martyarf

I would just like to summarize that the defense of calling Skyler (and Ms. Gunn) bitch and cunt is variously:

a) Those words aren't sexist - I would call a man who did those things that too!

b) Those words are gendered, in that they are very commonly used against women - but that doesn't make them sexist!

c) I'm British so that makes it okay because reasons.

My point is that I can use the word "N" to refer to a specific black person, and not have it refer to the entire population of black people.

Hmm, doesn't really work does it. But yet, here you are...

This isn't two sides of a coin, because just like with race, historically one side of the coin lands 90% of the time. It is a loaded coin.

Wow, sounds like you need to read some feminist literature - the problem is culture, not biology! I'd be happy to recommend something. You might start with some bell hooks - here is a great book (PDF).

The terms "bitch" and "cunt" are gendered - they are used disproportionately against women. As you can see, there is no co-ordinated campaign calling Walter White a cunt or a bitch - no memes, no facebook groups, no thought so widespread that Bryan Cranston is writing articles for the NYT about those words being used against him. Skylar, on the other hand, provokes that response with incredibly uniformity - take this thread as evidence. Also, just for the record - misandry was a word made up in the late 1980s by mens rights activists looking to add an air of academic respectability to their anti-feminist work, and to support their (terrible) conclusion that sexism is simply two sides of a coin, a war that has waged back and forth throughout history. Would you lend credibility to a word that denotes bigotry against slaveowners? Please see this article for more information - http://www.adonismirror.com/10152006_leader_misandry_and_misanthropy.htm

The "dick" and "prick" derail is interesting - why is Skylar never called these words? Because they are gendered. I have seen it commonly expressed that "dick" and "prick", in particular, are masculine insults - they usually convey either a begrudging respect or other backhanded compliment about some aspect of the person's character - tenacious, or bloody-minded. Am I offended when people use those words? Not particularly, because - again - there are rarely campaigns and groups and memes based around calling villainous characters these things, besides which the elevated position that men, on aggregate, hold in society means that I wouldn't be too concerned about men. Owning 90% of the worlds property, being most of the worlds CEOs, politicians and richest people - they can fend for themselves on that delicate issue.

Please explain to me how come the search results for Skylar and Walt are so different?

I'm English.

Some evidence:

Google search for "skyler white cunt" :

https://www.google.com/search?q=skylar+cunt&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS523US523&oq=skylar+cunt&aqs=chrome..69i57.955j0&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fp=13d6aa3a7d487f41&q=skyler+white+cunt&spell=1

Facebook pages, memes, reddit threads, "Would you fuck Skyler White" threads and so on. Also mixed in news of sites chronicling this language.

Google search for "walter white cunt":

https://www.google.com/search?q=skylar+cunt&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS523US523&oq=skylar+cunt&aqs=chrome..69i57.955j0&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fp=13d6aa3a7d487f41&q=walter+white+cunt

Any abusive results are related to Skyler, video results for the Walt Jr scene where he calls Walt a pussy, nothing particularly aimed at Walt or Bryan Cranston.

Next time you make a case about cunt applying to men and women, maybe you should do the most cursory of research. It is gendered language, specifically aimed at women.

A huge amount of the reaction that Skylar provokes is fundamentally misogynist: you will hear her called a "bitch", a "cunt", and so on endlessly. Walt - who let us not forget, is a multiple murderer, abuser, who threatens people regularly, is extremely manipulative and at this point seemingly divorced from reality - is held up by many (in countless threads like these) as some kind of badass, a renegade who has to Do Bad Things But Is Ultimately Good. These same people probably think Don Draper - a misogynist, cheating, abusive, lying advertising executive is also some kind of hero.

Complex shows: The Sopranos, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, The Wire, nearly anything you can name, do not have heroes. They all have fundamentally immoral characters that you are tricked into sympathizing with. It is a hallmark of 20th century fiction. If you're going to defend Walt to the end, you should at least be aware of the genre conventions that you're in the process of ignoring.