Misogyny

 
While I have never seen Hamilton (gasp!), I do know my takes on these quotes are completely out of context.  To me "Talk less. Smile more" screamed of misogyny.  Just the kind of thing men would say, and do say, to women, as though women were put in their lives as adornments.  I couldn't resist including some quotes related to the subject.  

“To a misogynist: To err is woman.”
Mokokoma Mokhonoana

 *******************************

Misogyny  

 

“Talk less. Smile more.”

That ol’ patriarchal

thinking,

which men expect us to follow.

Old attitudes that won’t die out;

being patronized’s hard to swallow.

 

“Talk less.”

Keep your thoughts to yourself.

You don’t know what you’re talking about.

Don’t worry your pretty little head,

just sit back and let us take care of it.

It’s a man’s world.  

After all, Adam was created first!   

Ha Ha!

 

“Smile more.”

Put a smile on your face.

It makes you more attractive,

and that makes me look good.

We can’t have anyone thinking

you’re unhappy, now, can we?

Fake it ‘til you make it!   

Ha Ha!

*******************************

“As long as she thinks of a man, nobody objects to a woman thinking.”
Virginia Woolf, Orlando

 *******************************

HELP WANTED 

“I’m looking for a mind at work.”

 

Quick mind, hard worker

A man, no need to explain

Clever in business

 

A mind of sharp wit

The women need not apply

They distract the men


*******************************

“Schoolgirls are not distractions.
They are students.
Teach them something other than misogyny.”
Merlyn Gabriel Miller, Sex, Drugs & Madness

“Personally, I feel the time has come for women to introduce their own Zero Tolerance policy on the Broken Window issues in our lives - I want a Zero Tolerance policy on "All the Patriarchal Bullshit.”
Caitlin Moran, How to Be a Woman

 

©2021 Lisa Smith Nelson. All Rights Reserved

 

Comments

  1. I had the same reaction to Talk less. Smile more. Even tough I wrote a story instead. Love the quotes you added, they give extra meaning.

    You pretty much summed up the comments I've gotten most of my life.

    Great post.

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  2. I love the spin you've put on the two quotes. The sardonic tone was fabulous. LOL, the first quote was actually said by a man to another man; Burr, who plays his cards close to his chest, to Hamilton who lets everyone in a 5 mile radius know what he's thinking.

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    Replies
    1. I can see it being good advice in that context.

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  3. Your stinging "take" on "talk less, smile more" gave me a chuckle. So appropos! I'm reminded of a time when I managed an office and new phone lines were being installed. The technician referred to them as RJ-11's and I commented I'd never heard the term. He said "You were probably home having babies then". Grrr

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    Replies
    1. "Grrr" indeed! Like anyone would know a particular jack (I looked it up) as an RJ-11. I guess it might say on the back of things. My late father-in-law, a mean alcoholic, once quizzed me on what a GFI was. I knew it was a Ground Fault Interrupter. I knew what they were for too. In fact, years later, I asked my contractor to install them in the house I bought, in the kitchen and the bathroom.

      Delete
  4. Bravo!!!

    Happy Wednesday

    Much💜love

    ReplyDelete
  5. When men discovered how beautiful and useful women were as well as bearing children at their behest immediately thought they needed to take charge. I wonder whether any wars were ever started by a woman?I think not!

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    Replies
    1. I don't know. Women can be pretty catty to each other though. It sometimes seems as though men are afraid of women, afraid to lose control. In the US it's an uphill battle, other nations, some, do better. Some worse of course.

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  6. I love what you did with the challenge .... the quotes you shared ... your poetry. Spot on.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Helen. I just discovered Goodreads has lists of quotes by topic.

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  7. I love the incorporation of so many well-known (male-speak) clichés.

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    Replies
    1. So many that come out of their mouths without thinking it seems. Maybe the younger generation is different. It's still nice to have the door held open, so I make sure to say, "Thank you." But, that's not condescending.

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  8. All are great but I particularly liked the "smile more" stanza.

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    1. Thank you. I seem to recall, in the back of my head, being told to keep a smile on my face. Frowns would cause wrinkles or they'd stick.

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  9. Oh, Lisa, I know what you mean, and that is why I shied away from those quotes, and I agree that ‘being patronized’s hard to swallow’. It reminded me of what adults (mainly men) used to say about children being seen and not heard. I was delighted to see the quote from one of my favourite writers, Caitlin Moran.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I thought of children being seen and not heard too. My parents were unusual, especially my father. Born in 1914 he was well beyond his time as an involved father, and very open-minded, liberal man.

      Delete
  10. O Lisa, I just love this, every little smile and ugly man. I smiled at "Put a smile on your face" as I smile easily. In fact that is my best way of a little harmless flirt. But I do think you are being too hard on the guys, facetious perhaps? BTW, I don't mind being distracted if it doesn't bother my work. One time when I took a young lady home after a blind date she invited me up for coffee and I went. She had an ulterior reason, she wanted to invite me to join Mensa. I'm kicking myself ever after, turns out my Army AFQT score of 100 percentile was a gimme. But I never did join, it might not be too late still?
    And one other thing, if I am ever reincarnated I want to be a woman with a nice to me husband. Try that out for a while. Being crazy, silly now. Just sayin.
    ..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, I wasn't being facetious, and I definitely do not think I was being too hard on men! SO many, TOO many, women have stories of being patronized by words such as these.
      Oh, dear... see, your saying you "wouldn't be distracted" if it didn't interfere with your work is an example of the problem! Women shouldn't be seen as "distractions!" They should be seen as work associates, co-workers, fellow employees. If a man is distracted he is objectifying her. The women weren't hired to be office eye-candy!
      You could have a great husband as a woman, but society isn't so kind.
      If Mensa makes you happy, go for it! I don't put stock in IQ tests.

      Delete
  11. p.s. I have never seen Hamilton either, I really don't even know what it is about. A hit play on Broadway.
    ..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know it's historical (fiction). My family was watching it in the background while I was on the computer one day. A musical.

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