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Erick Erickson's Latest Sexist Tirade Draws Outrage
Research ››› ››› BRIAN POWELL
Fox contributor Erick Erickson drew outrage from conservatives and liberals alike over a series of sexist comments, in which he lamented an increase in the number of female breadwinners in the United States and argued that males should be dominant in human societies because "the male typically is the dominant role" in "the natural world."
Erick Erickson Argued That An Increase In Female Breadwinners Defies Natural Order
Erickson: "When You Look At Biology, Look At The Natural World...The Male Is Typically The Dominant Role." From Fox Business' Lou Dobbs Tonight on May 29:
LOU DOBBS: Erick, your thoughts on this study and what it portends?ERICKSON: Lou, I'm so used to liberals telling conservatives that they're anti-science. But this is -- liberals who defend this and say it's not a bad thing are very anti-science.When you look at biology, look at the natural world, the roles of a male and female in society, and the other animals, the male typically is the dominant role. The female, it's not antithesis, or it's not competing, it's a complementary role. We as people in a smart society have lost the ability to have complimentary relationships in nuclear families, and it's tearing us apart.And what I find interesting in the survey is that three-quarters of the people surveyed recognize that having moms as the primary breadwinner is bad for kids and bad for marriage, and reality shows us that's the truth. [Fox Business, Lou Dobbs Tonight, 5/29/13]
Erickson: Kids Do Best "Where They Have A Mom At Home Nurturing Them While Dad Is Out Bringing Home The Bacon." From a May 30 Redstate.com post responding to criticism of his previous comments (emphasis added):
We should not kid ourselves or scream so loudly in politically correct outrage to drown the truth -- kids most likely will do best in households where they have a mom at home nurturing them while dad is out bringing home the bacon. [Redstate.com, 5/30/13]
Erickson: "Back On The Radio. Listen Live From 5 To 7 PM ET. Get Your Husband's Permission If Need Be. Heh." On May 30, Erickson tweeted:
[Twitter.com, 5/30/13]
Erickson: "I Understand That Some Women Believe They Can Have It All, And That's The Crux Of The Problem." On his radio program, WSB's The Erick Erickson Show, Erickson stated:
It is a fact that children in a two parent, heterosexual household tend to have a more stable upbringing and a better chance of success than those of single parents or gay parents. This is a fact. This is not to insult gay parents. This is not insult single parents. It's just a fact. And the, of the subset of children who are raised in a two-parent, nuclear, heterosexual household, children where the father is the one who is the leader of the family, or the breadwinner of the family, however you want to say it, tend to out-perform those where the mother is the primary provider of the family outside of the home. Those are the fact. All I have done is pointed them out.[...]And I understand that some women believe they can have it all, and that's the crux of the problem. I have to tell you, as a man, where women are told that men have so many more advantages in society, we can't have it all. Women, you can't have it all either. Life is a series of compromises and choices. [WSB, The Erick Erickson Show, 5/30/13]
Erickson's Comments Have Drawn Outrage From Female Colleagues At Fox News
Fox News' Greta Van Susteren: Have My Colleagues "Lost Their Minds?" In her blog, Fox host Greta Van Susteren highlighted her thoughts on Erickson's remarks:
Have these men lost their minds? (and these are my colleagues??!! oh brother... maybe I need to have a little chat with them) (next thing they will have a segment to discuss eliminating women's right to vote?) [Gretawire.com, 5/30/13]
Fox News Political Analyst Kirsten Powers: "I'm Sincerely Confused As To Why [Erickson] Used Behavior Of Animals To Suggest That Women [Should] Stay At Home." From Twitter on May 30:
[Twitter.com, 5/30/13]
Fox Contributor Katie Pavlich: "Attacking Women For Being Breadwinners Is A Really Bad Idea." On her Twitter account, Pavlich wrote:
[Twitter, 5/30/13]
Pavlich: I'm Offended Erickson Implied Women Aren't Capable Of Leading A Household.
[Twitter, 5/30/13]
Fox Contributor Jedediah Bila: Why Does Erick Erickson Have Beef With Female Breadwinners? Bila tweeted:
[Twitter, 5/30/13]
Bila: "Housewives & Househusbands Can Be Nurturing. Generalizations Suck."
[Twitter, 5/30/13]
Erickson's Comments Have Drawn Outrage From Across The Political Spectrum
The Atlantic's Derek Thompson: Erickson "Is Terribly, Embarrassingly Wrong About Women." From The Atlantic's Derek Thompson on May 30:
First, there is something troubling about this statistic. The majority of female breadwinners are single moms, who face an extraordinary tension between working pay and raising children. But I didn't hear Erickson mention the phrase "single moms." He was talking about women earning more than men. And the fact that some married women are out-earning their husbands isn't tragic. It's inevitable. And it's good. [The Atlantic, 5/30/13]
Salon.com: Erickson "Doesn't Get It." From Salon's Alex Seitz-Wald on May 30:
Erick Erickson, the conservative blogger and Fox News personality, became the most hated man on Twitter today after responding to a much-discussed Pew survey on female breadwinners by saying that science says that men should dominate women (to be fair to Erickson, Juan Williams and Lou Dobbs expressed equally retrograde sentiments on the very same segment, but have largely escaped the drubbing).Erickson tried to clear things up with a blog post this afternoon, but only made matters worse by showing how much he doesn't get it. The missive started off poorly, with some whining about how feminists and "emo lefties have their panties in a wad" (pro-tip: when accused of sexism, don't reference your opponents' panties while mounting your defense) and only got worse from there.[...]Here he shows he just doesn't get it. What upset people about Erickson's comments had less to do with single mothers and the decline of marriage rates than about gender roles. It was his notion that women should always stay at home and tend to the kids and that men should always be the breadwinners and dominate women -- because that's only natural. [Salon.com, 5/30/13]
Newsbuster's Matt Vespa: Erickson's Post About Female Breadwinners "Isn't Going To Help Us Reaching Out To Women." From Twitter:
[Twitter.com, 5/30/13]
Washington Post's Alexandra Petri: "I Would Write An In-Depth Response...But I Am Too Busy Urinating On A Tree To Mark It As The Boundary Of My Territory." From the Washington Post's ComPost blog:
A recent finding that 40 percent of American households with children have female breadwinners did not leave Fox News commenter Erik Erickson particularly happy.He called it "anti-science" to accept this sort of role for women.[...]I would write an in-depth response to this, but I am too busy urinating on a tree to mark it as the boundary of my territory. I am relieved to know we do not hold ourselves to a higher standard. It was getting annoying to have to sit through all those office meetings and not pick fleas off anyone. I look forward to reproducing by emitting thousands of eggs into the ocean as I yell: "I HOPE SOME OF YOU SURVIVE."I would go into detail about how human beings are uniquely fortunate to have highly developed minds that allow us to choose to function at a level above that encountered in the natural world so we can meet each other mind-to-mind regardless of our physiology and work in tandem without having to Establish Dominance Within The Pack, but, hang on, I have to go lock horns with another goat and shove it off a cliff. [Washington Post'sComPost blog, 5/30/13]
UPDATE: Current TV's John Fugelsang: Erickson's Radio Show "Doubled Down On His Dumbing Down." On the May 30 edition of Current TV's Viewpoint, host John Fugelsang highlighted Fox's segment on female breadwinners and noted that Erickson used his May 30 radio show to double down on his previous night's remarks. [Current TV, Viewpoint, 5/30/12, via Media Matters]
Morning Joe's Brzezinksi Labels Fox Segment Featuring Erickson's Comments "Caveman Central." After airing video of comments from Erickson, Lou Dobbs, Juan Williams, and Doug Schoen, Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinksi labeled the conversation "caveman central." Guest Donny Deutsch added, "The fact that in this day in age you can have men talking that way is stunning." [MSNBC, Morning Joe, 5/31/13]
MSNBC'S Melissa Harris-Perry: "It Does Make You Wonder If He's Ever Watched National Geographic, Where The Lioness Gets Up And Goes Out And Does The Hunting." [MSNBC, Now With Alex Wagner, 5/31/13]
The Atlantic Wire's Elspeth Reeve: "Erickson Needs To Fact-Check His Anti-Working Moms Fairy Tale." In a post at The Atlantic Wire citing peer-reviewed studies on the subject, Elspeth Reeve laid out how Erickson's
comments about female breadwinners are "exactly wrong." [The Atlantic Wire, 5/31/13]
http://mediamatters.org/print/research/2013/05/30/erick-ericksons-latest-sexist-tirade-draws-outr/194278
comments about female breadwinners are "exactly wrong." [The Atlantic Wire, 5/31/13]
http://mediamatters.org/print/research/2013/05/30/erick-ericksons-latest-sexist-tirade-draws-outr/194278
Fox thinks working women are destroying America
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What do Lou Dobbs and Fox think is the biggest threat facing our society? Working moms.
Yep. You read that right.1
On Wednesday, an all-male panel on Dobbs' Fox Business show was absolutely panicked over a new Pew study that shows women are the primary breadwinners in 40% of American households.2 In their hysteria, they opined that having women as primary breadwinners is "bad for kids, bad for marriage," "catastrophic," and will "undermine our social order." One panelist, Erick Erickson, even said that "science" dictates that men are dominant over women.
Earth to Dobbs: This is not Leave It to Beaver. Working is a fact of life for most women, just like it is for most men.
The video of Dobbs and company blaming working mothers for the disintegration of society is spreading like wildfire online and across media outlets.Even Fox's female hosts and reporters are speaking out.3 The reaction is clear: people are tired of this garbage on our TVs.
We can't let Fox and Dobbs get away with this degrading, ignorant, anti-woman rhetoric on television. More Americans watch Fox News and its affiliates than any other cable news network4--what their panelists say is influential to tens of millions of people. If we all speak out, we can make sure Dobbs and his all-male panel are held accountable. Will you sign the petition demanding Fox fire Lou Dobbs, Erick Erickson, and Juan Williams?
And this isn't just a problem isolated to Dobbs' show--it's all over Fox. Host of Fox News program 'The Five'," Eric Bolling, said the increase in women's earning power was actually a symptom of the "breakdown of the American family."5
Lou Dobbs has said inflammatory things about women on Fox outlets before.6 And prior to his gig on Fox Business, he was known for xenophobic rants about immigrants on his CNN show.7
Dobbs is one of the worst examples of an old conservative who's terrified of anything changing and just wishes the entire country were a Leave It To Beaver episode.
But reality is very different than Dobbs’ hysterical fantasy: women working outside the home is not destroying society. The divorce rate has been decreasing over the last 20 years, and Americans are happier than ever.8 The real problem is that while more women are the primary breadwinners at home, they’re still earning less than their male counterparts at work ($0.77 to every dollar to be exact).9
It's time Lou Dobbs went the way of all 1950s television--off the air. His sexist rants and panels have no place in the 21st Century.
The outrage is already so bad that Erick Erickson, one of Dobbs' panelists, called people challenging his out-dated views "emo lefties" on his blog.10If we act now, we can hold Lou Dobbs and his panel accountable. Will you sign the petition demanding Fox fire Lou Dobbs, Erick Erickson, and Juan Williams?
Thanks for speaking out.
--Nita, Shaunna, Kat, Malinda and Karin, the UltraViolet team
Sources
1. The 'science' of gender roles, The Maddow Blog, May 30, 2013
2. Breadwinner Moms, PewResearch Social & Demographic Trends, May 29, 2013
3. Erick Erickson's Latest Sexist Tirade Draws Outrage, Media Matters, May 30, 2013
4. May 2013 Ratings: Fox News Gains Total Viewers, Loses Younger Viewers, TVnewser, May 29, 2013
5. Fox’s Eric Bolling: More Women In The Workplace Will Lead To ‘More Abortions’, Mediaite, May 30, 2013
6.Fox's Lou Dobbs: "Even If Roe v. Wade Were Turned Back ... Abortion Rights Would Remain", Media Matters, November 2, 2012
7. Lou Dobbs, American Hypocrite, The Nation, October 7, 2010
8. Divorce Rates Declining In The U.S. (Interactive Map), Huffington Post, April 11, 2013
Americans' Emotional Health Reaches Four-Year High, Gallup Wellbeing, May 10, 2012
9. Fact Check: Women Earn 77 Cents to Every Dollar Men Earn, Says National Women's Law Center, National Women's Law Center, October 17, 2012
10. Erickson Fires Back At ‘Emo Lefties’, Talking Points Memo, May 30, 2013
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