“The KKK isn’t Reading The New York Times Op-Ed Pages”
“White Feminists aren’t off in their diagnosis. They’re just always off when they deliver their achingly facile prognosis. Does anyone really believe a man who is rigid in gender identity is reading Jill Filipovic in The New York Times? Does anyone really think KKK members in West Virginia are logging on to read Jessica Valenti or Lindy West? Absolutely not. These women make their brand by speaking to inclusive audiences. That’s what columnists do.
I do it all the time. Are you kidding me? I’m a radical feminist who writes a blog effectively criticizing everything from a Marxist perspective. I don’t expect to resonate outside of those already committed. And I make no apologies for it.
We’re no longer living in an age of mass media. We’re living in an age of bubble media. We’re all farting in our own echo chambers. Just admit it…
The problem with hot takes in general is that they often reduce and simplify arguments down to 800 or so words until they’re just rote performance. Empty words directed at one’s own audience not actually meant to change opinions so much as salve the cognitive biases of the already committed. These things ricochet around our social media bubbles, telling our committed friends, “LOOK, I, TOO, AM A FEMINIST.”
This is not to say they don’t serve a point. Feminists still suffer under witch hunt conditions. No feminist is wrong for taking up space. No feminist errs in declaring themselves. To declare under times like these is still in and of itself an act of resistance.
The problem is the fuckheads aren’t reading The New York Times for advice on how to accept not getting what they want. These pieces are still about them. They center on our vulnerability to them and not on what we’re going to do to make ourselves less vulnerable.”
