Perhaps you’ve seen the video of Joe Biden doing his thing — putting his hands on a young girl from behind, getting too close (probably sniffing her hair, but that wasn’t obvious on the tape), and otherwise making the poor girl uncomfortable.
We’re all used to that behavior. He’s a creepy old man.
But less attention is being paid to what he said. “No serious boyfriends until you’re 30.”
Because career is so much more important and fulfilling than family.
No wonder liberal women are so miserable. All the advice they get points them toward unhappiness. Even worse, the very identity of being a liberal woman is associated with unhappiness. I was about to say “it’s as if being unhappy is part of the package,” but it’s not “as if” that at all. It is part of the package.
Be resentful. Have a chip on your shoulder. Blame men for your problems. Act like a martyr. Pretend you’re oppressed.
It’s so sad, because women are (objectively speaking) enjoying the absolute best time to be alive ever in the history of the planet.
Pigweed and Crowhill addressed this a while ago: 154: P&C want women to be happy and safe
Can’t believe I’m putting a more positive spin on a Biden comment, but here goes….
is he really intending to promote the careerist thing, or is he doing the cheesy “all Dads think little girls shouldn’t grow up and have boyfriends ’til they’re 30” thing?
Not that that’s really much more positive, but I doubt he was intending to give serious life advice from a feminist perspective. Given his general style when going off-the-cuff, I think cheesy Dadisms are much more likely than gung-ho feminism.
Do all Dad think that? I’ve never heard of that idea before.
I think his brain is simply full of nonsense, and it leaks out from time to time.
But it’s hard to know with him. He recently said his son died in Iraq.
Obviously not all Dads think that, but it’s kind of a cultural joke that all Dads think that. It’s the same category of ha-ha joking as threatening your daughters’ boyfriends with shotguns just for showing up. It’s rather dumb but it’s pretty well permeated the culture. And it’s precisely the kind of thing I’d expect out of the guy who talks about “malarkey” and “dog-faced pony soldiers,” without being an expression of serious ideas about how women should plan their lives.
It’s never occurred to me that Dads think their daughters shouldn’t have serious boyfriends until they’re 30, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I just missed it.
In any event, it’s objectively bad advice.
How could it be bad advice when it wasn’t something that was seriously offered?It’s merely hyperbole.
Agreed. It’s not advice on any level, it’s a cheesy joke.
Surely Greg has seen those dumb “application to date my daughter” things, right? It’s just “humor” on that same level. I don’t believe Joe intended *anybody* to take it seriously or act on it.
Given the context, it doesn’t seem to be offered as serious life advice. I’d suggest it’s similar to how dad’s speak in situations like this (starting at 2:08)…
https://youtu.be/Kz6xAr4AsOg
QUOTE: Perhaps you’ve seen the video of Joe Biden doing his thing — putting his hands on a young girl from behind, getting too close (probably sniffing her hair, but that wasn’t obvious on the tape), and otherwise making the poor girl uncomfortable. We’re all used to that behavior. He’s a creepy old man.
It’s unfortunate the culture has gotten use to such behavior, especially when the country (children included) was exposed to a video of another president bragging about his treatment of women. He admitted that he “grabbed them by the pu**y” and “moved on her like a b*tch, but couldn’t get there, and she was married”. If Biden’s a creepy old man, what is Trump, given his unabashed, boastful confession?
QUOTE: But less attention is being paid to what he said. “No serious boyfriends until you’re 30.”
Having seen the video, it seemed the context was more of a light-hearted, throw-away comment, not serious life advice. This is a statement he’s made in other settings that have been interpreted as humorous and/or hyperbolic.
QUOTE: No wonder liberal women are so miserable.
Years of psychological research have suggested that people who are politically conservative are happier than their liberal counterparts. According to a new study published in Science, there may be no statistically significant happiness gap at all.
https://www.science.org/content/article/new-study-questions-trope-conservatives-are-happier-liberals
You should post under “Mr. Whataboutism.”
Once again, “whataboutism” used as a red-herring. 🙂 Kinda reminds me of the Sandburg quote…“If the facts are against you, argue the law. If the law is against you, argue the facts. If the law and the facts are against you, pound the table and yell like hell.”
QUOTE: But less attention is being paid to what he said. “No serious boyfriends until you’re 30.”
Here’s a video of Biden making the same comment during a visit to an elementary school…starting at 4:35. It seems to reinforce the notion that Biden isn’t offering serious life advice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BWcdwGQlRE
I haven’t personally met any of these miserable liberal women, but I am sure that they do exist, as miserable people come in all shapes and sizes. That said, I do personally know some extremely miserable conservative women who gorge themselves on the red meat that Fox feeds them – morning, noon, and night. I have an aunt who will brutally bite your head off if you challenge a single one of who of her pro-Trump talking points. In her book, I suppose, he knows where to grab ’em.
While I am inclined to think that Biden was engaging in a bit of hyperbole with the “no serious boyfriends until you’re 30,” I am generally opposed to the “one size fits all” approach to life. It all depends on who you are, what you can do, and what you want out of life. It’s entirely an individual thing. That crazy aunt of mine got married when she was 14 (that’s the South, I guess) and it didn’t do her any good.
Indeed misery comes in all political affiliations and genders. Yet, I think the point was more about general trends. That said, I question if such a trend legitimately exists and if so what causes it. It would be more convincing if conservative pundits were able to provide evidence that discontent is driven solely by political affiliation.
I agree that life guidance needs to be tailored to the individual. Yet, there’s also general guidelines that would be wise for all to consider. For instance, “if” a woman wants to have a family, it’s likely better to do that earlier in life than later. Yet, there are exceptions, and those should be considered individually, as necessary.
Lastly, a casual viewing would seem to indicate a fairly benign situation with Biden using hyperbole. Yet, some attempt to make more of it by associating it with “creepy” behavior and bad guidance. Interestingly, those that seem to find Biden’s behavior problematic, don’t seem to have the same reaction to our previous president’s behavior towards women. Many saw a video of “locker room” talk go viral. Yet, they seemed to embrace (almost celebrate) the notion of grabbing women by their genitals (see video link below). In fact, it became a fashion trend with some donning t-shirts inviting such a grab. As well, there have statements and t-shirts endorsed by this group about other women that said, “Hillary sucks but not like Monica”. A public statement calling a woman a “pig”. A revelation of an affair with stripper during the time his wife delivered their youngest son….even the details of him being “spanked” by her. Is that behavior considered “creepy” and/or a bad example? Maybe not, given it was mentioned previously that“we’re all use to that behavior”.
https://youtu.be/UixQ1dKMiAg
“If” a woman wants to have a family, it’s likely better to do that earlier in life than later. Sure, but in a lot of professions, it is also likely better to start pursuing it earlier than later. If a young woman such as Simone Biles wants to develop her talents as a gymnast, she really must start early. You don’t start training in that area when you are in your 30s. Also in a lot of areas you just won’t be taken seriously unless you gain expertise and credentials as early as possible. We need to scrap the presupposition that women are chiefly family-oriented and men are not. It goes without saying that such an option is open to all people, whatever their gender might be. Perhaps that was Biden’s point.
>We need to scrap the presupposition that women are chiefly family-oriented and men are not.
Why? What if it’s true that women are more interested in families than men? Are we supposed to pretend it’s not true to satisfy your ideology?
I am obviously not putting forth an ideology. That’s pure BS. A significant number of women are not interested in being family-oriented during their early adulthood. We all know that from experience, as we observe so many women pursuing careers in so many areas: law, business, academics, athletics, you name it. Accordingly we need to adjust to that reality. It goes without saying if they want to pursue the family option if they so choose.
QUOTE: What if it’s true that women are more interested in families than men?
Two studies comparing men’s and women’s desires to have children found that men expressed more interest…
The largest, most comprehensive national study of single Americans in 2011 surveyed over 5,000 participants and found 24 percent of single men without children under 18 said they wanted children, compared to 15 percent of women. A 2013 Associated Press-WE tv poll found more than 8 in 10 fathers surveyed said they always knew they wanted to have children, compared with about 7 in 10 mothers.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/men-want-kids-more-than-women-new-york-magazine-article-affirms-studies/
According to Pew Research…
Dads see parenting as central to their identity. Dads are just as likely as moms to say that parenting is extremely important to their identity. Some 57% of fathers said this in a 2015 survey by the Center, compared with 58% of mothers. Like moms, many dads also seem to appreciate the benefits of parenthood: 54% reported that parenting is rewarding all of the time, as did 52% of moms. Meanwhile, 46% of fathers and 41% of mothers said they find parenting enjoyable all of the time.
QUOTE: “If” a woman wants to have a family, it’s likely better to do that earlier in life than later. Sure, but in a lot of professions, it is also likely better to start pursuing it earlier than later.
I think we are in agreement. I added “there are exceptions, and those should be considered individually, as necessary”. So, for those women in professions you reference, they have to make individual choices about what’s of greater priority for them.
QUOTE: We need to scrap the presupposition that women are chiefly family-oriented and men are not.
It goes without saying that family-orientation is open to all people, whatever their gender might be.