Woman dies in tragic accident, feminist blogger tries to make it all about sexism

femdelusion · 2013-08-04T11:09:19+00:00

You've missed the worst article by L.V. Anderson ("Assistant editor at Slate. My interests include food, feminism, and fun.") This one was deeply concerning. I'd say it should be used as an example in critical thinking classes to demonstrate the dangers of ideology:

[Quoting the AP report]A 35-year-old media executive on a first date plunged to her death Thursday after the railing on her 17th-floor New York City balcony gave way, police said. Jennifer Rosoff went outside for a cigarette around 12:50 a.m. when she either sat on the railing or leaned on it. Her date told her that she probably shouldn't do it, and then moments later, she apparently fell backward and landed on construction scaffolding at the first floor, authorities said. Police spoke to the man and no foul play was suspected.

Let’s break this down. According to the AP, the crucial facts you need to know about Rosoff right off the bat are that:

She was 35 and single.

She was a smoker.

She invited a man back to her apartment late at night on a first date.

The man warned her not to lean against the balcony, but she did it anyway.

The implication being that this smoking slut totally had it coming. A reader is left with the distinct impression that if Rosoff hadn’t invited her date inside, hadn’t gone outside to smoke a cigarette, and hadn’t defied the advice of the wise and logical man she was with, she would still be alive. According to the AP story’s subtext, the problem wasn’t that Rosoff’s balcony railing was shoddy and unsafe—it was that Rosoff defied gender norms by being unmarried at 35, by being sexually liberal, and by insisting on making her own decisions instead of deferring to men’s logic.

So let's go through the 4 details:

Both necessary details you'd need given that someone else was there to witness it. An obvious fact to point out is the relationship of the person to the victim.
Which explains what she was doing. Again, a necessary detail.
Well, that wasn't in the paragraph quoted. But again, pointing out he's a 'date' is a necessary detail given that he witnessed the tragic event and his relationship to her needs clarification.
This is recounting the witness's account. Obviously, it's newsworthy because it plays up the tragedy he must have experienced. It makes the story more compelling.

All of these mundane explanations are readily available to Anderson as presumably someone with some familiarity with how journalism works. Anderson ignores them utterly, reading magical 'implications' that are only there once you make massive logical leaps informed by ideology.

Moreover, there is an 'angle' in the AP report, as can be seen from the subsequent paragraphs:

The gray brick high-rise building on Manhattan's Upper East Side was built before World War II. Only the higher-floor corner apartments have balconies, and the city's buildings department ordered residents to stay off them.

A photo of the corner balcony of the apartment where Rosoff lived shows the top two metal railings bent down in a V-shape. Buildings officials took part of the broken railing to examine how it could have given way and plan to determine whether the other balconies are structurally sound.

The 'angle' here is that of the safety of relatively old buildings. If anything, the article is doing precisely the opposite of what's suggested - blaming the victim. It's actually saying something more along the lines of "Sitting on railings should be safe. There must be something wrong with the railings." I have to say, that was my first thought. I wondered if the railings slipped or something.

Anderson's piece isn't even 'overreacting' as she anticipates the response to the piece might be; it's just reading whatever the fuck you want into what you're examining. You may as well put on red sunglasses and declare that everything is red for all the validity of this article.

rebuildingMyself · 2013-08-04T08:44:03+00:00

Feminism: Never let a good crisis go to waste.

2013-08-04T10:53:39+00:00

So the man this woman was with told her to not lean against the rail just before she fell and that makes it a gender issue? God the feminist bloggers are getting desperate now aren't they?

Man: I wouldn't walk into that road full of speeding traffic

Woman: Oh shut up, I do what I want you sexist pi...

2013-08-04T08:16:56+00:00

Absolutely disgusting. A person died, and she decides to cash in on their death to get attention. Disgusting.

2013-08-04T09:35:17+00:00

just let her do her thing.. she wont know her limits and finally will collapse on its own

phatstjohn · 2013-08-04T14:27:44+00:00

A reader is left with the distinct impression that if [Jennifer] Rosoff hadn’t invited her date inside, hadn’t gone outside to smoke a cigarette, and hadn’t defied the advice of the wise and logical man she was with, she would still be alive.

"Um, hey, maybe you shouldn't lean on the railing like that. We're pretty high up."

Shut up, you chauvanist pig! How dare you give me advice! Rape! Raaaaaaape!

2013-08-04T15:08:31+00:00

He must've been rail shaming her.

bl1y · 2013-08-04T12:11:54+00:00

How dare you make me agree with Ann Althouse.

gsettle · 2013-08-04T13:01:25+00:00

Rationalization is the most devilish human characteristic of all. With enough thought you can rationalize anything. Twisting a story so it's real meaning is sexist....no problem!

5th_Law_of_Robotics · 2013-08-04T16:32:54+00:00

it was that Rosoff defied gender norms by being unmarried at 35, by being sexually liberal, and by insisting on making her own decisions instead of deferring to men’s logic.

Which is ridiculous of course. Clearly leaning against that railing was a good idea and her female empowerment cushioned her fall.

2013-08-04T18:03:25+00:00

Ah fuck it I will ask. Who's fault is it that now?

2013-08-04T21:43:59+00:00

I saw the story she's talking about a day or two ago, and at no point did I ever think anything gender-related.

Does she honestly think that this story wouldn't have made the news if it had been a man, and woman had told him it was a bad idea? It totally would have.

It made the news not because a single woman who smoked died through an accident she caused, but because a PERSON died literally seconds after being warned of the danger and then, with bravado, ignored the danger that then immediately claimed their life. Only through the eyes of a feminist brainwashed into seeing 'patriarchy' around every corner would gender politics come into this.

The man Rosoff had been with ran outside repeatedly screaming, "Oh my God," according to a witness.

"He was hysterical. He was in shock," said another witness who spoke with the man.

Oh yes. So patriarchal. They truly portrayed him as a strong, rational man. Shit, they used the word hysterical. In the funhouse mirror view of feminism, isn't that comparing him to a woman?

2013-08-05T13:34:01+00:00

He tried to mansplain the danger of leaning on weak railings to her.

She was strong and independent so she didn't listen.

Ghostwalker8 · 2013-08-04T12:19:47+00:00

It sucks this lady died, but I don't really feel bad. It's stupid that she leaned against a railing 17 fucking stories up. Anyone with a hint of common sense should be able to think "Woah fuck I'm really high up. I should probably take caution to make sure I don't fall."

Title	Woman dies in tragic accident, feminist blogger tries to make it all about sexism
Author	EvilPundit
Upvotes	35
Comments	19
Date	August 4, 2013 4:47 AM UTC (12 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/1jnz6h/woman_dies_in_tragic_accident_feminist_blogger/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/woman-dies-in-tragic-accident-feminist-blogger.1167246 https://theredarchive.com/post/1167246

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