For those of you who haven’t seen it yet, the Huffington Post has graced us all with a hilarious new short video featuring “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” actress Kristen Bell that decries sexism and the infamous “wage gap” in America, backhandedly slamming businesses for not being more accommodating to their female employees.
But what’s hilarious about the video isn’t its message, or its presentation. Both of those are actually quite demeaning.
What’s hilarious is that Bell, like so much of the Left, relies on debunked myths and a colorful variety of straw man arguments to back up her claims of misogyny. And when even the most shallow, baseless “facts” can’t be found, she kind of just… well… makes stuff up.
First, here's the video:
Let's dissect this pile of sexist excrement claim-by-claim.
1. Bell claims that employers “only have to pay women 77 cents on the dollar.”
Seriously, if I had a dollar for every time I’ve had to explain this, I’d out-earn everyone on the planet – male and female.
Simply put, this claim is bull. The myth of the 78 percent wage gap comes from twisted statistics that ignore all kinds of variables, basically like comparing apples to cruise ships. Factors like education levels and choices, weekly hours worked and years of professional experience – all of which differ dramatically between men and women, categorically – are never taken into account. As Forbes contributor Karin Agness (a woman, gasp!) explains here, arriving at this “$.78 for every dollar” nonsense requires comparing a woman with a bachelor's degree who works 35 hours with a man with a master's who works 40, then complaining because they aren’t paid the same amount.
2. Bell claims that “you don’t have to pay a woman overtime, and they’ll never ask for a raise.”
I could just call bull on this whole thing personally, because I’ve gotten both. So there’s that.
But since I’m not a liberal and don’t count my own feelings as scientific facts, we’ll go with this. According to the Fair Labor Standards Act, employers must pay workers who work more than 40 hours a week and earn less than $23,660 per year time-and-a-half for every hour worked over 40. As of Dec. 1, that threshold rises to $47,476 per year. And no, employers can’t just ignore this regulation based on an employee’s gender -- that's illegal.
3. Bell mockingly says employers should hire women, who “don’t complain about their working conditions.”
We can’t really debunk this one. Not because it’s not utter horse crap that deserves to be scorned, but because Bell doesn’t offer any actual information on the topic. After all, what are facts when you simply "feel" discriminated against?
4. She sarcastically claims employers should hire women because “they’re great at remembering birthdays, and they’re the only ones who bring baked goods into the office.”
I'm not entirely sure what’s wrong with remembering coworkers’ birthdays and floating in with the occasional plate of cookies, but whatever. But given the lack of any supporting information from Bell, I will say this: I work in a seven-person department, of which I’m one of two females. When I got married last March, the entire team threw me a surprise party, and my boss – a male, mind you – brought in a cake. So again, I’m calling bull.
5. Bell claims that employers “don’t have to pay for women’s birth control, and if they do get knocked up and leave to have the baby, you get off scot-free.”
On the birth control front, not true. According to the Affordable Care Act (#ThanksObama), almost all insurance plans must cover at least one option for all 18 types of FDA-approved birth control, and all employers must cover employees who work an average of 30-plus hours per week. Employees of privately-owned businesses that don’t want to cover birth control for religious reasons can have their birth control covered by a third party.
As for paid maternity leave, it is true that a relatively few companies in the United States offer paid maternity leave. But is there a reason they should? Starting a family, or expanding an existing one, is a personal choice (or at least, that’s what Planned Parenthood’s always telling us). So is there a reason to force businesses -- particularly small ones -- to pay for the extended leave of an employee who chooses to have a child?
That would be like me saying I want to get more in shape. That’s a good thing, right? Obesity is a huge problem in America, and being fit helps you live longer and fight illness. But it’s not my employer’s job to pay me for time I take out of my work day to hit the gym.
6. Bell also mockingly claims employers “can promote literally anyone besides [women], especially if they’re less qualified.”
There she goes again with that whole lack-of-supporting-facts thing. Ah, liberals.
Bell (did we mention her net worth is $16 million compared with her husband’s $12 million? No?) ends the entire mess with a jeering slap at stay-at-home moms, wives and any woman who actually wants to take care of her family in any sort of traditional way. Because God forbid a woman actually want to care for her kids – you know, the kids her employer apparently doesn’t appreciate, either. The ones she CHOSE to have. Those.
This video is a steaming hot casserole of repeatedly disproven myths, political rhetoric and sexist insults meant to keep women in the victim’s seat of life. It’s revolting, and diminishes the decades of progress that women who actually faced oppression fought to achieve.
So here’s my message right back at ya, Bell: I’m a 27-year-old, working professional woman. And you’re offensive.