Hurricane Harvey has been battering southern Texas and made its second landfall in southwest Louisiana on Wednesday and moved on to east of Houston on Thursday. The tropical depression has left at least 30 dead in its wake. Even as rescue efforts are underway, many took to social media to document the situation.
In the midst of this, Matt Walsh, a conservative blogger tweeted a picture of a man carrying a woman who was cradling a baby. The accompanying tweet read, “Woman cradles and protects child. Man carries and protects both. This is how it ought to be, despite what your gender studies professor says.”
Woman cradles and protects child. Man carries and protects both. This is how it ought to be, despite what your gender studies professor says pic.twitter.com/oX85v67FaY
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) August 28, 2017
The sexist tweet earned plenty of flak on Twitter, with many people taking offence to Matt turning an instance of courage in the face of calamity into a sexist agenda.
Can we not just appreciate a kind gesture from a gentleman WITHOUT making it a gender issue?
— Sara Denman (@sara_elizzy548) August 28, 2017
Just saw a female police officer rescuing and carrying 2 children. @MattWalshBlog should she have waited for a man?
— Crafty Gurl (@craftyguru) August 29, 2017
Oh so let's say a man is hurt, should I not protect him and carry him to safety because that's not how it "ought" to be?
— Hanna Fridén (@HannaFriden) August 29, 2017
In fact, Matt's tweet inspired plenty of memes too.
BEAR CRADLES AND PROTECTS WOMAN. HAIR PRODUCT PROTECTS BOTH. THIS IS HOW IT OUGHT TO BE, DESPITE WHAT BEAR/SHAMPOO HATERS THINK. pic.twitter.com/IB0a9boX0b
— Morty Heureuse (@BNick) August 29, 2017
Hodor cradles and protects child. Coldhands carries and protects both. This is how it ought to be, despite what your maester says. pic.twitter.com/ICtRhUP1Uz
— Seb Krantz (@SebKrantz) August 29, 2017
Woman cradles and protects child. Man carries and protects both. This is how it ought to be, despite what your gender studies professor says pic.twitter.com/ZGAq7tNMuB
— end of line (@exdli) August 29, 2017
student cradles and protects master. the force protects both. this is how it ought to be, despite what the empire/sith lords say pic.twitter.com/IJ0yKSBXeB
— large marge (@legsmcgeephoto) August 30, 2017
The best response however came from a gender studies professor herself. Christina Wolbrecht quoted Matt’s tweet and said, “I was going to stick with sarcasm but as an actual gender studies prof, there's just so much to unpack here, I can't help myself.”
She then went on to rip apart Matt’s argument for gender status quo in a well-articulated Twitter thread.
Christina began with gendered division of labour and how women’s work (care and upbringing) remains unpaid and underappreciated even though it is necessary for human flourishing. She also talks about how we want women to continue doing this work without supporting them institutionally and economically.
Care work (for children, infirm, elderly) is necessary for human flourishing & has been traditionally performed by women for free, which 2/
— Christina Wolbrecht (@C_Wolbrecht) August 29, 2017
contributes to women's lesser financial & politics power. As care work has moved into the market, it remains poorly paid & overwhelmingly 3/
— Christina Wolbrecht (@C_Wolbrecht) August 29, 2017
female, which again makes women more vulnerable. We to laud a woman "cradling her child" but don't provide paid maternity leave or 5/
— Christina Wolbrecht (@C_Wolbrecht) August 29, 2017
support quality childcare & good pay/benefits for childcare workers (women, immigrants). But wait! There's more! 6/
— Christina Wolbrecht (@C_Wolbrecht) August 29, 2017
Christina pointed out how gendering certain jobs is bad for men too. Men hesitate to take up jobs in the care sector believing them to be feminine and because they are low paying. Hitting the nail on the head, she says that the “value of work - holding the baby or carrying the mother” should be acknowledged and rewarded regardless of who does it.
As budgets for care work (mental health, health care) have been cut, a lot of that work has shifted to agencies like police & fire, who 7/
— Christina Wolbrecht (@C_Wolbrecht) August 29, 2017
often lack training & capacity, and result in troubling outcomes. At same time, economists note that a central challenge to male workers 8/
— Christina Wolbrecht (@C_Wolbrecht) August 29, 2017
is skills mismatch - men reluctant to take jobs in expanding care sector, partly bc jobs are "female", partly bc they are low paying, low 9/
— Christina Wolbrecht (@C_Wolbrecht) August 29, 2017
prestige (bc their "women's jobs"). IN SUM your rigid and illogical sexual division of labor, & related hierarchy of value, hurts both 10/
— Christina Wolbrecht (@C_Wolbrecht) August 29, 2017
women & men, the US economy, & the flourishing of society as a whole. The value of work - holding the baby or carrying the mother - 11/
— Christina Wolbrecht (@C_Wolbrecht) August 29, 2017
should be recognized & rewarded, no matter who performs it. Given how much care is needed, all hands on deck. /end for now
— Christina Wolbrecht (@C_Wolbrecht) August 29, 2017
Phew. Christina certainly owned that debate and other respondents on the thread seemed to agree too.
Me reading your thread: pic.twitter.com/RHlNVGE9Iz
— Eric Haywood (@EricHaywood) August 29, 2017
— Kar En (@tumblemouseuk) August 30, 2017
I read this thread like... pic.twitter.com/0o1Id8D5ux
— Gayer Thn Thou (@Gayer_Than_Thou) August 30, 2017