Hurricane Cronesmoon ([info]cronesmoon) wrote,
@ 2008-06-22 14:41:00
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Strident
I forget just where, but somewhere I read an article about Hillary Clinton's acknowledgment of defeat and her subsequent behavior, which the article called "strident." It struck me that the comment was indicative of exactly why she lost. Never mind anyone's politics: the media almost never talked about their politics. And really, the fact that she was carrying Bill's baggage from the start as well as her own hadn't nearly as much to do with her defeat as the pervading attitude that makes it reasonable to refer to her behavior as "strident."

When was that last time you heard that word applied to a heterosexual male?

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[info]romsfuulynn
2008-06-23 03:51 am UTC (link)
I didn't look up the contexts to determine the gender identity, but google "he is strident" generates 191 vs "she is strident" generating 626.

Similar ratio for "he's strident" vs "she's strident."

Although some of the "she's strident" uses were criticisms of gender variant uses of the term.

All that said, I agree that it's clearly used more often as a slam against women.

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[info]cronesmoon
2008-06-23 04:44 am UTC (link)
And usually when it is used to describe men, it's meant to imply something about their manliness (or, more exactly, about a lack thereof). Manly men aren't strident. (Of course, neither are womanly women, who should speak in carefully modulated tones and acquiesce to manly men.)

Thing is, I really had thought we were farther beyond all that crap than it turns out we are. [sigh]

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[info]twyleth_teg
2008-06-23 07:05 am UTC (link)
You know, i don't think I've ever heard the word "Strident" used to describe anthing but a shrill tone of voice or a brand of chewing gum. :)

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[info]cronesmoon
2008-06-23 12:24 pm UTC (link)
The gum is called Trident. You know, three-pronged fork. Dunno why. Perhaps because it's meant to be good for dental care in three ways? Whatever.

You're right, "strident" did once mean "shrill tone of voice," which would explain why it's more frequently applied to women, who tend to have higher-pitched voices.

I've been accused of stridency in email, however. That's not a shrill tone of voice. Nor an isolated example. Essentially, these days, it is what would be called "forceful" in a man. Women who are forceful are by definition either lesbian or strident, because forcefulness is not a womanly trait.

Of course the implication is that one has been in some way shrill (even in email), but that's just meant to discredit one's remarks without addressing the content.

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