Anti-Male Bias in Editorial Cartoons--Gary Varvel (Part I)
June 26th, 2007 by Glenn Sacks, MA for Fathers & Families
I've written numerous times about anti-male bias in editorial cartoons. When gender is an open option, whichever character in the cartoon is lazy, foolish, selfish, stupid, etc., is invariably a man.
Indianapolis Star editorial cartoonist Gary Varvel's "Cell Phones" above is an example. Women spend considerably more discretionary time on the phone than men do, yet when we depict a motorist who has caused an accident with cellphone chatting, the motorist is, of course, a man.
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June 26th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
...I have noticed we are far, far more likely to see a woman using a cell phone while driving than a man. But a woman acting foolishly would not fit the politically correct template of man -bad and stupid, woman - good and wise. So of course this cartoon shows a man instead of a woman...
June 26th, 2007 at 4:16 pm
Of course we are going to see only men in cartoons such as this. Why risk raising the ire of feminists and women's groups when you can take the path of least resistance and pick on a group you know will not complain? It's disingenuous sure, but at least the artist knows he won't be having to make any public apologies when the wrath of the feminists come down on him.
June 27th, 2007 at 12:44 pm
... and what's the man in the house doing? Watching TV from the Lay-Z-Boy.
I'd be willing to bet the cartoonist thought about showing a woman as the victim, but realized he'd have to draw a whole kitchen for her to be productive in.
June 27th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
Actually, I recently saw a study from AT&T that says that men have used more minutes than women for the last 6 years but the gap is insignificant now at roughly 450 minutes a month for both genders. They state that men use the phone more for business and women for pleasure and leisure. It doesn't say who spends more time on the phone while driving but I'd put at about even.
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/24322.php
June 27th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
Very true, although we still don't know who uses the phone more while driving.
I would assume women, as women are better at multitasking and do it more often than men. It makes sense that men would prefer to concentrate on their driving as talking as the same time would have more of a pronounced effect on their ability to drive.
June 27th, 2007 at 9:14 pm
She driving while celling: “Did you see that sweater?!? What color was THAT! That neckline is so totally last year…”
He driving while celling: “Yea, get a couple more boxes of CAT 5 up there. That sonofabitch has 5 and a half MILES of low voltage throughout his goddamn house and we’re STILL not done. When I get there I want to see every goddamn inch of it or I’m going to bury my goddamn foot clear up to my goddamn knee up someone’s goddamn back side!
…a very hastily departing DanH.
July 8th, 2007 at 12:55 am
[...] etc., as a man. Indianapolis Star editorial cartoonist Gary Varvel does this, both in his cartoon "Cell Phones" and above in "Voter [...]