21st Century Misogyny
by Kelly
If you haven’t heard about the Rihanna and Chris Brown domestic violence controversy you might be living under a rock. While I don’t personally follow celebrity gossip, the media has made it nearly impossible to ignore this scandal. It’s all over television and of course, the internet. Blogs of all sorts have weighed in on the drama – gossip blogs have followed the rumors, while feminist blogs like Shakesville have discussed the treatment of Rihanna by the media.
Recently, pictures of Rihanna after being abused by Chris Brown have been circulated on the internet. My heart goes out to Rihanna, because not only is this a violation of her privacy, but people from all walks of life are judging her life and her decisions. However, what is even more shocking (yes, it gets worse) are the comments on the blogs that have posted the picture of Rihanna’s bruises. Here is a sampling of the comments I’ve seen on several gossip blogs.
(The following comments were originally posted here).
“LOl never thought she was hot anyways now she looks like a monster, I’m pretty sure no one would have known if it wasn’t someoneelse who called the police. she would have kept it a secret” – Sora
“well done son, gave her a propoer ass whoopin, silly girl deserved it…..i love chris brown forever!! blup blup blup !” – woman basher 4 life
“i think that this pic looks far worse than it realli was. i mean whose 2 sey that chris brown actually did all this 2 her. females lie jus like niggaz. & if she’s as grimy as i heard, then this isnt probably all chris’s work! & yess im standin up 4 chris becuz im a loyal fan & neither one of us know the real story. so everyone needs 2 chill cuz we dont know FACTSS!!” – quiauna
“bwahahaha…SHE DESERVES IT!!!!!!!!!!!” – Jerry & Joes
“Holla at cha boy Chris… he let a HO KNOW! Slapped her so hard it sent her brain back to Trinidad!
No one is above an ass whooping! Anyone acts up they will get BEAT DOWN!
Holla!” – KimchiGUN
“Chris Brown is a SISSY…
If I was 6 foot and 160lbs of lean muscle, I would have broke a bitches nose!” – KimchiGUN (again)
There are hundreds more comments like this on that blog and others. There were some supportive comments (like this one: “I don’t like looking at this picture…It’s quite exploitative. Rihanna’s emotional and physical bruises are a private matter. I realize there’s no way to prevent media coverage on this, but I do think there should be limits as to how far it delves into very personal situations. Does anyone else agree with me on this?” – Lauren Davis) but overall, I find the misogyny in these comments appalling! This kind of attitude towards domestic violence is troubling; it is a serious issue that should not be taken lightly. I don’t really have words to express how I feel about this, just a mixture of anger, sadness, and disgust.
What are your thoughts?
I stand 100% by you on this, dollface. The photos should never have been distributed to the press in the first place. Why is it that when a woman has reported that she has been physically abused, we cannot take her word? Why is there so much “habeus corpus” involved–show us the body, let us determine whether it was really *that* bad.
The spread of the pictures through the media was not intended to garner sympathy for Rihanna. It was purely intended to boost profits through sensationalized reporting, and through the process is promoted our rape culture and trivialized violence against women. We stole away agency from Rihanna and put it in the hands of the patriarchal aggressor.
This pisses me off to no end. Fuck misogyny. Fuck patriarchy. Fuck people who support it–which includes the inhumane people in the comments above.
Thanks for writing about this.
When I read comments like those you’ve listed, I try to convince myself that those people are being ‘ironic’ or ‘funny’ (oh yeah, because violence against women is HILARIOUS) because the alternative is too depressing.
I was horrified when I saw this ‘news’ plastered across covers of basically all the gossip mags glaring at me as I stood in the supermarket aisle. I agree with Dolly’s comment – the coverage has trivialised domestic violence – even glamourised it.
[...] News Coverage of Rihanna’s Abuse I’m a total copycat, but after dollface and I chatted via AIM earlier about the Rihanna/Chris Brown situation, I [...]
It must be devastating for Rihanna – when I was in an abusive relationship I was so ashamed that I didn’t want anyone to know. I can’t imagine seeing it on the front page of a magazine / blog with every tom, DICK and harry weighing in with their misogynistic (and poorly spelled ) comments.
I really just hope that the guy gets what’s coming to him. Which he won’t because he’s famous and famous people are never held accountable…. It’s a sad, sad world.
Unbelievable. Really, really upsetting… There’s a powerful piece in Vibe magazine on violence against women in hip hop. Disturbing and insightful
i can’t believe some people. those comments are just horrific. i’ve been in an abusive relationship and it is nothing to make light of. those comments are really upsetting :(
Those comments are really upsetting.
Equally upsetting is standing in line at the grocery store and seeing the results of her abuse plastered all over the magazine rack.
Those comments are absolutely horrific.
I agree that these photos of Rihanna should of been kept private!
Thanks Zooey, for the great link. Thanks for your comments everyone.
Holy Crap, I can’t believe my comments are on here…
You must have gotten my comments from H8torade.com
[...] http://therottenlittlegirls.com/2009/02/21/21st-century-misogyny/#comment-1863 [...]
Is this you all’s collective first day on the internet? Any topic, especially a tragic one, will elicit these kinds of comments. It’s not because people actually feel this way. They just want to stir the shit! Clearly, it works very well.