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The Matt Walsh Show
Matt Walsh Roasts Bad Feminist Takes
00:17:53
Matt Walsh gives his opinion on awful feminist takes.
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- [00:07]
Michael
In recent times, feminists have started to grapple with a very difficult question. As we all know, feminism is a layered and nuanced ideology that always finds itself at the forefront of the most important and challenging discussions of the day. So here's the quandary they're dealing with now. How can a feminist woman be empowered while still being a materialistic cheap ass? Is it possible to be a strong, independent woman without also having to pay for dinner? This is the dilemma. It's the great philosophical debate. Feminists are in a difficult position because they've insisted for many years that they don't need no man, that they're a bunch of girl bosses, large and in charge. They declare that the old codes of chivalry and patriarchal and paternalistic are patriarchal and paternalistic and they have to be abolished. They shout it from the mountaintop that they are exactly equal to men, the same as men in every respect, and they certainly don't need a man to take care of them or provide for them. They have growled and they have shrieked and they have made their voices heard. And then, to their horror, many men started to take them seriously. Men listened to these protestations and they said, okay, well, if you say so, as you wish, you can have what you want. Which means, among other things, that when the bill is put down on the table, many men will not instinctively reach for it anymore. They will let the independent girl boss pay the tab, or at least pay half of it. But feminists have recoiled at this development. No, they cry, we wanna be independent, but not like this. Not if it means I have to pay for my own Santa Fe salad at Chili's. But how do they make this case? Can they really become a damsel in distress as soon as the bill is placed on the table and then get right back to being empowered and progressive a few minutes later? How does that work? Well, different feminists have come up with different ways of grappling with this important question. Here's one influencer on TikTok giving her answer.
- [02:00]
Sarah
Watch.
- [02:01]
Gabby
The thing that I have realized about this topic is that there are so many women that really do advocate for not going 50 50, right? And for me, I definitely went through, like, my, well, I'm a feminist. I shouldn't have an issue going 5050 face right when I was younger. But recently I started to realize just how difficult it was accepting going 50, 50 with men. And I have come to the realization that it is because even as a feminist, it is the only benefit women reap out of the patriarchy a benefit we did not create, the rules for, y'all did. But it is still a benefit that women get from the patriarchy. So whenever men start advocating for, like, well, what about equality? Pick up this check or whatever it in. When I hear that, it's like you're literally trying to rid me of the only benefit I get out of the patriarchy. The only, like, think about it for a second. Is there any other benefit we get out of the patriarchy?
- [03:13]
Michael
Let me step in there for a moment. I'll answer your question, ma'am. But first I have to point out how, by your own logic, anyway, this is the most pathetic stance I've ever seen anyone take, because by your telling, we are a patriarchal society. And the patriarchy is an abject evil. You say, and yet you wish to extract whatever benefits you can from it. This thing is evil and terrible and should be dismantled. But I also want to reap its rewards. This makes you significantly worse than the patriarchal men who, according to you, uphold an oppressive system. But at least you know, we don't see it as oppressive. You do see it that way, and yet you also uphold it just so that you can get a free meal at the Cheesecake Factory. So pathetic doesn't even begin to describe it. But to your question, is there any other benefit that you get out of what you call the patriarchy? The answer is yes.
- [04:07]
Sarah
A few.
- [04:08]
Michael
You know, there are a few benefits. Like, I don't know, the house that you're currently sitting in, every bridge you've ever driven across, every car you've ever driven in, electricity, indoor plumbing, democracy, freedom, civilization itself. Just to get the list started. So all of these things were all largely invented, established, built, maintained by societies that you would call patriarchal. So the patriarchy, as you define it, has given you basically everything of value in your entire life. So what else has it given you? Like, everything. Every single thing you like has been given to you by what you would.
- [04:51]
Sarah
Describe as the patriarchy.
- [04:53]
Michael
Other than that, sure, I guess it hasn't done much for you. But TikTok isn't the only place where this debate is raging. Over at the LA Times, they are grappling with the same issue. A new column poses the question this way. Should men pay on dates as reparations for the gender wage gap? The writer Gene Guerrero explains, quote, for years, I split the bill on dates. As a Latina from a lineage of women whose lives have been micromanaged by family patriarchs, I thought I was breaking bad generational patterns by interacting with men as equals rather than as providers. But recently, I started getting pushback from some of my friends. They argued that because of the persisting gender pay gap, it's actually now properly feminist to expect men to pay on first dates and contribute more financially in relationships. One friend instructed me, quote, don't even think about reaching for your purse. The thought of possibly coercing a man into paying for my dinner, however, just seemed wrong. Still, this discussion did make me wonder, should I expect men to pay on dates as a form of reparations for generational harm? Yes, the harm again of building every home and every bridge and every airplane. You know, that's what men are doing. Fighting and dying in every war, keeping all the lights on, et cetera. Such great harm that men have perpetrated against women. Every society on earth would collapse in, like, five seconds without men doing all the things that men do. All the things that men do, and that men almost exclusively do, in fact. But all of this somehow amounts to generational harm.
- [06:23]
Sarah
That's the argument.
- [06:24]
Michael
But it's not an argument that every feminist buys. Well, they buy the generational harm thing, but they don't buy that this relates to the issue of who pays at dinner. The article continues, quote, the problem with framing being taken out to dinner by a man as a form of reparations is that it's privately consumed. Juliet Williams, a UCLA gender studies professor, told me, it's not an accounting for injustice in any way that's visible or acknowledged. We have to be careful not to just label anything that's personally advantageous as somehow politically justified. But many women believe that in our unequal times, it's only fair for men to pay, and not just because men still out earn women. Women also tend to spend more on date prep, such as makeup and manicures to meet female beauty standards. Some women believe men should cover the costs of not only the dates, but transportation to and from. In a viral TikTok video, Louisiana resident Gabby Fay, 27, says, I expect a man to pay for the date. Yes, the whole entire date. That includes my Uber to the date and my Uber back to my house. She told me she sees this as compensation for women's sacrifices in relationships. It's also proof of serious interest. I want to feel wanted, she said. Now the writer goes on to examine both sides of this crucial issue. By the end, she's arrived at no particular conclusion. You know, some women say that men should pay in order to make up for our many sins. Others say that it isn't enough. You know, that the only reason we shouldn't do that is only because it couldn't possibly be enough to assuage our guilt for the patriarchy. And then there are others who point out that women in many cases are doing better financially than men, and so the financial burden should shift over to them in those cases. And nobody is sure what to do. Everyone is very confused. So let me see if I can lend some clarity to the situation. So there are a few things going on here. First, we see the propensity on the left to, in so many cases, dismantle something and then try to recreate kind of a simulacrum of that thing that they just destroyed. So they have no ideas of their own. They have no real vision of any kind. So they often end up plagiarizing the very ideas that they oppose. That's why many feminists have ended up right back where it started, expecting men to pay for dinner. The difference is that now the reasons behind this expectation, the underlying framework, is flimsy and superficial and ridiculous. So in the past, men paid for dinner because it was considered a man's duty to provide. It was his place. It was his role. There was dignity in it. There was a long tradition behind it. There was the noble and heroic concept of chivalry. You know, all of that went into the fact that a man would. Would clearly pay for dinner. Well, feminism hates everything noble and heroic and masculine and traditional. So all of that had to go. But it still wants free meals at Bonefish Grill. So the expectations of chivalry were reinstated without the philosophy of chivalry underlying them. So now men are expected to pay, but not for noble and strong and clear and traditional reasons, but for whiny and weak and petty reasons. We went from it's a man's duty to provide, which is a strong and clear and positive and truly empowering vision of what the sexes are supposed to be doing to now it's, well, you have to pay to heal my generational trauma, which is unclear and weak and resentful and petty and negative. Feminism uprooted all of the. Of the trees from the forest and then tried to put the trees back without the roots. But they're not trees anymore. They're just big logs sitting precariously on top of the soil. Today, the media is running with a.
- [10:05]
Sarah
Poll which is supposed to show that women. Women are oppressed in the workplace. But instead, it manages to prove something else. CNBC reports there's a major confidence gap between men and women in the workplace, though it might not Be in the way that you'd expect a majority, 64% of women think they can do their manager's job better than them, versus 47% of men who believe the same, according to a monster survey of 6,847 workers conducted on February. That perspective doesn't necessarily reflect that women feel proficient in their jobs, but rather they feel undervalued and overlooked for management roles, according to Monster, Career expert Vicky Salami tells cnbc. Women feel they can do their manager's job, she says, but the frustration is, why aren't they given the opportunity to do it? Why aren't you given the opportunity to do your manager's job? Well, because your manager is doing it. That might be the reason. Do you think your manager should just be fired on the spot so they can try you out for the role? And even if they do, even if they fire your manager and replace him with a woman, why should you specifically be the woman who takes his place?
- [11:13]
Michael
Would you be satisfied if another woman.
- [11:15]
Sarah
Was promoted and not? You see, actually, it's a statistical certainty that many of the women who said they could do their manager's job better, many of them have managers who are women. So if a woman is promoted over a woman, that's an example of sexism against women. How does this work exactly? See, this is one of the many fundamental problems with the claims of sexism and oppression against women in the workplace. The women who are inclined to make these kinds of complaints will still make them, even if their management team is already dominated by women, as it is in many companies. Have you ever known a feminist to say, well, I didn't get this opportunity, but another woman did, and so I'm happy. This is a win for the sisterhood. They might claim to have that attitude, but none of us have ever encountered it in real life. I certainly haven't. So often when a member of an allegedly marginalized group complains about discrimination, they're really complaining about how they personally have been treated or how they perceive themselves to have been treated. It is a selfish complaint disguised as concern for the group. But then you quickly discover that this person will take no comfort in finding out that other people in the group aren't having those experiences. So when they say, don't treat us this way, what they really mean is, don't treat me this way. And that might seem like an obvious thing to point out, but it's an important distinction because it's a very different sort of complaint. Whether it's true or not that they're being mistreated and often it's not true. But whether it's true or not, still it's worth noting the nature of the complaint, which is usually personal and self centered. Bringing it back to Women in the Workplace the fact is that women are being promoted, women are getting opportunities, and if anything, in big corporations at least they're getting more opportunities than men. These companies are actively looking to staff their management teams with anyone other than white males. They have a vested interest in doing that. But the women who still complain about a sexist conspiracy to rob them of opportunities, they aren't likely to take any solace in the fact that other women are in fact getting promoted. That's because again, the women who say you're being unfair to women who says that is often really saying you're being unfair to me. She doesn't really care about women in general. She cares about herself. Which is fine, you gotta look out for number one, but at least be honest about it. This is perfectly evidenced by the career expert Vicki in the CNBC article saying that women aren't getting the chance to do their managers jobs. Regardless of the fact that many of these women have managers who are women, it turns out that the women making the complaint don't want a woman to be manager. They want themselves personally to be manager. Which again is different. Back to the article. Women are far less likely to say.
- [13:55]
Michael
That they feel they get the same.
- [13:57]
Sarah
Quantity and quality of opportunities as men in the workplace. 66% of men believe everyone at work gets the same access to opportunities versus just 23% of women. According to Monster, the opportunities gap has a compounding effect among women at all levels in the workplace. Women say that having a clear vision for the future of their career is a top priority for them and a lack of potential advancement is the biggest red flag that would lead them to turn down a job offer. So the poll finds that a majority of women complain that the company they work for is unfair and biased, while also claiming that they can do jobs that they have not been judged qualified for.
- [14:32]
Michael
If you were trying to come up.
- [14:33]
Sarah
With a poll to convince employers to hire men instead of women, I don't think you could have done a better job than this. Though some of this poll is supposed to motivate employers in the opposite direction. Like, you know, hey, women are likely to have an inflated sense of importance and also complain a lot. Now hire more of them.
- [14:49]
Michael
That seems to be the sales pitch.
- [14:50]
Sarah
And it's not my sales pitch by the way. I'm not saying that I'm telling you that's what the survey apparently says. Now, to what extent it actually reflects the opinion of the majority of women, I don't know. That's what the survey says. The article ends this way. Some 77% of men believe everyone is paid the same. Presumably they mean paid the same for the same work versus 24% of women. Concerning Given that women say fair and equal wages is the number one most important benefit to them in the workplace, the gender wage gap, which has persisted for decades, now sits at the average woman being paid $0.82 for every dollar paid to a man. According to the Census Bureau, the gap widens for many women of color. Now, of course, we couldn't conclude this without the trusty old wage gap myth.
- [15:33]
Michael
If you're curious, the article supports the.
- [15:36]
Sarah
Women get paid 82 cents for every dollar that a man earns claim by linking to a fact sheet on the census.gov website which tells us that the median earnings of men are about $57,000 a year. This is back in 2019, while the median for women is around 47,000. These are the numbers that you get if you take all of the men in every profession and throw them into one potential all of the women in every profession throw them into another and then compare the two. But that comparison is totally meaningless as it obviously doesn't take into account things like hours worked, overtime, experience, skill, effort, qualifications, career choice, et cetera. It doesn't even bother to compare men and women in the same industry, let alone the same positions within those industries. Instead, it effectively compares male commercial airline pilots to female hairdressers, and male surgeons to female daycare workers, and so on. It makes an even one to one comparison among all these groups. It is in fact, a perfect example of how you lie with statistics, because the figure they end up with 82 cents on the dollar is technically true if you don't control for any meaningful factors whatsoever. But they never mention that detail when they cite the figure, which makes it effectively a lie. So what is the real takeaway here? What can we learn from the fact that according to the survey, a majority of women in the workforce feel that they're being oppressed and being treated unfairly because of their sex? Well, we learned just that, that it's a feeling. This is what the oppression narrative is ultimately grounded in. It's something that people feel, something that they are indeed encouraged to feel. These are feelings instilled and fostered in them. The poll says that a majority of women believe they feel that they aren't getting equal opportunities very much in the same way that so many people believe feel the wage gap. What we aren't supposed to ever ask is whether these beliefs and feelings actually reflect reality. That's because when we do investigate that question, we will find out very often and very quickly that they just simply don't. And that's why not all women in the workforce, but at least the majority who took this poll, are today canceled.