Well, it’s official. The Associated Press (AP) hates women and thinks the slutty, old women who smoke deserve to die. It’s all right here in their report on the tragic death of Jennifer Rosoff:
NEW YORK (AP) — A 35-year-old media executive on a first date plunged to her death Thursday after the railing on her 17th-floor New York City balcony gave way, police said.
Jennifer Rosoff went outside for a cigarette around 12:50 a.m. when she either sat on the railing or leaned on it. Her date told her that she probably shouldn’t do it, and then moments later, she apparently fell backward and landed on construction scaffolding at the first floor, authorities said. Police spoke to the man and no foul play was suspected.
While we can take it for a given that misogyny is pervasive in our culture, it’s rare to see it expressed so clearly and blatantly. The AP is shameless! Utterly shameless, and they deserve to have the full wrath of Feminist Victims Everywhere™ brought down on their heads!
How dare the AP report that
- She was 35 and single.
- She was a smoker.
- She invited a man back to her apartment late at night on a first date.
- The man warned her not to lean against the balcony, but she did it anyway.
The lamentation of feminists at Slate’s XX Factor were quick to cry foul over such sexism – L.V. Anderson, a Slate assistant editor who edits Slate‘s food and drink sections and writes Brow Beat’s recipe column, You’re Doing It Wrong, wrote:
The implication being that this smoking slut totally had it coming. A reader is left with the distinct impression that if Rosoff hadn’t invited her date inside, hadn’t gone outside to smoke a cigarette, and hadn’t defied the advice of the wise and logical man she was with, she would still be alive. According to the AP story’s subtext, the problem wasn’t that Rosoff’s balcony railing was shoddy and unsafe—it was that Rosoff defied gender norms by being unmarried at 35, by being sexually liberal, and by insisting on making her own decisions instead of deferring to men’s logic.
Now, for all those tempted to bang their heads off the nearest balcony railing, please put out your Marlboro first, make sure you have procreated and married (order not important), try not to be a slut and for the love of god, if some guy tells you maybe you SHOULDN’T do that, give him a parting shot in the kidneys as you plunge towards your death.
You can rest assured that we will never hold you responsible for your own death and we will make certain everyone knows that guy who cautioned you is a big, mean, logical asshole who should just shut the hell up already.
Just to show you how much the AP hates women, let’s look at some reports about dead men. Do they include the man’s age? Do they imply he might have done something a teeny bit stupid or risky to contribute to his own death? Do they follow any kind of, oh, you know, routine format?
BURKE, Vt. (AP) — Vermont State Police say a man died after he broke into a home by smashing a glass window and was severely cut as he climbed through it.
Police responded to a report on Wednesday of a dead man on the kitchen floor of the unoccupied home in Burke.
They identified the man as 73-year-old Duwayne Masure, of Sutton.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/man-breaks-vt-home-cut-self-window-dies
Well this one doesn’t. Score one point for Team AP Hates Women! No mention of age or contributing factors at all. Absolutely no implication that smashing windows is perhaps not the cleverest strategy for preserving one’s life.
Right?
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) — A Montana man died in a rock climbing accident as he tried to climb to the top of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, authorities said.
Mason Robison, 38, of Columbia Falls, Mont., was killed after a rock dislodged and severed his rope as he and a partner were about 2,300 feet above the Yosemite Valley floor, Yosemite spokeswoman Kari Cobb said Monday.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/montana-man-dies-yosemite-climbing-accident
Another point for Team AP Hates Women! No mention of anyone’s age here, nor is there the tiniest hint that people who dangle 2,300 feet above a canyon floor might be risking their lives.
ILWACO, Wash. (AP) — A 55-year-old Seattle area man has died after his inflatable raft capsized in the ocean in southwest Washington.
Pacific County Sheriff Scott Johnson said Sunday that John Beaumeir of Woodinville was rafting with a friend in the surf off of Benson Beach at Cape Disappointment State Park when their raft capsized several times in the rough waters.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/man-dies-when-raft-capsizes-washington-coast
It’s a hat trick and Team AP Hates Women definitely wins this one! No mention of anyone’s age and no implication that “rough waters” may have been a contributing factor.
L.V. Anderson herself, who wrote the screed at Slate, wonders if she might be overreacting just a tiny bit?
You may accuse me of overreacting, but the minor details that journalists choose to include or exclude from their reporting are one of many subtle ways that oppressive gender norms are perpetuated. Do I think the AP reporter assigned to this piece (incidentally, a woman) intended to undermine the reader’s sympathy for Rosoff and suggest she was asking for it? Of course not. But the fact that totally irrelevant details about Rosoff’s love life and cigarette habit made it into the lede and nut graf of an ostensibly unbiased news article—and that no editor stopped to ask, “Hmm, why is this information here?”—just goes to show how deeply ingrained sexist attitudes can be, even among professionals who pride themselves on their objectivity.
Overreacting? This is not overreacting. This is straightforward MAKING SHIT UP ON THE SPOT. And oppressive gender norms? The idea that Jennifer’s date suggested she might want to be careful around the railing is an OPPRESSIVE GENDER NORM?
Jennifer would be alive had she given her male companion’s words any weight. That’s pretty oppressive right there. Lends new meaning to “give me liberty or give me death”, no?
Feminist doctrine: TAKE DEATH! Death is way better than listening to any stupid man and his oppressive cautioning. Fuck him! Die righteous!
In a way, it’s kind of beautiful. Could it be more clear? Feminists would rather women die than take the advice of a man. Especially a man you barely know. A man with his mouth open can only mean one thing: “oppressive gender norm”. He was “mansplaining” the potential dangers of balconies, and of course you should never, ever listen to a mansplainer, even if he’s right.
Ever notice how the feminists’ use of the term mansplaining is inversely proportionate to their willingness to participate in logical debate?
Yes, sir, I have noticed that. But it’s tough to even broach the subject of logic when you are dealing with straight up fantasy. The Associated Press does not hate women. In the alternative, the Associated Press hates men and women equally.
Every time I think to myself, they cannot possibly get one more knot in those panties, the feminist brigade proves me wrong. Hmmm. That could explain why Lindy West continues to have her drivel published.
You can get a lot of knots in panties that big.
Lots of love,
JB
Editor’s note: a version of this post first appeared on Janet Bloomfield’s blog here. – A.L.
Image from Robert C. Wiles, 1947; Life Magazine’s Picture of the Week on May 12, 1947.
