Bob Herbert at the NYT. What’s just so happening, Bob?
It just so happens that the Democratic presidential candidates are campaigning this week in the misogyny capital of America: Nevada. It’s a perfect place to bring up the way women are viewed and treated in this society, but don’t hold your breath. Presidential wannabes are hardly in the habit of insulting the locals.
Prostitution is legal in much of Nevada and heavily promoted even where it’s not. In Las Vegas, where prostitution is illegal but flourishes nevertheless, Mayor Oscar Goodman has said that creating a series of legal, “magnificent†brothels would be a great development tool for his city.
The fundamental problem in all of this is that women and girls are dehumanized, opening the floodgates to every kind of mistreatment. “Once you dehumanize somebody, everything else is possible,†said Taina Bien-Aimé, executive director of the women’s advocacy group Equality Now.
A grotesque exercise in the dehumanization of women is carried out routinely at Sheri’s Ranch, a legal brothel about an hour’s ride outside of Vegas. There the women have to respond like Pavlov’s dog to an electronic bell that might ring at any hour of the day or night. At the sound of the bell, the prostitutes have five minutes to get to an assembly area where they line up, virtually naked, and submit to a humiliating inspection by any prospective customer who has happened to drop by.
Of course, Bob has a forehead that belongs on Star Trek, so naturally he understands Teh Gaze.
“There the women have to respond like Pavlov’s dog to an electronic bell that might ring at any hour of the day or night.”
Fire-fighters have to respond to a bell, too. I never considered them to have much in common with Pavlov’s dog, though.
Sure, Q30, but nobody’s forcing firemen to be firemen ;-P
Hookers really need to unionize.
Robots. Just wait for the robots.
Unionized Hookers?
I’d cross that picket line, if you know what I mean, know what I mean.
I’m just glad that ever since Hillary! became a New York Senator prostitution in the state has completely disappeared. In the Northeast, if you want to pay $1000 dollars a night do lines off the ass of a nubile asian (boy or girl, your choice) you better be married or in New Jersey. Those Jersey girls are total sluts.
Bob doesn’t talk to the “real” feminists that are “sex positive” and all for the rights of “sex workers”.
How dare he say sex work is humiliating. Or maybe he thinks sex workers should line up the customers and take their pick? Kinda like a restaurant serving you the meal they think you should have?
Clearly, Bob Herbert is a carpenter, and has hammered on his piglet. Because, clearly, he’s wearing a prosthetic forehead on his real head.
Unionized Hookers?
You can take a hooker out of the ions, but you can’t take the ions out of a hooker.
Well, for certain they weren’t Confederated.
“Once you dehumanize somebody, everything else is possible,†said Taina Bien-Aimé, executive director of the women’s advocacy group Equality Now.
Reaction from aborted “fetuses” to Bien-Aime’s remarks was mixed.
And I don’t think that’s what the pimps mean by electrolysis, anyway.
The mere fact that I can’t stand that psycho bitch from hell does NOT make me a Misogynist. It just shows that I have good sense and can tell a hawk from a handsaw when the wind is southerly.
So the state of Nevada forces woman to become hookers ? Did I misread his point ?
Techie aspires to be a hooker scab?
“…but you can’t take the ions out of a hooker.”
It is hard, or rather difficult, I should say.
Oh, iOns. Carry on then.
Robots. Just wait for the robots.
Robopooter, SarahW? But will they be able to cook? Presumably nagging, whining and shopping will be engineered out entirely.
“Robopooter, SarahW? But will they be able to cook? “
Should be able to vacuum… hmmm… could that be the direction the Rhoomba, is heading?
It read funnier in my mind. Obviously, the hookers in Nevada are doing the work that the women on 7th Ave. won’t do.
(Not that I approve of prostitution, far from it)
“Robopooter, SarahW? But will they be able to cook?”
If you dehumanize the robots, then everything else is possible.
I’m going to say that Herbert has more of a 4.5 head.
I wonder if it ever occurs to them that the man is also dehumanized in a brothel? You are no longer a husband or a boyfriend or a lover, and no one cares what your name or job is, in fact, that is the whole fucking point! Some quick, nasty, physical sex without having to chase it around or perform a bunch of courting rituals. Wham. Bam. Thank you, Ma’m. Here, go buy yourself something pretty.
Robots hookers? Sarah might be onto something there.
And which candidates do the hookers/exotic dancers support?
BMoe–n oneed to shell out for a Roomba, any vacuum will do.
>>”Robots. Just wait for the robots.”
Well, the mayor *is* Oscar Goldman, isn’t it?
Well, everybody wants a rock to wind a piece of string around.
You can lead a horticultural…….
The lesson is DON’T DATE ROBOTS!.
(the previous message brought to you by the Space Pope.)
Interesting, RTO, but for women, once again. When is someone going to address how the sex toy industry discriminates against men? Thousands of gadgets of all shapes and sizes for the ladies, nothing but a couple of lumpy balloons and sponges for the lads.
BMoe – Life is indeed unfair. Just as we can piss pretty much anywhere, men don’t need any fancy sex toys or classes to teach them how to take care of business.
Well, you gotta know that somewhere, scientists are working feverishly to perfect the Synthetic Pussy, because whoever does is gonna make a GAZLLION BUCKS pretty much overnight…
…men don’t need any fancy sex toys or classes to teach them how to take care of business.”
True enough, gives us more money to buy important things, like fishing poles and golf clubs.
A grotesque exercise in the dehumanization of women is carried out routinely at Sheri’s Ranch… At the sound of the bell, the prostitutes have five minutes to get to an assembly area where they line up, virtually naked, and submit to a humiliating inspection by any prospective customer who has happened to drop by.”
So, a five minute warning is dehumanizing, but, ten minutes would be ok? Or is he saying that he considers it unacceptable that he had to wait five whole minutes for all of the girls to come out?
J.Brenner – Right. It’s not like he was at Denny’s or anything and no one would serve him. He was probably finished in a shorter amount of time than he had to wait.
Is Bob’s point that the Democrats should denounce prostitution because it dehumanizes prostitutes, but they don’t because of political expecidiency?
Where was Bob during the Clinton impeachment, by the way?
*Well, you gotta know that somewhere, scientists are working feverishly to perfect the Synthetic Pussy, because whoever does is gonna make a GAZLLION BUCKS pretty much overnight…*
They already have it in Japan. I want to say its called “Pussy in a cup” or something equally ridiculous. I also want to say it was introduced at one of those japanese tech trade shows. Google Pussy in a Cup and see if you come up with anything. But not at work. Or if your wife checks your computer history. Or you have young children who may be watching.
See, THATS why they don’t make sex toys for men – its too much freakin trouble to hide them from everybody we know.
1. People who don’t know about the sex robots need to visit HotAir more often; Allah is all over that story.
2. The hookers are for Ron Paul. Google it.
3. Herbert’s piece struck me as the liberal version of Jesse Helms standing on the Senate floor waving around the Mapplethorpe pics, inviting his colleagues to look, just look, just look at the filth. A certain degree of insincerity, if you catch my drift.
Men don’t need toys. We already own socks.
The hajib eliminates that humiliating inspection business. All your problems will soon be solved, infidels, courtesy of the religion of peace.
RTO – I don’t need my stinkin’ socks, thank you very much.
So Bob would like the democrat candidates for president “to bring up the way women are viewed and treated in this society”…
Juanita Broderick could not be reached for comment.
well, but isn’t not raping them also dehumanizing? I’m so confused.
“Is Bob’s point that the Democrats should denounce prostitution because it dehumanizes prostitutes, but they don’t because of political expecidiency?
Where was Bob during the Clinton impeachment, by the way?”
Say… that gives me an idea! Rent-an-Intern! By the hour! We will send one over to camp out under your desk, kneepads included.
Robots hookers? Sarah might be onto something there.
It’s been thought of before.
(And it looks like they’re remaking it.)
Maggie – It is only dehumanizing if it is the Joooooooooooooooooooooos that are doing the not-raping.
One might think that the Dems will be shying away from the whole dehumanizing women thing. But, since they are impervious to cognitive dissonance, maybe they will run right down this path.
Somethin’ tells me “bob” couldn’t get laid if he walked into a cathouse with a couple of hundreds taped to his winkie.
“Bob doesn’t talk to the “real†feminists that are “sex positive†and all for the rights of “sex workersâ€Â.”
Yeah, but somehow they seem to find the sexual pleasure of the Johns misogynist and criminal.
They can sell it, which is empowerful, but we can’t buy it, you dig?