20 Bucks and Backdoor Sexism

-- by Micheal

There is campaign afoot to replace Andrew Jackson's image on the twenty dollar bill with the image of a woman -- any woman. Apparently, it doesn't matter who, at this point.

Senator Shaheen has jumped on this bandwagon. This issue may be less substantial than the ill-fated Red-Tailed Hawk legislation on the Trite & Trivial scale. Given all the issues this nation has to grapple with, any effort spent on such triviality is proof of shirking.

The fact that the campaign does not care who the woman might be, is proof of sexism. It only has to be a woman to satisfy them. If what really matters is her sex, it's sexism. The fact that they're rooting for the pink team instead of the blue, doesn't change it.

Associate professor Stephen Mihum had an editorial in the Union Leader on this issue. He was just as sexist in his rooting for the pink team. Like a good academic, he cited history. Images of women had appeared on our money before, albeit in allegorical form (Lady Liberty, Columbia, etc.). He snarked at the fact that such allegories were young and shapely, implying that men liked the designs for libidinal reasons only. Stereotyping, anyone? Real women, apparently, cannot be young or shapely.

Allegorical women weren't enough. Mihum pointed out how real women's images had also appeared on money before too -- Susan B. Anthony, Sacagawea -- but that wasn't enough either. No explanation was offered for why.

Mihum's primary criticism for why Jackson, or any other former president, should have their image on our money, is because they are "dead white men". Academics have a particular dislike for dead white men -- perhaps because they can't fight back.

Once again, the deciding factor was gender. Jackson should be out because he's a man. He's being voted off the island because of his sex and nothing else. Why isn't this sexism?

The bottom line? Sexism is perfectly acceptable, as long as you're rooting for the pink team.