People often say feminists lack any sense of humour and all they do is complain within their ivory towers. That isn’t true and I offer up Boobquake and Ben Roethlisberger as examples.
It all started when Iranian cleric Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi reportedly warned, “Many women who do not dress modestly … lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which increases earthquakes.”
Many scoffed. One blogger, Jen McCreight of blaghag.com, was determined to scientifically disprove his theory. Thus, Boobquake was born: Women would “embrace the supposed supernatural power of their breasts” and seek to make the Earth tremble by wearing the lowest-cut shirts they owned.
Monday has come and gone — and guess what? No earthquakes.
It’s unfortunate that this tongue-in-cheek protest was reduced to a circus-like opportunity to ogle. Apparently, some Boobquake events drew more male photographers than busty participants, but I’m loathe to call it un-feminist just because of a few overactive sex drives and cellphone cameras.
Sometimes, you find allies in the most unlikely of places. Even if Boobquake protesters wouldn’t call themselves feminists, plenty of people were angry enough to prove just how sexist Sedighi’s statement was.
Moral truths are sometimes so obvious, they’re plain as day. It was, too, for football fans following the saga of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who has been suspended after another allegation of sexual assault.
I have negative interest in football, but what’s not to love after reading this tweet from Vinnie Malhotra, executive producer for ESPN, from the floor of the NFL Draft: “Guy in a Roethlisberger jersey walking by at the NFL Draft. Crowd starts chanting ‘No Means No!’”
I’m glad this common-sense mantra has percolated into the mainstream. Even superstar quarterbacks and their fans aren’t immune to the fallout of allegedly perpetrating (or condoning) sexual assault, and football fans are going to let Roethlisberger know it.
Of course, with all the wacky things being said and done in Iran, it’s no stretch to scoff at its leaders. Nor is it a difficult moral decision to shun an athlete twice accused of sexual assault. These are obvious things. I hope people can take their instinctual “Hey, that’s not right” reactions toward Boobquake or Roethlisberger and carry that with them into the future.
