Many Mamamia readers would remember the fabulous Ryan Gosling ‘Hey Girl’ memes.
If you’re not familiar, here’s a quick update: The cult of Ryan Gosling hit epic proportions when the ‘Hey Girl’ memes took off last year.
The inspiration for the meme was – if Ryan Gosling was your boyfriend, what would he say to you. Take a look:
A Ryan Gosling meme.
The trend then took on an (awesome) feminist bent, with memes appearing that had Ryan saying things like “Hey Girl. Of course, no means no” and “Hey Girl, we don’t call our sisters ‘bitches’” and even “Hey Girl, I can’t believe that guy is using standpoint theory to frame The Avengers as a marginalised group”.
And now it is President Barack Obama’s chance to get some feminist meme action. After Todd Akin’s outrageous and absurd views on rape were aired, Obama called a press conference and reminded the world that:
Rape is rape. And the idea that we should be parsing and qualifying and slicing what types of rape we are talking about doesn’t make sense to the American people and certainly doesn’t make sense to me.
So what I think these comments do underscore is why we shouldn’t have a bunch of politicians, a majority of whom are men, making health care decisions on behalf of women.
So Nerve jumped on board and complied a gallery of Obama’s best feminist quotes – all in the Ryan Gosling meme style.
And the results are pretty ace:
Barack Obama
Comments
25 Comments so far
I especially love the one about women not being an interest group, but half the country! I mean, I know there are reasons to get organised and fight for rights women are still systematically denied, but I believe his point here is to highlight just how short-sighted all such denials always have been… to ignore half the population for no valid reason…
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For the rather short sighted people below saying that because Australia now has a female PM, Governer General, Attorney General that suddenly men’s interests aren’t recognised or women now have equal power, you’re forgetting that all the rules, laws, and societal expectations in Aust were created by white middle class men for white middle class men. Other group’s interest (gays, women, non-white, etc) were excluded. Over the years this has been being changed slowly to even things up – but that has meant changing the assumed norms – which were set by men. So no, white middle class men are not victimised or marginalised, because the world was made to suit them, and now we’re trying to make it suit other people too. By no means do I think that men should be brought down a peg or anything like that, I just ask that you please get some perspective.
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Love this!!!!!!
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I wish I could say this to the Americans: your country is up sh-it creek. Economically screwed, third world conditions in part, still riven by race issues, limited social mobility, mired in costly wars that cannot be won, lacking in basics like health care, housing, education and employment, corrupt political system where weirdo billionaires like the Koch’s can buy elections. To name but a few of the issues facing America.
And you people are arguing over abortion and making it a central issue in politics? Seriously???? Fighting over contraception funding? Really??Kind of more important things to worry about right now guys!!! Like the fact your country is going down in metaphorical flames!
I am not saying things like abortion are not important, especially in a country with different social values to Australia. But perspective seriously. Abortion is just not the biggest issue facing America right now but in the last month it is all I have read coming out of the states in relation to politics. Little mention of the 11 year war in Afghanistan, plenty on whether the government should fund the pill or not. Crazy.
*Note: I actually really like Americans and there is much to admire about the place. It just baffles me that abortion and a cutting back women’s rights dominates the agenda at such a critical time for America’s future.
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I think it’s a bit like the “ooh look, something shiny” while pointing out a window thing. Just on w really large scale.
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Hey Girl,
Men who make a lot of noise about being feminist only want your:
a. Vote, or;
b. Bootay
If it’s not one type of poll, it’s another…
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I just liked my own comment.
Uh oh…is self-liking going to send me blind if I do it too often?
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Yes, stop it this instant.
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Isn’t he great!
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Funny, all the political power here in Australia is currently with women (PM, Governer General, Attorney General, Health Minister), yet they are making decisions on mens health. Does it work the other way around I wonder?
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I think the reference to ‘women’s health’ refers to abortions etc. Men don’t really have anything unique to their health that is controversial…
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hush now, there are some extremely oppressed white, heterosexual middle-class males who don’t like to hear such logic
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Brilliant yadda! Thank your was composing a long drawn out reply.
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That is amusing, seeing that the vast bulk of women reading this site would be good ol’ white hetro middle class themselves. So whats your point.
Oh, that’s right, they were born with the genetic right to be considered victims in all things. I almost forgot.
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Women still earn less, get raped more, suffer DV more, die from birth and backyard abortions where abortions are illegal, have fair less representation in career roles of influence (e.g. CEOs, politics, etc), couldn’t vote for years and years after men could etc etc ALL SOLELY because they were born women.
So yeah, I guess that damn genetics gives them a right to be considered victims at times. Because they frequently are, due to their genetics.
Your comment is like saying that African Americans think they have a genetic right to call themselves marginalised. They do, because their genetics meant they WERE victimised for years and years. Sorry that now people acknowledge marginalised groups.
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That’s misogynistic you obviously hate women.
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Yes FHB, it is sexist beyond belief to expect the same standards to exist when genders are reversed. How silly and offensive of me,for a moment there I thought that was actually the definition of equality. lol
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only 29% of the Australian parliament is female (http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/BN/2011-2012/Womeninparliament) so I hardly think all the political power is with women.
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As it relates to health, the fact that the federal health minister and PM are female means my point is more than valid, as they are the ones making the decisions on health.
And if you dont think that having a female PM, Governer General, Attorney General means men still have the power, then you dont know much of the Australian political system it would seem.
Thanks anyway.
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I get what you are saying, I just don’t think that men are particularly marginalised.
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and neither are women in Australia.
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Women are much, much more frequently the victims of DV and sexual assault – because they’re women. There are less of them in the workforce and far less in high paid and high powered positions. I’d call that marginalised in comparison to australian men.
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JT who votes them in?
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I don’t agree that all the political power rests with women. We may have some female leaders but there are still many more male MPs than female.
Even the most conservative Australian politicians rarely choose health or reproductive issues as their battle ground. They choose other wedge issues like immigration , taxes etc.
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Love the last one!
“Hey President Obama,
Wish I was American so I could vote for you.”
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