Charlotte Allen is a Bigot

By Alex Leo . Posted March 6, 2008.

So I'm watching the Washington Post live chat with Charlotte Allen unfurl in which the "writer" is defending what is arguably the worst OpEd piece published in this century. I am not here to dissect the details or ramifications. That has been done, and done well by bloggers of both genders, and of both parties. I am simply here to say that I cannot in good conscience read the Washington Post ever again after today. I won't be missing much, the New York Times is a better paper and the internet is a faster and better way into politics, but this will be my first break with a major newspaper. And it turns out they didn't lose me because "print is dead," they lost me because they gave a bigot a platform, defended her, tried to make it seem like she was kidding (she's not, by the way and makes that clear in this forum), and then gave her another THREE HOURS on their website to purport her hatred and inanity. They do not realize that if she had said these things about African Americans or Hispanics or any other group, they would never have published it. She herself is blind to this truth:

Charlotte Allen: Yes, men are fair game, and it's considered perfectly OK to make all the fun of them we want. But make a joke at a woman's expense, and--woo!

Alright, Charlotte, I'll play your game. You think your bigotry toward women has caused you trouble? I would say not enough -- it was published in the first place. I have taken your column and replaced the word "women" with the words "black people" and the words "gender" or "sex" with "race." let's see how this goes, shall we? Then we can discuss whether the IWF would keep you around or if the Manhattan Institute wouldn't be shamed into firing you.

"I can't help it, but reading about such episodes of screaming, gushing and swooning makes me wonder whether black people -- I should say, "we black people," of course -- aren't the weaker race after all. Or even the stupid race, our brains permanently occluded by random emotions, psychosomatic flailings and distraction by the superficial."

"What is it about us black people? Why do we always fall for the hysterical, the superficial and the gooily sentimental?"

"The theory that black people are the dumber race -- or at least the sex that gets into more car accidents -- is amply supported by neurological and standardized-testing evidence."

This is vile and base and shocking, and it should be no less so when directed at women. I call for the immediate dismissal of Charlotte Allen from any organization that stands against bigotry and the firing of the Washington Post's OpEd editor. The latter is the only way they'll regain my readership.

See more stories tagged with: charlotte allen, misogyny, sexism, gender

Alex Leo is an associate editor for 23/6, where she is allowed to pretend she has a superior sense of humor. After graduating from Wesleyan University in the spring of 2004, Leo began her career in media as an associate producer at ABC News. She left when she realized it was a reputable news organization.

Liked this story? Get top stories in your inbox each week from Reproductive Justice and Gender! Sign up now »