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Feminists accuse Joe Scarborough of using sexist language

Ina scathing op-ed, Joe Scarborough told the GOP they needed to “man up”against Sarah Palin. Women advocates, however, have taken issue with the MSNBC host and former congressman’s comments, telling Morning Joe to “STF Up.”

Women advocates aren’t upset with Scarborough’s political rhetoric. It’s the male-centric language. They want so-called sexist language to stop, and in the name of equality, that means women’s use of that language, too.

, љScarboroughљcalled on Republicans to distance themselves publicly from Palin, a potential 2012 presidential candidate.“Enough,” wrote Scarborough. “It’s time for the GOP to man up.”

Later that day, author and Democratic activist Christine Pelosi, who is the daughter of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, began hercomments about the article with an admonition of Scarborough’s sexist language, not his political comments.

“‘Man up’ is a sexist term that should be retired along with all the other gender-based imperious imperatives,” wrote “љ“Candidates at all levels of service deserve better than ludicrous taunting that does little to advance civil discourse.”

Pelosi isn’t the only one who’s upset.

“I agree 100 percent with Christine Pelosi that this kind of language,however it gets used, it should be excised from political discourse inthe same way that language that might have been acceptable in previousgenerations towards individuals who are African American has beensuccessfully excised from public discourse,” Siobhan “Sam”Bennett, CEO and president of the Women’s Campaign Forum, told The Daily Caller.

TheWCF advocates for female candidates in all levels of government and has lobbied publicly to .љWhile it’s liberal in its activism, Bennett stressed the need to endsexist language on all fronts.

But what if it’s other women using the allegedly sexist remarks?

Femalecandidates — particularly Republican female candidates in the 2010midterms — have begun co-opting the male-dominated lingo for their ownuse. Former Nevada GOP Senate nominee Sharon Angle told her soft-spoken opponent, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, to “man up” and former GOP Republican Senate nominee Christine O’Donnell told her challenger, Sen.-elect Chris Coons, “this is not abake-off, get your man-pants on.”

“We’reseeing some woman-on-woman and woman-on-man action with all thisrhetoric, you’re absolutely correct,” said Bennett. “[But] it’sunacceptable either way. When a woman uses this terminology … that is,at its foundation, forced… In a way, it’s an ‘if you can’tbeat them, join them,’ mentality. That doesn’t mean it’s right.”

Bennett has a standard for determining appropriate language from inappropriate language.

“Ithink the litmus for us is diversibility. If a word or a term iscommonly against a man candidate then fair game,” continued Bennett. “But ifspecific words are not commonly used, it’s not fair game. It has pass thetest of diversibility.”

Soperhaps these “sexist” phrases do qualify as “diversibility.” Take,for instance, this mind warp: Testosterone-filled male and MSNBC host Ed Shultzadmonishes mama bear Sarah Palin for taunting alpha male President Obamaabout his lack of “cojones” while similarly implying that female Ariz.Gov. Jan Brewer does in fact have the equipment necessary togrow male sex bullets.

Shultz’s exact description of Palin? “.”

Other women’s advocates are still very much concerned about overt sexism inpolitics, but aren’t as sure about the “sexist” classification ofphrases like “man up.”

“Idon’t think it’s so much anti-women. There’s certainly are plenty ofwords that I would put in that category that get thrown around,” saidDonna Allen, founder and president of the . “But we still haven’t gotten rid of ‘mankind’ and those phrases so I don’t think it’s critical. “

Allendid stress that it is was important to move toward “inclusiveness” byeliminating phrases that everyone can agree are naughty.

“Maybethe result of this, the language will change a little and we’ll come upwith ones that aren’t loaded but are lively,” said Allen “It doesn’tmean we can never say anything, but I think it’s good to go in thedirection of cutting out some of the loaded words.”

WhileBennett offered a slightly different opinion, saying that “man up”comes from a “very nasty, negative source of sexism,” all the women’s advocacy groups agreed on one thing, unanimously: We need more chicks inpolitics.

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