Backlash: comparing opposition to Francis and Disney's Star Wars (part II)
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
I already explored how online critics of both the pope and the new Star Wars misread both old and new, as if the new sought to destroy the old. In this second part, I will explore how both movements use sexist rhetoric, what Pope Francis has said and done regarding women in the Church, and the origin of these internet backlashes in Gamergate.
Sexist backlash against Disney's Star Wars
Both opposition movements use a lot of sexist rhetoric. The new Star Wars movies have strong female leads. The main character, Rey, is a strong woman, and because she is made out to be a "nobody" in The Last Jedi, she is not defined in relation to a father. What enraged critics, though, was the portrayal of Luke Skywalker as a failed hero. They describe this depiction of him as "emasculating" (e.g.). A proper hero, a real man, would do what Luke mocks: fly out to the enemy with his laser sword and kill everybody! At the same time, Rey is attacked as being unrealistically over-powered, a "Mary Sue." This term is a way to denigrate powerful female characters in sci-fi/fantasy as female wish fulfillment. (See Princess Weekes, "What Exactly Is Wrong with a 'Mary Sue' Character,"). The sexist nature of this criticism is revealed by its female name and the fact that it's virtually never applied to unrealistically-powerful male characters, such as, for example, Luke Skywalker! Wanna talk about wish fulfillment? George Lucas literally named the hero of the story after himself.
In addition, in TLJ Poe leads a misguided insurrection against the leadership of a woman, Admiral Holdo. One of the themes of the film is "toxic masculinity." In the context of the movie, this includes the tendency of some men to be overconfident and presumptuous of their own supposed (non-existent) expertise, rejecting the authority of a knowledgeable woman expert. Poe seems to embody this here. However, in the end he learns his lesson (which the backlashers reject), as explained by Yoda: "Failure, the greatest teacher is." Ultimately, this allows him the opportunity to step into a greater leadership role.
Worst of all, the backlash wasn't confined to the galaxy far, far away; it spilled over onto the actresses themselves. First it was Daisy Ridley, who vowed never to return to social media. Then an intense hate campaign of sexism and racism was waged against Kelly Marie Tran, which drove her off social media as well (read her thoughts here). In addition, attacks against Disney's Star Wars villify Kathleen Kennedy, the president of Lucasfilm (e.g.). The original male creator was succeeded by a woman, God forbid!
Pope Francis and the "feminization" of the Church
Francis's online critics love to say he has "feminized" the Church. This rhetoric predates Francis; it was used against the reforms of Vatican II. As Francis represents the personification of Vatican II, "feminization" rhetoric has been dialed up. The most prominent example of it came in the form of an interview with (you guessed it!) Cardinal Burke for the blog The New eMANgelization (*cringe*). Among other things, Burke said men now feel "very marginalized" in the Catholic Church. (How someone can say this with a straight face about a Church in which the all-male clergy hold nearly all the power, I have no idea.) The idea is that post-Vatican II liturgical worship is inherently "feminine." A new article from Crisis makes this point. The author gives a wish list of traditional practices (ad orientem, preconciliar hymns, and silence before Mass), which he declares to be "manly."
Part of the "feminization" narrative is that, rather than fighting homosexuality within the priesthood, Pope Francis has emboldened it with his outreach toward gays and the "Who Am I to Judge?" heard round the world (see part 1). They see homosexuality as inherently emasculating. This is rooted in their conception of sexual roles: it is manly to penetrate and feminine to be penetrated. Gay men are unmanly and therefore shameful. By offering a loving welcome to LGBT people, Francis is further "feminizing" the Church. That same article makes the gay/effeminate connection to post-Vatican II liturgical practice and architecture, claiming they appeal only to gay men!
Even worse, Francis's critics view his focus on mercy and compassion as "feminizing" (e.g., this bizarre rant). All this talk about mercy is just a bunch of wish-washy pansy stuff, not the tough, masculine, muscular Christianity that today's men crave (again, see the Crisis article)! This thinking is so off-base it shows that an ideological fixation on "manliness" can verge off towards heresy. Mercy is an attribute of God and the very center of the Christian faith. Francis said it well when he coined the expression that the Incarnation of the Son of God began "a revolution of tendnerness" (e.g.) As God commands in the Bible, we must take care of the poor, vulnerable, and marginalized. If Francis's critics do not see this, then they do not see Christ (Matt 25:31-46)! It is not for nothing that the pope likes to repeat that the Church is feminine (e.g.). His favorite image of the Church is Mother, who welcomes her wayward children unconditionally (e.g.). So perhaps the Church ought to be "feminized," if that means the Church should be more and more compassionate and merciful. We should, however, be careful about gendered language here: to protect and help the weak is also a masculine virtue! Think of St. Joseph. All Christians, both and female, must imitate the example of Christ, who compared himself to a mother hen (Matt 23:37).
Pope Francis has frequently called for an increase in the influence of women in the Church (e.g.). He has appointed more women than ever before to positions within the Roman curia, though, it should be noted, none heads a dicastery, and he has rejected calls to appoint women as cardinals. Just today, for the first time ever, he appointed a woman to a mangerial position in the Vatican's Secretariat of State. In addition, he has opened a commission to study the possibility of ordaining women deacons. If "feminizing" the Church means putting more women into its administrative structures, then he is guilty as charged!
The critics take it as self-evident that bringing more women into the Church's decision-making processes and ministries is bad (just as it was apparently bad to put more strong women in Star Wars). Indeed, foremost among their complaints is the presence of women and girls in the sanctuary, something authorized by St. John Paul II. "What man would wish to be among all those women, or what boy among all those girls!?" they shout (again, that article!). Well, that says all you need to know about their attitude, doesn't it?
Gamergate: the mother of sexist internet backlash
Where did all this concentrated, organized, internet misogyny come from? Sexism predates the internet, but the various online, sexist backlashes can be traced to a definite origin: Gamergate. This was the first time that sexist forces coalesced on the internet into a quasi-organized movement. It is documented in the book Kill All Normies how this movement became the basis for the political collaboration of very-online sexists and racists, i.e., the alt-right. Gamergate was directed against women in the video-game industry, but it has since been directed against the all-female Ghosbusters reboot, Star Trek: Discovery (which starred two women of color), Disney Star Wars, and no doubt many other things. The best illustration of its intersection with Catholic traditionalism is that Taylor Marshall, a leading online trad (who gained notoriety by talking about the "feminization" of seminarians making gingerbread houses), has come out as a Star Wars "Jedivacantist" (punning on sedevacantism, the belief that Pius XII was the last true pope):
His compatriot Timothy Gordon makes the anti-feminist angle explicit.
They know who their audience is. Denunciations of the Church as "gay," "emasculated," and "feminized" are no coincidence. It is a deliberate attempt to fit Catholic traditionalism into the Gamergate, alt-right phenomenon. It has been radicalized.
In my final post, I will look at the tactics that the critics use, specifically appealing to a previous, living authority, and extensive use of social media to influence public opinion.
I already explored how online critics of both the pope and the new Star Wars misread both old and new, as if the new sought to destroy the old. In this second part, I will explore how both movements use sexist rhetoric, what Pope Francis has said and done regarding women in the Church, and the origin of these internet backlashes in Gamergate.
Sexist backlash against Disney's Star Wars
In addition, in TLJ Poe leads a misguided insurrection against the leadership of a woman, Admiral Holdo. One of the themes of the film is "toxic masculinity." In the context of the movie, this includes the tendency of some men to be overconfident and presumptuous of their own supposed (non-existent) expertise, rejecting the authority of a knowledgeable woman expert. Poe seems to embody this here. However, in the end he learns his lesson (which the backlashers reject), as explained by Yoda: "Failure, the greatest teacher is." Ultimately, this allows him the opportunity to step into a greater leadership role.
Worst of all, the backlash wasn't confined to the galaxy far, far away; it spilled over onto the actresses themselves. First it was Daisy Ridley, who vowed never to return to social media. Then an intense hate campaign of sexism and racism was waged against Kelly Marie Tran, which drove her off social media as well (read her thoughts here). In addition, attacks against Disney's Star Wars villify Kathleen Kennedy, the president of Lucasfilm (e.g.). The original male creator was succeeded by a woman, God forbid!
Pope Francis and the "feminization" of the Church
Francis's online critics love to say he has "feminized" the Church. This rhetoric predates Francis; it was used against the reforms of Vatican II. As Francis represents the personification of Vatican II, "feminization" rhetoric has been dialed up. The most prominent example of it came in the form of an interview with (you guessed it!) Cardinal Burke for the blog The New eMANgelization (*cringe*). Among other things, Burke said men now feel "very marginalized" in the Catholic Church. (How someone can say this with a straight face about a Church in which the all-male clergy hold nearly all the power, I have no idea.) The idea is that post-Vatican II liturgical worship is inherently "feminine." A new article from Crisis makes this point. The author gives a wish list of traditional practices (ad orientem, preconciliar hymns, and silence before Mass), which he declares to be "manly."
Part of the "feminization" narrative is that, rather than fighting homosexuality within the priesthood, Pope Francis has emboldened it with his outreach toward gays and the "Who Am I to Judge?" heard round the world (see part 1). They see homosexuality as inherently emasculating. This is rooted in their conception of sexual roles: it is manly to penetrate and feminine to be penetrated. Gay men are unmanly and therefore shameful. By offering a loving welcome to LGBT people, Francis is further "feminizing" the Church. That same article makes the gay/effeminate connection to post-Vatican II liturgical practice and architecture, claiming they appeal only to gay men!
Even worse, Francis's critics view his focus on mercy and compassion as "feminizing" (e.g., this bizarre rant). All this talk about mercy is just a bunch of wish-washy pansy stuff, not the tough, masculine, muscular Christianity that today's men crave (again, see the Crisis article)! This thinking is so off-base it shows that an ideological fixation on "manliness" can verge off towards heresy. Mercy is an attribute of God and the very center of the Christian faith. Francis said it well when he coined the expression that the Incarnation of the Son of God began "a revolution of tendnerness" (e.g.) As God commands in the Bible, we must take care of the poor, vulnerable, and marginalized. If Francis's critics do not see this, then they do not see Christ (Matt 25:31-46)! It is not for nothing that the pope likes to repeat that the Church is feminine (e.g.). His favorite image of the Church is Mother, who welcomes her wayward children unconditionally (e.g.). So perhaps the Church ought to be "feminized," if that means the Church should be more and more compassionate and merciful. We should, however, be careful about gendered language here: to protect and help the weak is also a masculine virtue! Think of St. Joseph. All Christians, both and female, must imitate the example of Christ, who compared himself to a mother hen (Matt 23:37).
Pope Francis has frequently called for an increase in the influence of women in the Church (e.g.). He has appointed more women than ever before to positions within the Roman curia, though, it should be noted, none heads a dicastery, and he has rejected calls to appoint women as cardinals. Just today, for the first time ever, he appointed a woman to a mangerial position in the Vatican's Secretariat of State. In addition, he has opened a commission to study the possibility of ordaining women deacons. If "feminizing" the Church means putting more women into its administrative structures, then he is guilty as charged!
The critics take it as self-evident that bringing more women into the Church's decision-making processes and ministries is bad (just as it was apparently bad to put more strong women in Star Wars). Indeed, foremost among their complaints is the presence of women and girls in the sanctuary, something authorized by St. John Paul II. "What man would wish to be among all those women, or what boy among all those girls!?" they shout (again, that article!). Well, that says all you need to know about their attitude, doesn't it?
Gamergate: the mother of sexist internet backlash
Where did all this concentrated, organized, internet misogyny come from? Sexism predates the internet, but the various online, sexist backlashes can be traced to a definite origin: Gamergate. This was the first time that sexist forces coalesced on the internet into a quasi-organized movement. It is documented in the book Kill All Normies how this movement became the basis for the political collaboration of very-online sexists and racists, i.e., the alt-right. Gamergate was directed against women in the video-game industry, but it has since been directed against the all-female Ghosbusters reboot, Star Trek: Discovery (which starred two women of color), Disney Star Wars, and no doubt many other things. The best illustration of its intersection with Catholic traditionalism is that Taylor Marshall, a leading online trad (who gained notoriety by talking about the "feminization" of seminarians making gingerbread houses), has come out as a Star Wars "Jedivacantist" (punning on sedevacantism, the belief that Pius XII was the last true pope):
They know who their audience is. Denunciations of the Church as "gay," "emasculated," and "feminized" are no coincidence. It is a deliberate attempt to fit Catholic traditionalism into the Gamergate, alt-right phenomenon. It has been radicalized.
In my final post, I will look at the tactics that the critics use, specifically appealing to a previous, living authority, and extensive use of social media to influence public opinion.
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