You all know about the Catherine Kieu story by now. If not, she drugged her husband, tied him down on his bed, cut off his penis, and threw it in the garbage disposal.
Her reasoning? He divorced her. “He deserved it,” she said.
Now, we don’t know the whole story, outside of the police reports. We don’t know what their relationship was like in the past. And since we don’t, I think we can all agree that this is some pretty horrific, indefensible, makes-me-want-to-vomit type stuff.
Unless we’re a cast member or serial watcher of The Talk.
The Talk? Yes, The Talk. The creativity of the name and the quality of the show are pretty much exactly proportionate. It’s a blatant spin-off of The View, just with D-list celebs instead of whatever letter-list Barbara Walters and Co. are a part of.
Now, I’m not their target demographic, I hope. But, like The View, the show’s objective is to scrape at whatever current events fit the “That’s the worst thing ever! Or that’s the best thing ever!” structure. Nuance doesn’t exist, but a ton of hollow, mindless commentary does.
And The Talk’s take on Catherine Kieu and the dismembered penis was no different. Just like how this story needs no commentary, not much needs to be said about The Talk’s take, either.
Here’s why you don’t watch this show:
(H/T No, Seriously, What About Teh Menz?)
—Photo via CBS
About Ryan O'Hanlon
A Mensa think-tank this is not.
And just watch, the next time there’s a high-profile case of abuse in which a woman is on the receiving end I’m sure they’ll be all solemn and condemning it. But cut off a guy’s dick for no reason and it’s a punchline.
One can only hope the next thing that gets axed is this stupid show.
When does this make news? Only when the woman is a celebrity.
It is grotesque that these women would find mutilation so hilarious. If a woman’s breast had been hacked off by an irate husband, I doubt they’d be cackling.
What’s annoying is that bits of objectivity are dashed by laughter and jokes of him “deserving it”. I’m all for feminism, and concepts like “Girl Power” but there are several misconceptions as to what the aims and goals are. The fact of the matter is Feminism deals with relationships of power and systems of gender equality and what you have here is a case where a man is wronged but is made out to be less than a victim. Not much is known about their marriage, or the events leading to their divorce, but we do know that we have people that embrace violence as an adequate response to emotional turmoil or damage. What’s worse is that some feel that it issues of domestic violence and victimization are “different for men”. Different in this case has a connotation of “detrimental”. I dare say that had she filed for divorce, and had he responded with any sort of violence (even if it weren’t anywhere near as severe) the uproar would no doubt experience a change in tides. But lets be objective, and in addition not sexist, and realize that a spouse filed for divorce and experienced great bodily harm in return. The perpetrator is in jail but is not criminalized by the general public, some of which has leaned more in her favor. This is embarrassing
What’s worse is that some feel that it issues of domestic violence and victimization are “different for men”.
Yeah Osbourne did pull that excuse during that clip as well. Just like with the Bobbit case people will be celebrating and cheering for this woman by the time its all said and done (in fact if you notice near the start of the clip as soon as her face popped up on the screen women in the audience started cheering).
They’re disgusting sexist, bigoted female dogs, except for Sarah who pointed out how it wasn’t actually funny. Yet, we won’t see the letter writing campaigns, boycotts, or picketing against the show, like you would if a men’s show responded in a similiar fashion to violence against women/wives. It just goes to prove that women in general are much less concerned about equality and respect for both genders, and much more about themselves. I guess those “hosts” never considered that next time it could be one of their sons, brothers, or nephews.
Is the video working for you? I am being told it’s unavailable, or blocked by an adblocker, but my adblocker is disabled….
I think it Sharon Osbourne’s vile and misadric commentary needs to be especially pointed out. She actually questions the circumstances of how it happened. As if there is any reason to drug a man, tie him to a bed, chop off his penis, and toss it in the garbage disposal. There’s no self defense, there’s not “she’s had enough”, there’s absolutely no reason you can come up with to say that this is okay. Osbourne had just commented a few weeks ago saying she would have cut off Schwarzeneger’ s penis when his infedelity was discovered.
And to top it off she says she thought that it was “fabulous”.
This is just the extreme of whats been going on in the female media, particularly the day time shows – ophra, dr. phil etc for a long time now. Its evidence of an overt, generalized hatred of men in the culture.
Its not just about the shows, its about the people watching them, were they not clapping along. This stuff wouldn’t be happening.
indeed cutting off a man’s penis is rather like cutting out …. a clitoris
and people certainly get exercised over clitoris excision
so why the wildeyed manic laughter at a man losing his penis?
Violence done to anyone by anyone is wrong. We all have to get away from a “Man vs Woman/Woman vs Man” stance and yes, that is part of what is happening here. Many women have been living in fear of many men for a long, long time. Many, many women are tired of the sexist attitudes, the abuse, the secrets. NOW….when a woman hurts a man, it is (to a degree) celebrated. Why? Because many women see it as “getting back” at a patriarchal society that tells rape jokes, victim blames, slut shames, “jokingly” celebrates men “beating the dish washing wife” (what do you do when your dishwasher breaks down?) and sees scantily clad women in beer commercials as “all in good fun”. The retort of many of these women will often be, “Suck it up. You do it to us, so now we are gonna do it to you”.
My recommendation to anyone who doesn’t like it?…Do what women have had to do for so long….PROTEST! Write letters and e-mails. Make the phone calls. Boycott the show or organize a group and go stage a march. Don’t just come to a forum and bitch about it gentlemen……GET ORGANIZED!!! (and for those of you who REALLY want to create change?…be as vocal and as involved as you can be in support of women dealing with violence and sexism. Trust me, many of us will return the favor and support YOU and your protest)
…..and no, I do not find violence against men to be funny or deserved…. and I AM A FEMINIST.
…..and before anyone answers back….No. I am not trying to get into an argument. I’m just giving you a “birds-eye view” as it were of SOME of the attitudes to be found in the “Ladies Locker room”…..do with it what you will…
Dee, you make an interesting point about organising. How women feminists like sady doyle or the slutwalkers are able to quickly harness and channel discontent into practical change is remarkable and noteworthy. And it is not as if men dont have the ability to do the same, the marches walked by the massive male labour unions of the 19th and 20th century show that. male sportsfans rallying to get a
Coach or manager sacked issue another ex
So it is curious why currently, men dont organise on a large scale.
I’m guessing its a matter of men being led to believe that when it comes to gender each man is an island. Sure we can band together for sporting issues and work (and I think those only worked because it was about the sport and the work rather than it being about men) but when it comes to banding together as men for something that’s important to us as men we’re told no.
As in its not neccesary, we shouldn’t do it because men shouldn’t be that close, etc….
Jameseq:
How women feminists like sady doyle or the slutwalkers are able to quickly harness and channel discontent into practical change is remarkable and noteworthy.
Which makes me wonder why people act like feminists have no influence or power.
Damn phone and predictive text. *Issue=is
this isnt a forum id usually attend but id direct everyone to the talk page on facebook where some of us have been in ……. debate with the female who watch the show , whats really disturbing is they feel sharon was in the right for what she did .
I’m quite horrified at the way these callous bitches reveled in gory detail over this man’s severed penis.
His wife is currently under criminal investigation. She says “he deserved it” (because he divorced her).
So should they be endorsing violent crime like this? And it’s not slaps and punches we’re talking about here. It irreversible life-changing hacks with a knife.
Aren’t they inciting crime? And serious crime at that?
Well, the British one, Sharon Osbourne, I hear a little while ago “joked” about cutting off Arnold Schwarzenegger’s penis. Could she have perhaps not have incited this rather nasty little crime itself? I think SHE should be investigated, charged and prosecuted. In fact, this whole miserable group (with the possible exception of one) should be charged with something.
Inciting violence? Criminal negligence? It’s all there, on the screen, in front of our eyes.
It looks like enough people said something and an apology was issues on their show a few days ago. Well, sorta like an apology. I have a post of it up explaining (I can’t get a link but if you click on my name and go to the post called “I’m not completely buying it”, should still be near the top).
They never really apologized. Osbourne laughed through most of her “apology”. The others made up excuses on why it’s hard to do a show live and not say something stupid sometimes. Though the original segment ran over 4 minutes-not exactly a stupid passing comment. Plus they warned men before they began the original episode, obviously knowing they were about to offend men by joking and laughing at a victim of domestic violence. And praise the attacker no less. Since when is it ok for hosts of a tv daytime show to make jokes about the victim of domestic violence and praise the attacker? If Letterman had a show doing this about a female victim of domestic violence and saying it was “fabulous” that a woman was beaten to a pulp and raped and sexually mutilated they’d have been fired by now. Not even a chance at an apology. And these same bonehead hosts would be condemning him. I wish there was a way to get a large group to picket outside the studio where the show tapes.
“Now, we don’t know the whole story, outside of the police reports. We don’t know what their relationship was like in the past. ”
It troubles me that Goodman Project thinks that this knowledge or lack of it should shape our opinion on this in any significant way. It is as if vigilante violence is justifiable, that the cutting off the penis of a man who may be an arse hole is perhaps not that unreasonable or God forbid shooting a man sleeping man in his bed who is an abuser is not worthy of any legal sanction. There are examples of the latter. The fact that The Goodman project reported this in as neutral a terms as it did worries me.
I sometimes wonder if the Goodman project is out of touch with what concerns of men. It boggles my mind that some of the moderators of the recent web cast interview series were unaware of MRA’s let alone of the concern they bring up. You’d expect someone concerned with Men’s issues to be at least aware of these groups.
The reasons Men don’t organize are :-
(1) They identify with their occupation and class rather than their gender
(2) Society frowns on it for men.Certain groups vigorously work against them doing this.
(3) The media pays it little attention so it receives little validation.
(4) Their is an Urban Myth that all men are privileged.
I hate to think we ‘d ignore the concerns of the poor and illiterate due to their inability to their organize. Oh wait a minute we do.
( ps, Why is there an Ad for Women’s fashion high heels at the bottom of my page. For God’s sake )
Please go to this website (sponsorsofthetalk.webs.com) if you want to view or contact the sponsors of The Talk. I will be expanding it shortly. I created it for those that want to take action and let the sponsors know how outraged you are that these women are still hosts of the show. Thank you and I hope you email them.
These ladies were also laughing and cackling about women doing prostitution to pay their student loans, the lady started laughing at the term “mounting debt” when describing the bills students were trying to pay doing prostitution……these women need to be fired and have no jobs, laughing at abuse and prostitution and not being able to pay your bills????? I would like to see these women live off a meager income and cackle about what they do for money when there is no food in their cupboards, to make fun of womens problems and sexual mutilation of a man SHAME ON YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!