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May 26, 2012 02:23 AM UTC

Liberal and Moderate Women Stand with Conservative S.E. Cupp Against Sexual Shaming

  • 12 Comments
  • by: ProgressiveCowgirl

When Weird Al Yankovic sings, “I Love Rocky Road,” that’s satire.

When Lord Dark Helmet crotch-zaps someone, that’s satire.

When Hustler Magazine punishes S.E. Cupp for being both an attractive woman and opinionated by putting a Photoshopped penis in her mouth in their magazine, that might be protected as satire, under Larry Flynt’s famous Supreme Court ruling, but it is–“satire” or not–an example of unacceptable, misogynist sexual shaming of an outspoken woman. S.E. Cupp’s opinions may be as repulsive as her use of this scandal to slam reputable women’s rights organizations, but neither her opinions nor her opportunism justify Larry Flynt’s behavior.

The following text accompanied a “Celebrity Fantasy” photo of S.E. Cupp, edited to appear as if Cupp had a penis in her mouth.

S.E. Cupp is a lovely young lady who read too much Ayn Rand in high school and ended up joining the dark side. Cupp, an author and media commentator, who often shows up on Fox News programs, is undeniably cute. But her hotness is diminished when she espouses dumb ideas like defunding Planned Parenthood. Perhaps the method pictured here is Ms. Cupp’s suggestion for avoiding an unwanted pregnancy.

A disclaimer follows:

No such picture of S.E. Cupp actually exists. This composite fantasy is altered from the original for our imagination, does not depict reality, and is not to be taken seriously for any purpose.

Let’s break this down:

S.E. Cupp is a lovely young lady

Cupp is a conservative political commentator employed by Glenn Beck’s GBTV. She is an adult, and her loveliness, while certainly an asset in seeking media commentator jobs, is hardly the first thing one should mention when describing who Cupp, fundamentally, “is.”

read too much Ayn Rand in high school

Pair that with the above, and the juvenile, condescending characterization of S.E. Cupp is clearly based on her gender. “Oh, look at the cute little girl with a high school education trying to talk politics!”

Cupp, an author and media commentator, who often shows up on Fox News programs, is undeniably cute

She doesn’t just “show up” on TV, like a streaker during the Olympics. Cupp is invited to appear as an expert media personality on Fox programs. Her cuteness probably doesn’t hurt her chances of getting an invite, but there are quite a few cute women in the world who are not authors, media commentators, or frequently invited to opine about politics on a national network.

But her hotness is diminished when she espouses dumb ideas like defunding Planned Parenthood.

That’s her real crime, huh, Larry Flynt? Why do cute girls have to open their mouths, anyway? It’s also worth noting that he uses the word “dumb,” not “misguided,” or “morally wrong.” Among all the ways one could characterize a desire to defund Planned Parenthood, “dumb” is one of few that’s also a typical characterization of women by misogynists.

Perhaps the method pictured here is Ms. Cupp’s suggestion for avoiding an unwanted pregnancy.

I doubt one would have to go very far into the Fox or GBTV archives to find Cupp declaring, on the record, that she suggests sexual abstinence as a method of avoiding an unwanted pregnancy. Whether or not one disagrees with her on that point, there’s no need to guess.

As usually happens with this kind of thing, the faked photo of Cupp will spread like wildfire around the Internet, without its accompanying disclaimer. If Cupp weren’t already a seasoned media personality capable of controlling her Google results, it could easily follow her from job application to job application. As it is, a certain number of people will believe it’s a real photo even when told otherwise, or will believe a forwarded email (“LEAKED private photo shows Glenn Beck’s CUTE sidekick putting something tastier than WORDS in her mouth!!!1!”) without bothering to do a quick online search to find out if the photos is legit.  

More disturbing still is the example Flynt sets here. By openly defending this photo as an acceptable satire, he’s suggesting a couple really creepy things:

1. It’s okay to respond to women having opinions you don’t like by creating pornography featuring them without their consent.

2. It’s okay to profit by selling a pornographic image of someone who hasn’t even performed the act depicted while in range of a camera.

The First Amendment gives Larry Flynt the right to publish even material that is offensive, disgusting, and grotesquely sexist. However, Flynt obtained his favorable ruling about obscene satire based on a satire of Jerry Falwell–hardly someone whose theoretical sex life would sell magazines. An image of “undeniably cute” S.E. Cupp with a penis in her mouth? Yeah, that’s gonna move a few issues. Legal though it is, this “satire” is faked pornography with a condescending caption about Cupp’s views slapped on as an afterthought. It’s a blow even to Flynt’s more ethical fellow pornographers, who’ve been working for decades to disabuse the media of its notion that porn always damages women.

Cupp is a misogynist herself, a vituperative anti-feminist commentator, and a tool of Glenn Beck. She does not deserve the respect of progressive women. She does, however, deserve our support as she copes with this unacceptable, sexist attacks. Sign a petition here to send your message to the world: Misogyny is not an acceptable weapon in the political arena, whether you aim it at a liberal, conservative, or moderate woman.


We don’t expect Hustler to change. Degrading women behind a thin curtain of legally-protected “satire” is the way they have sold magazines for decades. But the boundaries of taste and conscience are drawn much more narrowly than the boundaries of legality. We call on women and men, no matter where they are on the political spectrum, to stand with S.E. Cupp against media misogyny against outspoken women. No matter where they are on the political spectrum.  

Comments

12 thoughts on “Liberal and Moderate Women Stand with Conservative S.E. Cupp Against Sexual Shaming

  1. When headlines and commentary showed up about the Hustler photo, I assumed that it was a composite of conservative media personalities since the name sounded made up to me. I definitely avoided googling it since I figured they would’ve used Beck or Limbaugh for the model.

    It’s horrible that the cheapest but still effective way to attack a woman’s viewpoint is through sexual degradation. Hopefully, this will have enough backlash that such a shameful tactic ends up off-limits even for Flynt. This will likely establish Cupp’s status as a rightwing martyr and she can parlay that into gigs outside of the Beck asylum. From all accounts, that’s a bad deal for everyone– gee thanks Larry  

  2. by the excesses of her boss (Father Coughl-I mean, Glenn Beck), but this is beyond wrong. This insult, the Fluke debacle, and countless others are a constant reminder of how much further women need to come in terms of equality and justice. As a progressive, I have more than my fair share of angst with the GOP, especially its activists. But to demean her activism with a phallus is not only uncalled for, but reactionary in itself.

  3. Since I don’t read Hustler and doubt I even know anyone who reads Hustler; How did I even come to know about this?

    Would the Progressive Cowgirl have heard about this if it hadn’t made the mainstream press?  I doubt she is a Hustler reader.

    My real question is who is who is reading Hustler?  And why is it being pushed in to the mainstream?

    Not only is Larry Flint not a political figure, he is irrelevant.  

    1. And that’s why it’s relevant. The Hustler demographic is, ah, hardly one that swings intellectual and feminist in the first place. The people who read Hustler are exactly the people who might think that when real men hear a pretty woman disagree with their political views, they put her down and shame her sexually.

      1. I’m sure there are numerous reasons to be critical of Hustler, and most certainly for this latest act, which I agree is despicable.

        But you insulting their readers/viewers isn’t better.

        Shame comes in a lot of forms. For some it’s taking someone who is a political voice and using doctored images to degrade them. For others, it may mean taking things that someone enjoy and mocking it, or shaming them for liking it. Pray-the-gay-away camps loves to use boys’ enjoyment of porn as a way of shaming them and tearing them down.

        The fact is, Hustler is still in business for a reason. For a while, they sold about 3million copies of each issue. There are lots of people who read it (or “read” it), and I guarantee you they are a diverse population, including people of all classes, ages, and IQ’s.  

  4. It seems like you’re going a bit overboard. Obviously I think photoshopping a rape fantasy is a horribly misogynistic way to treat a woman you disagree with, but that doesn’t make her smart or worthy of intellectual respect.

    Defunding Planned Parenthood is a dumb idea, and glibertarians typically read Rand in high school and then fail to grow out of that phase like everyone else does. We can insult women who are paid to espouse stupid and harmful ideologies, and it’s not necessarily misogynistic.

  5. Once again, your insight and courage are impressive. Hustler should not get away with this — it is clearly defamation of character. I don’t have to respect this woman’s politics to respect her right to not be defamed by the opportunistic slugs at Hustler. If they want to go after her ideas — awesome. Using porn to degrade her as a human being is cyber-rape.

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