SlowpokeBlog

In case you haven't heard about the Matthews controversy, Media Matters recently called Chris Matthews on his history of making off-color comments about women. Among other things, in addition to the castration comment addressed in the cartoon, he has questioned how women can give emphatic speeches without sounding like "fingernails on a chalkboard"; he has called Hillary "witchy," a "she-devil," "anti-male," and compared her to Nurse Ratched. He has also spoken of Nancy Pelosi castrating Rep. Steny Hoyer. I suggest you read this excellent summary by Jamison Foser. Now, I'm no great Hillary supporter, but Matthews is clearly a fossil in the gender department who needs some 21st-century schoolin'.

As I was writing this strip, Matthews actually issued an on-air apology for saying Hillary had only gotten as far as she had because her husband fooled around. But he mainly focused on that one statement (which was far from his worst, in my opinion). Also, he invoked the dreaded "political correctness" canard, saying he prefers to be blunt on his show. Funny, whenever I'm having a frank political discussion, I don't tend to slip up and refer to female leaders as a threat to male genitalia. But that's just me. I don't care if Matthews is harsh or mean -- that's not the point. It's the tapping into tired old stereotypes, stupid.

One reader objected to my portrayal of Wiccans in the third panel. The whole cartoon is intended as a farcical riff on ridiculous stereotypes, so none of it should be taken literally. But to be factually accurate, most Wiccans nature-worshipping pagans, not scowling ball-busters in pointy hats.