Dianne Feinstein tells Putin to man up, isn’t this a sexist phrase?

 Today Dianne Feinstein had a stern message for Vladimir Putin in the wake of the downed Malaysian passenger plane. Here is what she had to say: 

“The issue is: where is Putin? I would say, Putin, you have to man up. You should talk to the world. You should say this was a mistake, if it was a mistake.”

  I find her usage of the phrase ‘man up’ to be interesting because it seems to be sexist, according to Wiktionary the term means “to be a man about it”; to do the things a good man is traditionally expected to do, such as: taking responsibility for the consequences of one’s actions; displaying bravery or toughness in the face of adversity; providing for one’s family, etc.”

  In today’s politically correct America that seems like a sexist comment to me, especially considering the movement in many states–including California–to use more gender-neutral expressions; after all can not a woman also take responsibility for her actions, display bravery or toughness in the face of adversity, and provide for her family?

  So I did a little research and what I found was quite interesting.

  In an article from The Guardian entitled ‘Why it’s not OK to ‘man up‘ comes this:

Cameron and Osborne are being exhorted to act tough, but why must the language of power be so masculine?

Accused of being a “bit sexist” on twitter by @mrirvingclarke, @HarrietHarman tweeted: “I agree. Couldn’t think of alternative!” So why has this phrase become the one politicians reach for to tell someone to get tough?

However, the use of the phrase to mean “be a man” is relatively new. As Deborah Cameron, a feminist linguist at Oxford University, says: “It’s a new expression, but not a new thought. The idea relates to ancient stereotypes about what it means to be a man.” But, she points out, “There might be a reason for being hard, tough and unemotional when going to face death. But there’s not such a good reason in politics.”

When asked by the Guardian to explain her use of the phrase, Harman (once dubbed “Harperson” for her desire to end sexist language) blamed the fact that the language of power is masculine. “I expressed what I wanted to say but not in a way I wanted to say it … I have tried to find a gender-neutral term and I just can’t.”

  It would appear this has been a controversy of sorts in the past so I did a little more digging and I ended up at a website called Americans Against the Tea Party (of all places) where I read an article entitled ‘Six Common Sexist Phrases We Should Stop Using.’ This article listed the top six sexist and anti-LBGT phrases, here they are in inverse order:

6: “Tranny”

5: “That’s so gay”

4: “No homo”

3: “Bitch”

2: “Don’t be a pussy”

  And number 1? Well, you guessed it: “man up”

  It is pretty clear to me after reading these left-leaning websites that the term ‘man up’ is an antiquated, offensive, and insensitive term demeaning to womanhood so I fully expect to hear leaders in the feminist movement speak up and rally against Dianne Feinstein’s war on women. And I will be waiting for her apology, although I will not be holding my breath waiting for either to happen…