Letterman Vs. Palin Who Is Right

First of all, here are the jokes in question (courtesy of Fox News):

Letterman, in his monologue Monday night, noted that the 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate attended a Yankees game during a trip to New York City, where she was honored by a special needs group. Letterman referred to Palin, Alaska's governor, as having the style of a "slutty flight attendant."

"One awkward moment for Sarah Palin at the Yankee game," Letterman said, "during the seventh inning, her daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez."

Letterman defended the Jokes by saying he was referring to her 18yr old and not her 14yr old daughter. I'm afraid that is not much of a defense. Is an 18yr woman a fair target of a such a joke? Maybe, Maybe not. But here is the real problem: The jokes assume that women are to be understood in terms of their looks and their sexual appeal; it is this that is the real problem.

That Gov. Palin is the target is irrelevant. All of Letterman's jokes centered on Palin's looks and the sexual appealingness of her daughter. Women, in the world of these jokes, look "pretty" or "slutty" and are basically there to provide men sexual satisfaction. That is sexism, plain and simple.

Now it would be wrong of us simply to blame Letterman, as if this were some aberration. The truth of the matter is that our society constantly portrays women this way. In film, in song, in advertisement, women are portrayed as sex objects who are there to "look good." Letterman's jokes reveal the sexism of our society at large, not merely the personal failings of David Letterman.

And so, though I can't stand the woman, I'm forced to agree with Gov. Palin that Letterman's jokes were inappropriate. But I hasten to add what the Governor and Letterman show no awareness of, the degree of sexism and even misogyny that is rampant in our society. This issue desperately needs to be addressed.