Lace Curtain (lang)

Arne Hoffmann, Saturday, 19.01.2002, 20:21 (vor 8724 Tagen) @ plupp

Als Antwort auf: kleine frage von plupp am 19. Januar 2002 16:22:45:

der begriff "Lace Curtain" sagt mir nix. kannst du mir den näher erklären/übersetzen?

Gern.

LACE CURTAIN
(wörtlich: "Spitzenvorhang")
Bezeichnung der US-amerikanischen Männerbewegung für die vor allem Anfang der neunziger Jahre bestehende Weigerung der Medien, die Bücher und Themen der Männerbewegung aufzugreifen, insbesondere wenn es sich dabei um Feminismuskritik handelte. Entsprechende Titel wurden einfach nicht rezensiert und in der Berichterstattung verschwiegen.

Zum Durchbrechen des Lace Curtains führten
a) die Einführung des Internets, die es vielen Männern möglich machte, trotz dieser Pressezensur zu erfahren, dass andere Männer ihre Meinungen und Anliegen teilten, woraus sich eine wachsende Männerbewegung etablierte, die sich schließlich auch gegenüber Journalisten bemerkbar machen konnte
b) eine wachsende Zahl feminismuskritischer Titel von Frauen, insbesondere von früheren oder noch jetzigen Feministinnen; diese wurden - wenn auch anfangs sehr kritisch - dann doch besprochen
c) die lautstarken Proteste der Frauenbewegung gegen bestimmte Veröffentlichungen, die wiederum das Interesse der Medien erzeugten. Von den Studien von Straus/Gelles/Steinmetz über männliche Opfer häuslicher Gewalt Anfang der Achtziger hätte die Öffentlichkeit nie so schnell erfahren, wenn Feministinnen nicht dagegen Stimmung gemacht hätten.

Unter http://users.erols.com/jkammer/nieman.html lesen wir ferner:

--- Some argue that, besides protecting women by punishing their critics, the Lace Curtain attempts to protect women by silencing their critics before they even have a chance to criticize. In an extensive analysis of bias at the New York Times Book Review, John Ellis, literary editor of Heterodoxy, claims that pro-feminist books are "protected by assigning them to ideological clones of their author," thus protecting them from negative attack. "How do you ensure a respectful review of feminist eminence Gloria Steinem's Revolution From Within? Since Steinem is the former editor of Ms., the book goes to Dierdre English, former editor of Mother Jones: a close match. Susan Faludi's Backlash is the work of a journalist with a sour view of any criticism of feminism, so let's find another like her: the equally sour Ellen Goodman." Others within the media have also noted a corollary trend: books by those who criticize feminism or who write favorably about men seem to be given either highly negative reviews (Christina Hoff Sommers' Who Stole Feminism) or not reviewed at all (Jack Kammer's Good Will Toward Men, and Warren Farrell's The Myth of Male Power, for example.) ---

Siehe dazu auch die sehr ausführliche Schilderung des internationalen Männerrechtlers Nummer 1, Warren Farrell: "THE LACE CURTAIN. Why don't we hear of men's issues in the media? Why aren't there more men's books?" unter http://www.vix.com/menmag/lacecur1.htm

Schlüsselsätze daraus:

- "Ironically, because we didn’t know men’s stories were being left out, the more we heard from women the more we thought we’d been neglecting women."

- "The Iron Curtain shut out opinions considered a threat to Communism. The Lace Curtain shuts out opinions considered a threat to feminism. In an Iron Curtain country, capitalist-bashing was the norm. In a Lace Curtain country, man-bashing is the norm. The chapter on man bashing hopefully made clear the degree to which man bashing is the norm; this chapter on the lace curtain shows us how each institution, from the government to the school system, from the helping professions to the media, produces that outcome, each in its own unique way. In an Iron Curtain country, being too critical of core Communist tenets could cost you your job. Especially if your job was in the government, media or education system. In a Lace Curtain country, being too critical of core feminist attitudes (sexual harassment, affirmative action) can cost you your job. Especially if your job is in the government, media or education system."

- "Which institutions create the lace curtain? Universities, in all the liberal arts, especially at the top-ranked schools; the school system, especially public high schools; government, especially at the national and United Nations level; the media, especially print media and television; the helping professions, especially social work; advertising, especially on television; book publishing, especially self-help and text books; funding institutions, especially those funding health, arts, and university research. Each institution censors and distorts in its own unique way. Each reinforces the other like academics citing each other’s research."

- As I listen to the stories of authors who have tried to articulate men’s issues, I hear one experience of censorship after another. Some I will share, but many authors who are published or still have hopes of being published, are afraid to be mentioned – "I’m afraid people will assume the real reason is that my work is inferior"; "I’m afraid it will be seen as sour grapes"; "I’m afraid people will say my book didn’t sell well and that’s why I’m so angry"; "I’m afraid...."

- Und aus seiner eigenen Erfahrung: "As long as I was writing from a feminist perspective, The New York Times published everything I wrote. Once I began questioning the feminist perspective, The New York Times published NOTHING I wrote – not a single one of the more than twenty articles I have since submitted to them in the following two decades."

- Warum Farrell nie im US-Fernsehen auftreten durfte, erklärte ihm ein Programmmacher so: "We wanted to have a balanced show, so we called a couple of feminists – big names – to be on with you. Instead of just refusing, they said in effect, ‘If you have this guy on, don’t expect us to bring our next book to you, or supply you with real-life examples to use on your show – we’ll do that just for Oprah.’ Another one used the moral appeal – something like, ‘Feminism is opposed to rape and the battering of women; so, if you have him on, you’d better take responsibility for making women even more vulnerable.’ Once the word got out that we were considering you, we got other calls, even one from a guy, sort of repeating the same mantra."

Eigentlich muss man die ganze Site lesen, vor allem auch: "How the Lace Curtain Works: The Eight Step Plan" Wenn man diesen Text studiert hat, weiß man, warum beispielsweise "Report" in einer Sendung, die sich mit dem Feminismus auseinandersetzen soll, ausschließlich der Alice-Schwarzer-Clique Raum gibt, aber keinem einzigen Kritiker. (Oder warum es über Jahre hinweg unmöglich war, mein Buch zu veröffentlichen.) Der Ausdruck "Lace Curtain" steht bezeichnend für die totalitäre Zensur durch die feministische Ideologie wie kein anderer.