Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Fuck You, Caller Two

Amelia and I had our radio show today.
It was going really well. We were talking about Sarah Palin and Barack Obama and playing Santogold.
Then the phone rang. I picked it up:

"Hello. WVKC. This is Kate."
"Hey, I really like the song you just played."
"Good. I'm glad you like it."
"I really want to get naked for you two."
"Excuse me."
"Yeah. I really want to fuck you both."

Click.

Maybe this happens to other DJs. If it does, that totally sucks too. But, this caller called into a feminist radio show to harass the DJs and to show us that no matter how much we care about politics, talk about important issues, and prove we are informed and capable, he can still call and talk about fucking us. Its all about the power, I suppose.
But its just another reason to stick around.

So, fuck you, harressing caller. And tune in next week.

17 comments:

Amelia said...

Argh this is so disgusting especially when paired with the other (male) caller who called in and asked us to stop talking about politics and start playing music.

It's like these men were somehow threatened that we were informed and were discussing important issues and having our voices heard. The caller I mention above was also probably sick of hearing us discuss problems that didn't directly relate to him, although I can't say for sure.

But how do these men deal with their apparent discomfort/unhappiness? By a) sexualizing us and therefore stripping our discussion of validity and b) by just plain telling us to shut up.

I still can't believe that. No public spaces seem safe for women who don't want to deal with being reduced to body parts, harassed, or silenced. Bullshit.

Anonymous said...

The caller I mention above was also probably sick of hearing us discuss problems that didn't directly relate to him, although I can't say for sure.

First of all, I'm sorry to hear that you have to deal with such disgusting treatment on your show. It sounds like you guys have a great show going (tho I admit I haven't heard it... is there a podcast?), and I hope you get more appreciative calls than examples like this one.

habladora said...

Keep up the good work; for every chump caller trying to find a way to silence you somehow there are tons of other people who are really listening. The chumps call in because they're feeling powerless and can't compete with your reasoned arguments and wit, so they revert to intimidation tactics.

Smirking Cat said...

And callers like that hang up and feel so brave and proud and important, like they just accomplished something beyond the equivalent of a gorilla grunting nonsensically into the phone.

lindsay said...

Everyone else is so on the money - when someone's power is threatened, they deal with it in a way that reduces people, especially women, to their sexual nature.

You must be doing something right... keep up the good work!

Anonymous said...

He is probably a lonely little man living in Mommy's basement. Yeah that type just get off on harassing women because they are not decent enough to have women willingly partake in their lives. Don't let it get you down ladies. Keep doing what you do because when we are silent they win.

Anonymous said...

It has nothing to do with "threatened power".

You relate everything to that. Perhaps someone thought it was funny. Maybe you react badly to someone threatening your power, and therefore have to insult that person, and claim their intentions are other than what they are?

Amelia said...

Wow, Anon. How insensitive.

I can't believe you're defending some skeezy male caller who made completely inappropriate comments to us while we were on the air and had to continue with our show, acting professional, even while people were calling and being disrespectful.

Maybe you were that caller, eh?

lindsay said...

Perhaps someone thought it was funny.

But why would they think it was funny? Is it funny because man, doesn't every guy just want to screw those girls with the radio show? Is it funny because it turns women speaking their minds into sex objects? Is it funny because it tells women that their only worth is what lies between their legs?

It's not funny. Not at all.

Anonymous said...

Maybe it's funny in the same way that feminists laugh at men getting hit in the balls?

Maybe it's funny in the way that women and feminists made countless "Lorena Bobbit" jokes, in years past?

Maybe when you attempt to ascribe moods and intentions to people without asking their intent, it makes you look a bit odd?

If you would be offended that someone would tell you what you're thinking, then don't tell other people what they're thinking.

It's funny in the same reason that people will call Chick-fil-A and ask how big the breasts are.

Stupid things are funny to people, and it has nothing to do with the reading-too-far-into-it ideas you're pushing.

I wasn't defending anyone. Just saying that your ideas of "threatened power" are invented by you, for you, in order to defend your own thoughts and positions, and justify your way of thinking.

Feminism would work better if it stood up on it's own merits, instead of using other people as straw men.

Amelia said...

Feminists laugh when men get hit in the balls? News to me...

Maybe, Anon, you should teach us about feminism. Because you seem to know more about it, than, you know, us feminists.

Ahem.

Anonymous said...

Oh, please. That's a painful argument to read.

It also falls short, because very often, feminists seem to tell men what being a man should be all about, despite them, you know, not actually being male.

My point was, if all feminism is is a movement that tries to make everyone else look bad/wrong, instead of standing on it's own merits, that's a problem.

It's like what a few Canadian friends of mine say about some of their fellow Canadians. They find it distasteful that for some, the entire Canadian national identity has become "Not-American". That they identify solely by the fact that they are not from the US.

It seems, when you try to tell others what they're thinking, and try to define them by your terms, instead of letting them define themselves, that you're making feminism into a "Not-them" idea. Instead of being what you are, it becomes a classification based solely on what you are not.

Amelia said...

We are perfectly justified in guessing what these men were thinking because they didn't have the guts to stand behind their words. They were cowards who hid behind anonymous calls and used it to objectify us.

So if they don't like what we've said about them, we've told them where to find our blog, and they can come here and tell us we're wrong. But they won't, I'm guessing, because they have nothing of merit to say. And they will never own up to it.

End of this conversation.

Anonymous said...

I should add, I notice that when someone wants to go after a feminist, for whatever reason, they're bold enough to come right to your doorstep to do it.

You tend to wait until they're not around, and cannot defend themselves in any way to insult back.

Being a woman does not make you untouchable, and free from criticism, insults, and anything else.

You seem to act as though it does, and classify anything anyone might say to you as sexism, and therefore invalid.

It doesn't work that way. The same rights that give you the ability to speak your mind, give someone else the right to ignore you or tell you to shut up.

I just sense this strong attitude of entitlement from you, wherein you act as though not only do you have the right to speak, but you demand that anyone you speak to has no choice but to listen.

Amelia said...

Actually ANON, when you are listening to a radio show, you do very well have a choice whether or not you listen to us. If you don't like what we're doing, all it takes it the simple turn of a dial. That's why having anyone call in and tell us to "shut up" and play music instead of talking about politics is wrong. We are not the only radio station in the area, I promise. And we most definitely aren't the only form of entertainment - the caller could easily have put on a CD, etc.

I should add, I notice that when someone wants to go after a feminist, for whatever reason, they're bold enough to come right to your doorstep to do it.

No, most of the time they just hide behind the name "Anonymous" and rant on and on saying little of merit. :)

lindsay said...

I just sense this strong attitude of entitlement from you, wherein you act as though not only do you have the right to speak, but you demand that anyone you speak to has no choice but to listen.

God forbid any woman feel like she has the right to speak, much less speak and expect respect and not a sexualized response.

Amelia said...

Mmm. Rejecting Anonymous comments feels good.