# The hypocrisy of Fox News vis-a-vis whining about sexism. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 22, 2008, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hypocrisy-of-fox-news-vis-a-vis-whining-about-sexism/464643 "2008-09-22T05:17:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hypocrisy-of-fox-news-vis-a-vis-whining-about-sexism/464643/101 "2008-09-28T04:28:55Z")
> [@](#): > > **Harborwolf** : Never understood the problem with using gender appropriate insults. Have we gotten so ridiculously sensitive that we have to have gender neutral insults? Spoken like a true male who is ridiculously insensitive. (just teasin’) But yeah, I prefer gender neutral insults. There _are_ such an abundance of them. Why drag up the ones that are just used to put women down? Adult white males have never had to make a point of having full adult status. But female are still treat as less than a full adult. Example: When was the last time I was asked by a Reservation Desk if the reservation would be in my name or my husband’s name? Four days ago. This is the third stay at this resort hotel. My husband has never been there. Would a husband be asked if the reservation was going to be in his wife’s name? These little jibes happen fifty or sixty times a year. > [@](#): > > Must be my illiteracy showing, but when I see “housewife” I see a wife that stays at home. I have the same problem with “househusband.” Never saw the whole lesser human inferior role thing. What letters is it hiding between? > [@](#): > > “Housewife” isn’t sexist at all. Keep trying to make it sexist though. It’s providing me with ever so much amusement. “Housewife” is sexist because it designates that the person is a woman. It takes “Househusband” for you to think of a male. How about a gender neutral term this is really quite ordinary: “Homemaker.” It is more job descriptive and it doesn’t sound like anyone is married to a house. You may still think of a woman, but in time that might change. With “housewife” the gender is specific. ---
**Author:** ![Reverse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@Reverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reverse)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hypocrisy-of-fox-news-vis-a-vis-whining-about-sexism/464643/102 "2008-09-28T04:47:25Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > “Housewife” is sexist because it designates that the person is a woman. It takes “Househusband” for you to think of a male. Are you seriously arguing that “wife” and “husband” are sexist words? ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2008, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hypocrisy-of-fox-news-vis-a-vis-whining-about-sexism/464643/103 "2008-09-28T13:43:15Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > Spoken like a true male who is ridiculously insensitive. (just teasin’) But yeah, I prefer gender neutral insults. There _are_ such an abundance of them. Why drag up the ones that are just used to put women down? Because they are gender specific. > [@](#): > > Adult white males have never had to make a point of having full adult status. But female are still treat as less than a full adult. Example: When was the last time I was asked by a Reservation Desk if the reservation would be in my name or my husband’s name? Four days ago. This is the third stay at this resort hotel. My husband has never been there. Would a husband be asked if the reservation was going to be in his wife’s name? These little jibes happen fifty or sixty times a year. If my contention were that sexism didn’t exist, you’d really have my number. Thankfully, it’s not. Whew. Guess I dodged a bullet there. > [@](#): > > “Housewife” is sexist because it designates that the person is a woman. It takes “Househusband” for you to think of a male. How about a gender neutral term this is really quite ordinary: “Homemaker.” It is more job descriptive and it doesn’t sound like anyone is married to a house. You may still think of a woman, but in time that might change. With “housewife” the gender is specific. Right.\*\* “With ‘housewife’ the gender is specific.”\*\* You’ve successfully proven that the term is “gender specific.” Couldn’t have said it any better myself. Now we just have to establish that the term is sexist. We are still operating under the assumption that the term [sexist](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sexist) means > [@](#): > > 1: prejudice or discrimination based on sex ; especially : discrimination against women > 2: behavior, conditions, or attitudes that foster stereotypes of social roles based on sex , right? I also feel the need to point out that I _love_ the married to one’s house thing. Does homemaker means the person referenced makes homes? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hypocrisy-of-fox-news-vis-a-vis-whining-about-sexism/464643.md?page=5)