Stupid bitches hurt women.
We don't mean the characters Marilyn Monroe or Goldie Hawn played.
We mean the little hustlers and liars and, especially, the media which enables them.
You might be a stupid bitch if your name is Elizabeth Plank.
The PolicyMic 'editor' was one of many quoting singer Beyonce Knowles stating:
I guess I am a modern-day feminist. I do believe in equality. Why do you have to choose what type of woman you are? Why do you have to label yourself anything? I’m just a woman and I love being a woman."
As we note elsewhere this edition, that is not an accurate quote. Starting with "why," for example, those are statements about her revealing costumes. And those comments were what led an interviewer (Jo Ellison) to ask Beyonce if she were a feminist leading Beyonce to then make a series of statements from which "I guess I am a modern-day feminist. I do believe in equality" were taken.
You might be a stupid bitch if you're Plank, Kim Gandy or Ms. magazine whoring a bogus quote.
And you might be a stupid bitch if your names are Emma Gray and Margaret Wheeler Johnson and, in October of 2012, in your rush to embrace your own Whiteness and that of your hero Lena Dunham, you wrote (at Huffington Post):
When "Girls" first premiered, some critics attacked the show for its lack of racial diversity, the starring actresses' industry connections and the (often) terrible sex the characters have. Dunham responded to the feedback with aplomb. In an interview with Soledad O'Brien on October 2nd, she said: "I don't care about satisfying the critics, but I care about satisfying my viewers. And I know I have viewers who are women of color who want to see themselves reflected on screen. So, that's what matters to me."
It matters to her . . . she said.
And fan girls Emma and Margaret repeated it as fact and without question.
Do women of color seeing themselves reflected on screen matter to Lena Dunham?
As J.C. Macek III (Pop Matters) noted at the start of this year, Dunahm said she would address this in season two but all season two did was bring on Donald Glover for the first two episodes.
Do two episodes address it?
More to the point, Donald Glover is highly talented and, yes, he is African-American.
But he is not a woman.
Do Grey and Wheeler still love Lena Dunham's "aplomb" or do they finally realize that's she's just another big fraud.
Stupid bitches come in all forms and, yes, genders.
To qualify as a stupid bitch, you just have to write something ignorant that harms women. Which is how Tambay Obenson makes the list.
In May of 2012, he rushed to defend Lena Dunham at Indie Wire and wrote an article -- never corrected -- which includes this passage:
I remember the uber-successful NBC sitcom Friends (which was also set in NYC) and the criticism it received for its lack of diversity in its casting. Eventually Gabrielle Union made history when her featured guest role as the love interest of characters played by both Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer, marked the first time a black actor had been featured on the NYC-set sitcom. And that was over 10 years ago.
On our timeline, 1998 comes before 2001.
March 15, 2001 is when "The One With The Cheap Wedding Dress" first aired -- featuring Gabrielle Union as Kristen.
"The One with Phoebe's Uterus" first airs January 8, 1998.
Three years prior.
That's the one where Joey goes to work at Ross' museum and Rhonda appears.
Remember Rhonda?
Who explains how the scientists won't associate with the others at the museum?
She even offers that she went to school with scientist Peter, they used to play on the playground together and, now, he won't acknowledge her -- even when she screams, "It's me, Rhonda! From P.S. 129! I shared my pudding with you, man! I gave you my snack pack!"
Maybe you're starting to remember Rhonda?
Sherri Shepherd played Rhonda.
So, no, Union was not the first.
When you strip a woman of her accomplishments -- intentionally or not? You're a stupid bitch.
And the reality is, we're all stupid bitches from time to time.
But smart people learn to say, "I was wrong." Sensible people correct their mistakes.
