Russell Brand never hid his misogyny. So why did so many fail to see it? Trigger warning
(I am just posting the opening here, there is so much that is a trigger, but an important discussion0
Russell Brand never hid his misogyny. So why did so many fail to see it?
Liberal feminism helped create the space for Brand to ‘joke’ about raping women without meaningful pushback.
Julie Bindel
Journalist, author and feminist campaigner
Published On 21 Sep 202321 Sep 2023
FILE - Russell Brand speaks at the opening of The Trew Era Cafe, a social enterprise community project on the New Era estate in east London, Thursday, 26 March, 2015. Three British news organizations are on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023 reporting that comedian and social influencer Russell Brand has been accused of rape, sexual assault and abuse based on allegations from four women who knew him over a seven-year period at the height of his fame. (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP, file)
Blatant displays of misogyny, such as “jokes” about sexual abuse and degradation of women, are never “harmless banter”. Radical feminists have been saying this since “lad culture”, a popular youth subculture that glorifies male violence, exaggerated expressions of masculinity and sexual aggression, first emerged in Britain as part of a backlash against feminist gains in the 1990s. Whenever we tried to raise the alarm about this misogynistic “banter”, which came to dominate TV shows, newspaper columns, comedy acts and student life alike throughout the 2000s and 2010s, they accused us of “not having a sense of humour”, of being “too uptight”. For decades, pure, unadulterated sexism has been sold to the masses as “comedy” and we, radical feminists, have been accused of not having a sense of humour for not finding rape “funny”.
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Misogyny is not funny or fun. Men who constantly “joke” about sexually assaulting and degrading women are not talented comedians but threats to women’s safety. The feminist writer Maya Angelou once said, “When people show you who they are, believe them the first time.” We, radical feminists, have long known who Russell Brand is and what he represents. This week’s revelations did not teach us much that is new or unexpected about Brand or men in general. But they reminded us why we need to be wary of liberal feminism – and its many male and female promoters.
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/9/21/russell-brand-never-hid-his-misogyny-so-why-did-so-many-fail-to-see-it