the very things they claim to hate? That, I suspect, is what drives the coverage of Boulahcen’s pre-terrorist lifestyle choices, not that all the reporters covering her are inherently sexist.

Returning against to my previous Marcotte-related post:

So, let me see if I understand Marcotte correctly. She believes it is wrong or sexist for the media to make any judgment on a woman’s – specifically Boulahcen’s – sexual behavior (which I don’t believe they were even truly doing), but Marcotte is fine in another Salon editorial saying that it’s “silly” for women to choose to remain virgins until they marry.

Choosing to remain a virgin until marriage is a sexual choice, too. Having sex is not the only sexual choice in the world. Choosing not to have sex is also a sexual choice.

Marcotte is saying that people judging a woman for having sex at all, or often, or with many partners, is wrong, but it’s perfectly fine for her to judge and describe the choice of some women to remain virgins as “silly.”

Women choosing to have sex is awesome, great, and dandy and nobody should judge women for that – according to Marcotte – but if you are a woman who chooses to be a virgin, she will judge and condemn you or your choice for that.

As a left winger, Marcotte is just as judgemental of women’s sexual choices at times as she complains right wingers are.

April 2016 Edit.—————-

Today, and at least once last month, I saw Tweets by Marcotte stating that someone or another is hypocritical. Today, she Tweeted (Link): this (accompanied by a screen capture of some text)

  • Every few years, we need a reminder of the gross hypocrisy of Bible thumpers.

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Every few years, we need a reminder of the gross hypocrisy of Bible thumpers. <a href=”https://t.co/SK5XGYIk6P”>https://t.co/SK5XGYIk6P</a&gt; <a href=”https://t.co/87x27PHDsH”>pic.twitter.com/87x27PHDsH</a></p>&mdash; Amanda Marcotte (@AmandaMarcotte) <a href=”https://twitter.com/AmandaMarcotte/status/720644187633426432″>April 14, 2016</a></blockquote>
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Her Tweet had something to do with Hastert, whom I blogged on earlier here:

I Tweeted her a link to this very page. She’s been rather hypocritical about other women’s choice to remain celibate or a virgin until marriage. The pot needs to meet the kettle sometimes.

Related Posts:

(Link):  Marcotte on Anyone Choosing To Be a Virgin Until Marriage: “It’s a Silly Idea” – What Progressive Christians, Conservative Christians, Non Christians, and Salon’s Amanda Marcotte Gets Wrong About Christian Views on Virginity

(Link):  Virginity is a Sacred Choice, Not a Shameful Status by C. Martin / Giving Sex to a Man is Not A Guarantee for a Lasting Relationship – Contra Comic Chelsea Handler

(Link): What’s Wrong With PreMarital Sex, Cohabitation and Watching Porn? Apologist Sean McDowell Answers – Critique: Some Christians Marketing Sexual Abstinence as “Purity in Jesus”

(Link): Annie Murphy’s Sex and Relationship Column Gives Some Fantastic Advice About “Losing Your Virginity” by Princess Weekes

(Link):  Self Control – everyone has it, is capable of it, but most choose not to use it (New Study Says Conservatives Have Better Self Control Than Liberals)

(Link):  CDC Report: Virgin Teens Much Healthier Than Their Sexually Active Peers (2016 Report)

(Link):   Some Atheists Are Just As Ignorant About Adult Singleness and Celibacy as Progressive Christians, Secular Feminists, and Protestant Evangelical or Conservative Christians

(Link):  Hypocrisy: Secular Pundits Judge Christian Sexuality: Josh Duggar’s So-Called Vanilla Sexual Preferences Deemed Dull

(Link):  I Shouldn’t Need An Excuse To Be A Virgin – (Secular Editorial Defends Virginity – More Rare Than a Unicorn Sighting)

(Link):  Christians Want to Hold Adulterers Accountable but Give Adult Single Fornicators a Pass

(Link):  When Adult Virginity and Adult Celibacy Are Viewed As Inconvenient or As Impediments

(Link):  Are You Ashamed of Biblical [Sexual] Purity? by J. Slattery

(Link): Sometimes Shame Guilt and Hurt Feelings Over Sexual Sins Is a Good Thing – but – Emergents, Liberals Who Are Into Virgin and Celibate Shaming

Link): Slut Shaming and Virgin Shaming and Secular and Christian Culture – Dirty Water / Used Chewing Gum and the CDC’s Warnings – I guess the CDC is a bunch of slut shamers?

(Link): No, Christians and Churches Do Not Idolize Virginity and Sexual Purity

(Link):  Churches Would Rather Hear From Ex Porn Stars Than Adult Celibates or Virgins – Church Invites Ex Porn Star to be Guest Speaker

(Link): Slut-Shaming Is Bad—But The Overreaction Against It Also Hurts Women by J. Doverspike

(Link):  Stop Pretending Sex Never Hurts, By D.C. McAllister

(Link):  How Pre-Martial Sex Negatively Impacts People: The Incest Letter

(Link):  Christians Assume All Adult Singles Are Porn Addicted Fornicating Horn Dogs

(Link): Fornication or Previous Marriages Can Negatively Impact Other Relationships Later – Another Example or Two (via Ask Amy, Hax)

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