Meghan McCain: the postergirl for toxic femininity

Meghan McCain seems to have appointed herself the leading authority on antisemitism in America. She may not be Jewish herself but some of her best friends are Jewish, you know? And of course, she’s also the daughter of the late senator John McCain, something she is not shy about pointing out, which automatically qualifies her as an expert on everything.

According to McCain, the rise of antisemitism in America has little to do with white nationalism and everything to do with Ilhan Omar. McCain is obsessed with the Muslim congresswoman and has repeatedly misrepresented Omar’s comments about the Israel lobby in America. In an April appearance on This Week With George Stephanopoulos McCain even tried to blame Omar for the horrific Chabad of Poway synagogue shooting in San Diego. To be clear, the man suspected of being responsible for that shooting is a white nationalist who also claims he burned down a nearby mosque.

McCain’s relentless bad faith attacks against Omar are vile and dangerous. On Tuesday, during an appearance on Late Night, host Seth Meyers, to his immense credit, called her out on it. Meyers noted that Omar has acknowledged she needs to be more careful about her language. “Don’t you think people who talk about her need to be a little bit more thoughtful as well?” Meyers asked. “Or do you stand by those comments of tying her rhetoric to the synagogue shooting?”

McCain’s response to this polite, reasonable question was to go on an outraged and borderline incomprehensible tirade in which, in between splutters, she continued to mischaracterize Omar’s language. Visibly agitated by Meyers’ thoughtful questioning, McCain also demanded to know whether the TV host was Omar’s “publicist”. Somehow she managed to restrain herself from asking to see Meyers’ manager.

Ben Domenech, McCain’s husband and the founder of the rightwing website the Federalist, was equally unimpressed with Meyers. Shortly after the interview, Domenech went on a (now-deleted) Twitter rant in which he called Meyers a “cuck” who regularly “gargled balls”. Domenech also accused Meyers of antisemitism because, obviously, nothing is more antisemitic than criticizing McCain.

While McCain is very good at criticizing others, she is not so good at listening to criticism. Should you so much as insinuate that she isn’t god’s gift to the Earth, the talkshow host and professional “daughter of a famous man”, immediately turns herself into a victim. Performances like the one on Tuesday are not a one-off: she is constantly flying into a rage or bursting into tears. Constantly turning herself into a damsel in distress in order to shut down other women and avoid accountability. She is a prime example of what writer Luvvie Ajayi has described as the “weary weaponising of white women’s tears”. If toxic femininity exists, then there is no better example of it than Meghan McCain.

Ben Shapiro throws a temper tantrum on the BBC

In the same way that Meghan McCain thinks she is an expert on antisemitism, Ben Shapiro thinks he is an authority on abortion. The rightwing media personality has been busy mansplaining women’s health on Twitter this week, in light of Georgia’s terrifying new abortion ban. (Read Moira Donegan’s take on the new six-week ban here.) On Thursday he also spoke on the BBC about the issue. Or rather he had a meltdown and accused Andrew Neil, a notoriously conservative presenter, of being a “leftist”. Why on earth does anyone take Shapiro seriously?

Anti-abortion extremists want to turn America into Gilead

Georgia governor signs bill to ban abortion after six weeks Read more

It’s been a horrific week for women in America. Georgia, Ohio and Alabama have all pushed forward bills that effectively ban abortion, limit birth control and make women who seek abortions liable for the death penalty. A woman could even be sent to prison if she miscarries. None of these bills are in effect yet (voting on Alabama’s abortion ban, which gets rid of exceptions in the case of rape or incest, has been postponed) and will face much opposition. But that doesn’t mean you should be complacent: anti-abortion extremists have made it clear they are intent on turning back the clock in America. And, as Jessica Valenti notes in a bone-chilling thread, American women are already being punished for getting abortions.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Lisa Stamey protests against Georgia’s anti-abortion bill at the Georgia state capitol in Atlanta. Photograph: Elijah Nouvelage/Reuters

Paternity leave has Spanish men reaching for birth control

In 2007 Spain implemented a new policy giving most new dads fully paid paternity leave. A new study has found this policy may have had the unintended effect of putting Spanish men off having more kids: parents entitled to the leave took longer to have another child than families that weren’t eligible for it. Researchers hypothesized that spending more time with their kids may have prompted dads to shift “their preferences from child quantity to quality”.

Is Denmark the ‘least feminist’ place in the world?

Just one in six Danes would call themselves a “feminist” according to a new survey of global attitudes towards gender. The survey also found more Danish women would prefer to be wolf-whistled than called a feminist. This aversion to the F-word may have something to do with the fact that Denmark is one of the best places in the world to be a woman; perhaps people don’t feel as much need to define themselves as feminist? If any Danish readers could spread further light on the issue, please do write in.

A pro-tip for avoiding unwanted male attention

Reductress has got some A+ satire commenting on coverage of the 2020 elections. “Existing as a woman in the world can be frustrating,” they write. “Men hit on us at bars, make passes at us on the train, even follow us on the streets. But recently I’ve noticed that there’s an emerging group of women who barely have to deal with any attention from men at all. I wanted that for my life … and that’s why I’m announcing that I’m running for president of the United States.”