JD Vance puts his futon back in his mouth

Think about the mysterious role of women after menopause. Her ovaries have shrunk and she is no longer able to fulfil her biological destiny of bringing children into the world. What purpose does she have then?

A certain Eric Weinstein, mathematician and host of the podcast The Portal, has helpfully provided some intellectual insights into this very difficult question. Drum roll please, according to Weinstein, the “whole purpose of the postmenopausal woman” is to help care for her grandchildren.

A little more context: In 2020, Weinstein hosted Senator JD Vance on his podcast and the two chatted about the importance of grandparents. Vance explained that after the Vances’ first child was born, his highly successful mother-in-law, a biology professor, took a year off and lived with them for a year. Weinstein wholeheartedly approved, noting that caregiving is, after all, the purpose of the “postmenopausal woman.” Vance seemed to agree. He also seemed to agree when Weinstein proclaimed that it was a “weird, unheralded aspect of marrying an Indian woman” that the grandparents help with childcare. (Vance’s wife, Usha Chilukuri Vance, is the daughter of Indian immigrants.)

These recently resurfaced comments are attracting a lot of attention for obvious reasons. Since being announced as Donald Trump’s running mate, Vance has been making headlines for his odd comments about gender and marriage. For example, during a 2021 event, he seemed to suggest that it was far too easy for people to get divorced and that it was best for people to stay married for the sake of their children, even if the marriages were violent. Vance has said these remarks were taken out of context. Around the same time, he also memorably said that the U.S. was run by a “bunch of childless cat ladies.” When recently asked about the comment, he claimed it was meant sarcastically, adding, “I have nothing against cats.”

Was Vance’s apparent agreement with Weinstein’s assessment of the role of the “postmenopausal woman” also sarcasm? No, this time the excuse is that it’s fake news. A spokesperson for the incoming vice president accused “the media” of “dishonestly putting words in JD’s mouth.” The spokesperson also claimed, “JD reacted to the first part of the moderator’s sentence and assumed he was saying, ‘That’s the whole point of spending time with the grandparents.'”

You can listen to the clip yourself if you can bear it and draw your own conclusions. However, I think it’s fair to say that Vance certainly doesn’t vocally contradict Weinstein’s statement. Nor does he say anything along the lines of, “Eric, my friend, please don’t refer to women as female so, it’s creepy and gives off strong incel vibes.”

Ultimately, it’s difficult to give Vance the benefit of the doubt on these comments, given his past statements on gender and the kind of people he surrounds himself with. Donald Trump, his running mate, has been legally branded a sex offender and is one of the world’s most notorious misogynists, for heaven’s sake!

And then there’s Peter Thiel, who hired Vance at his investment firm in 2017 and then groomed him for political stardom—donating $15 million to Vance’s 2022 Senate campaign in Ohio and helping to secure Trump’s endorsement. Vance has said Thiel has been a major influence on him, which is troubling because the billionaire has many incredibly archaic views. He has called diversity initiatives “very evil and very silly” and mused that women’s suffrage was a setback for libertarianism. Weinstein is also in the Thiel family, by the way: When those “postmenopausal woman” comments were recorded, the podcast host was the managing director of Thiel’s hedge fund. Birds of a feather flock together.

However, even if one were very generous and said that this controversy surrounding postmenopausal women is overblown, Vance seems determined to continue to offend as many women as possible. On Wednesday, for example, he told Fox News that it is not “normal” to be concerned about abortion. “What do you say to the suburban women who are buying into this propaganda (that abortion has been banned nationwide)?” asked Fox News host Laura Ingraham. Vance replied, “I don’t buy that… I think most suburban women care about the normal things that most Americans care about.”

That’s the thing: women from the suburbs Do care about abortion. An April Wall Street Journal poll found that 39% of suburban women see abortion as a “decisive voting issue,” putting Trump at risk of losing this important voting bloc.

All I’m saying is, please keep talking, JD, you’re about to alienate half the electorate! Kamala Harris already has a massive lead in the polls among likely female voters, and Vance seems to be doing his best to widen the gender gap.

Katy Perry’s “annus horribilis” is getting worse

This year was supposed to be Perry’s big comeback, but Woman’s World, the first single from her new album, was panned by everyone and there was a general feeling that the singer was struggling to adapt her 2010s vibe to the present. Now the 39-year-old is being investigated by the government of Spain’s Balearic Islands for filming on protected dunes without the necessary permits. In the Guardian, Laura Snapes asks whether Perry’s career can recover from these setbacks.

British woman receives rare compensation after rape case dropped due to ‘sexsomnia’

Days before the man accused of raping Jade Blue McCrossen-Nethercot was due to go on trial, the case was dropped because two experts said it was possible she suffered from a disorder that could cause her to perform sexual acts in her sleep. While sexsomnia is a real condition, it is not exactly common. What is becoming more common, however, is that it is used as part of the defense in criminal trials.

Indian women demonstrate after rape and murder by doctor to ‘take back the night’

Protests have been taking place across the state of West Bengal for several days after a 31-year-old doctor, who has not been named, was attacked during a break from his shift at a government hospital. “If the government cannot ensure the safety of women in a government facility, what hope is there?” asked one protester.

Since the Taliban came to power, hundreds of cases of femicide have been recorded in Afghanistan

Three years have passed since the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan, triggering “the world’s worst women’s rights crisis.” Since then, 332 cases of Afghan women being killed by men have been reported, with Taliban officials involved in more than half of the reported incidents. Unfortunately, these numbers are likely just “the tip of the iceberg.”

Iraqi bill would allow nine-year-olds to marry

In 1959, Iraq passed a progressive personal status law that transferred jurisdiction over family matters from religious courts to the state. It set the legal age of marriage at 18 and restricted polygamy. Although technically illegal, there has been a rise in child marriages in Iraq over the past 20 years. A survey by Unicef ​​found that 28% of girls in Iraq were married by 18. Rather than trying to reverse this, religious groups are trying to roll back the personal status law, effectively legalizing child rape. A group of female MPs are trying to prevent the bill from passing, but they face an uphill battle.

The week in the Pawtriarchy

The universe has mysterious ways. Sometimes it gives you a cat, for example. The Guardian has an explanation of the Cat Distribution System (CDS) meme and what you should actually do if a stray cat suddenly appears in your life. Mews you can use.