Another one to file under "This shit is bananas."
Two male, Republican members of the House of Representatives from North Dakota — Bernie Satrom and Vernon Laning — made some stunningly insensitive comments while arguing for the state's Blue Laws, which require some businesses to open later and others to stay closed on Sundays.
Rep. Satrom said Sundays are for "spending time with your wife, your husband... Making him breakfast, bringing it to him in bed, and then after that go take your kids for a walk," Valley News Live reported.
"Bringing it to him in bed." Okay. Moving right along.
Rep. Laning chimed in, using the opportunity to invoke an old sexist stereotype. "I don’t know about you, but my wife has no problem spending everything I earn in six-and-a-half days," he said. "And I don’t think it hurts at all to have a half day off." We wish we could say he said this during a poker game with his buddies, but nope! It was on the floor of the United States Congress.
Valley News Live asked some North Dakota residents what they thought about these statements. One young woman said: "It's frustrating personally because when you know those are the people representing you and you don't feel like you're being represented and those kind of backwards ways of thinking are still present, it's really, it's upsetting." That's exactly how we feel.
Rep. Laning said it was all meant to be a joke and that people shouldn't take it personally. Lighten up. Have a sense of humour!
It's not funny or okay. Men have been telling us to "have a sense of humour" about comments like these for years, but they're not just words. They betray what kind of a society we live in. This kind of language from our representatives is a slippery slope to the '50s, and it makes women feel like male politicians aren't taking us or our policy concerns seriously. Everyone should know better — but our elected officials should definitely know better.
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