In the Mel Gibson Affair, Patriarchy is the Only Winner


Mel Gibson is a racist. That fact has been established by his repeated racial tirades, and confirmed by the media's endless psychological dissection of said rants.

As I begin to analyze the media's reaction to the Gibson story, I'm left wondering where are the shouting talking head segments on Gibson's disgusting misogyny?

Whether or not the released tapes are completely authentic the language of the alleged exchange between the celebrated actor and the mother of his young daughter Oksana Grigorieva is littered with degrading and sexist language. He calls her "c***" several times and claims that her provocative style of dress means she deserves to be raped. He also admits to beating Grigorieva while she held their infant child.

The allegations are shocking, and Mel's history of public hatred of women extends much further than his racial woes. Mel defended the exclusion of women from the priesthood citing that men and women are not "equal." In another interview, he explained his strained relationship with his former business partner simply by "she was a c***."

Yet we continue to focus all of our outrage toward the few racial slurs used in the nearly 30 minutes of audio.

In the wake of the Chris Brown/Rihanna "situation", it is natural to ponder what the American reaction would be had these extreme allegations of physical and emotional abuse been levied against a prominent Black Hollywood staple. Picture this being Denzel (after a nasty divorce with Pauletta). I imagine there would be Lebron-style public burnings of Training Day.

The realities of America's dangerous racial mythology should not eschew the destruction that unchecked misogyny wages on the souls and spirits of women.

In this fight, Black women are double losers. Succumbing to the allure of racial indignation and ignoring the reality of physical and emotional battles that .only provides further shelter for the victimization at the hands of abusers.

Kimberly Foster is the Editor-in-Chief of ForHarriet.com. Email her at Kimberly@ForHarriet.com or contact her via twitter @KimberlyNFoster

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