Michael J. Fox: Is he sexist?

[brownie87]

My mom pointed out while watching his special on his battle with Parkinson's that he doesn't really address women's health issues and he's all about promoting Parkison's awareness and research. She says he, like other celebs, should also involve himself in women's cancer research, domestic violence prevention, women's heart disease and other women-oriented charity work. Also, she pointed out that Parkinson's is being treated as a man's disease when women are usually hit harder by Parkinson's and often die more frequently. Then there was that thing with Patricia Heaton a few years ago when Mike was talking about stem cell research and she argued that promoting stem cell research could hurt millions of women but he doesn't seem to care. I even noticed when he was on "The View", Joy Behar - the outspoken hardcore feminist of the group - seemed a little peeved by him and was really working hard at holding her tongue. Then just yesterday I was watching "Back to the Future" and my mom said that he isn't a good role model because he obviously doesn't value women and their health concerns and that he is setting a bad example for his kids. In a million years, I would have never pegged him as being sexist, but this does have me thinking.

[Sharop]

In my opinion, I don't think that points to him being sexist. I've never seen him that way.

I suppose nobody can really know 100% for sure. And nobody is perfect - but overall, he seems quite nice.

[Brieannas21]

I do not think that he is being sexist. Fighting a disease and fighting for that disease does not make a person sexist. If michael were making derogatory comments about women I would say that he was sexiest. Many celebs tend to raise money for a cause that has affected their family or their lives in some way, I don't see anything wrong with that. JMO

[*Pleasant Tomorrow*]

I do not think that he is being sexist. Fighting a disease and fighting for that disease does not make a person sexist. If michael were making derogatory comments about women I would say that he was sexiest. Many celebs tend to raise money for a cause that has affected their family or their lives in some way, I don't see anything wrong with that. JMO
Yeah, I agree. I don't see how any of that makes him sexist.

[Stuck In The '70's]

I do not think that he is being sexist. Fighting a disease and fighting for that disease does not make a person sexist. If michael were making derogatory comments about women I would say that he was sexiest. Many celebs tend to raise money for a cause that has affected their family or their lives in some way, I don't see anything wrong with that. JMO
Yea I agree.

[Janice]

Nonsense. Michael J. Fox is a wonderful man who has worked tirelessly to promote the awareness of Parkinsons disease and stem cell research. Both of these issues help both men and women.

[Shine]

I don't see Michael as being sexist in any way.

[Penny Lane]

No he is not sexist. Listen, a person who is afflicted with a disease or disability tends to be very self centered and that's understandable. It takes over ones whole life. And if he is sexist so what? What he is doing for stem cell research is very important and will eventually benefit men, women and children. Leave it alone!:rolleyes:

[Liza]

Uh - so you're saying he's sexist because he's not going on and on about all the problems women face???

:confused:

If he'd said that women don't face the same problems, or aren't as important, then he'd be sexist. If this were a woman suffering from Parkinsons, would anyone be saying anything?

Didn't think so.

Leave the guy alone. He's a great actor who seems to be an honest-to-goodness nice person. People are just looking for stuff to criticize. Maybe they should look in the mirror first.

[browneyes106]

I do not think that he is being sexist. Fighting a disease and fighting for that disease does not make a person sexist. If michael were making derogatory comments about women I would say that he was sexiest. Many celebs tend to raise money for a cause that has affected their family or their lives in some way, I don't see anything wrong with that. JMO

I agree Michael tends to focus largely on Parkinson's because he has been effected by it.

[Hollow]

well, of course. equality doesn't mean treating both genders equally. it means giving WOMEN special treatment. you're a sexist pig if you don't. it's never the other way around, of course. advocates of female issues would never in a million years get accused of sexism towards men.

there is really nothing more degrading to women than feminism. it makes us all look like a bunch of crybabies, honestly.

[beautifuldreamer]

well, of course. equality doesn't mean treating both genders equally. it means giving WOMEN special treatment. you're a sexist pig if you don't. it's never the other way around, of course. advocates of female issues would never in a million years get accused of sexism towards men.

there is really nothing more degrading to women than feminism. it makes us all look like a bunch of crybabies, honestly.

Wow, I'm like, cheering right now! I think what you said is brilliant, Sarah! I think when we tend say "women being equal" we actually think of equality as women getting the special treatment... and you're right, it makes us look like we are complaining to be better than men... I mean, wow, I couldn't have put it better myself!!
:yourock: :clap :thanx:
As for Michael... well, I really think the poor man is trying endlessly to find a cure for the disease that he suffers from every day... I really don't think that is sexist. I actually think he's quite awesome.:)

[80sTrivia]

Nonsense. Michael J. Fox is a wonderful man who has worked tirelessly to promote the awareness of Parkinsons disease and stem cell research. Both of these issues help both men and women.

I definitely agree with Janice. Michael is one of the most beloved and respected actors of all time and I don't think this qualifies in any way as a form of sexism...

[Family Ties Forever!]

Nonsense. Michael J. Fox is a wonderful man who has worked tirelessly to promote the awareness of Parkinsons disease and stem cell research. Both of these issues help both men and women.

I agree.

[Brad Russ]

I did a breast cancer walk last weekend, and many of the people on my team had been affected by the disease, and could even be considered obsessed with bringing awareness, and an eventual cure to that horrible disease. At no time did I consider any of the mostly women walking as being sexist. It's like others have said, you tend to fight most for issues that hit closest to home, and to most of these women, this disease hit close to home, as they either suffered with the disease themselves, or had someone close to them who had either suffered from the disease, or even died from it. There's nothing sexist about Michael J. Fox, and I've never seen him be anything but a gentleman towards women.

[Chocolate Moose]

He became more of a One-Trick Pony, but I'm not sure that calling him a sexist is accurate.

[Shine]

well, of course. equality doesn't mean treating both genders equally. it means giving WOMEN special treatment. you're a sexist pig if you don't. it's never the other way around, of course. advocates of female issues would never in a million years get accused of sexism towards men.

there is really nothing more degrading to women than feminism. it makes us all look like a bunch of crybabies, honestly.

That's a very interesting way of looking at the issue, Sarah. I think you put it quite well. :)

[Shine]

I did a breast cancer walk last weekend, and many of the people on my team had been affected by the disease, and could even be considered obsessed with bringing awareness, and an eventual cure to that horrible disease. At no time did I consider any of the mostly women walking as being sexist. It's like others have said, you tend to fight most for issues that hit closest to home, and to most of these women, this disease hit close to home, as they either suffered with the disease themselves, or had someone close to them who had either suffered from the disease, or even died from it. There's nothing sexist about Michael J. Fox, and I've never seen him be anything but a gentleman towards women.

Another really good post. :)

[Sharop]

He became more of a One-Trick Pony, but I'm not sure that calling him a sexist is accurate.

How do you mean one-trick-pony? Do you mean that in relation to his acting?

I personally think he's a good actor, although I have heard people say that he's played a few characters that are quite similar.

[Sharop]

No he is not sexist. Listen, a person who is afflicted with a disease or disability tends to be very self centered and that's understandable. It takes over ones whole life. And if he is sexist so what? What he is doing for stem cell research is very important and will eventually benefit men, women and children. Leave it alone!:rolleyes:

I'd like to add to that that I think many people are somewhat self-centred anyway and that it's natural for people to be that way. As long as it's not to the extreme.

We're each born as one individual person - we see the world from our own eyes - perceive it from our own singular mind - each have our own individual, personal experiences. Surely it is only natural for a person to be somewhat self-centred?

I don't see anything wrong with a degree of self-centredness. Selfishness, yes. But I would admit that I am fairly self-centred myself and I don't see it as a character flaw.

[brownie87]

I do remember a few years back that Patricia Heaton was arguing Mike's proposal on stem cell research but she was pretty harsh accusing him of not caring about women's reproductive well-being and such. She also said something along the lines of, "It seems as though he's so willing to cure a disease the prodominantly afflicts men that he's willing to do whatever it takes, even if it means hurting women.", or something like that. I was never a huge Patricia Heaton fan, mainly because of her smug character on "Everybody Loves Raymond", but I know alot of other people like her.

[Sharop]

I do remember a few years back that Patricia Heaton was arguing Mike's proposal on stem cell research but she was pretty harsh accusing him of not caring about women's reproductive well-being and such. She also said something along the lines of, "It seems as though he's so willing to cure a disease the prodominantly afflicts men that he's willing to do whatever it takes, even if it means hurting women.", or something like that. I was never a huge Patricia Heaton fan, mainly because of her smug character on "Everybody Loves Raymond", but I know alot of other people like her.

I don't think one can really say that he doesn't care about women's well-being, though. I don't know much about Parkinson's, so maybe it does afflict men more than women, but there are a large number of women who have Parkinson's who would appreciate time spent upon researching this disease.

[Chocolate Moose]

How do you mean one-trick-pony? Do you mean that in relation to his acting?

I personally think he's a good actor, although I have heard people say that he's played a few characters that are quite similar.

No, it's that all you hear from him is regarding Parkinson's.

[Stuck In The '70's]

No, it's that all you hear from him is regarding Parkinson's.
Well since he's suffering from that disease, I would expect that's what he's most concerned with. What do you want him to talk about?

[catlover79]

Nonsense. Michael J. Fox is a wonderful man who has worked tirelessly to promote the awareness of Parkinsons disease and stem cell research. Both of these issues help both men and women.
AMEN!!! :clap

[Janice]

He became more of a One-Trick Pony, but I'm not sure that calling him a sexist is accurate.
One-Trick Pony sounds disrespectful for a man who is fighting two battles - one for Parkinson's disease and the other, stem-cell research. How about, Two-Trick-compassionate-does-more-in-one-year-for-his-fellow-man-than-most-people-do-in-their-entire-lifetime, Pony?

[Janice]

I do remember a few years back that Patricia Heaton was arguing Mike's proposal on stem cell research but she was pretty harsh accusing him of not caring about women's reproductive well-being and such. She also said something along the lines of, "It seems as though he's so willing to cure a disease the prodominantly afflicts men that he's willing to do whatever it takes, even if it means hurting women.", or something like that. I was never a huge Patricia Heaton fan, mainly because of her smug character on "Everybody Loves Raymond", but I know alot of other people like her.
You don't like the actress because of her character? If I couldn't separate the two, I'd hate almost every actor there is, lol.

[browneyes106]

I have heard a lot about how Patricia Heaton is dead set against stem cell research. I do like her even though I may not agree with her on a lot of things. When Christopher Reeve was alive he got a lot of same criticism that Michael J. Fox gets on stem cell research. The debate over stem cell research is very politically charged and complicated.

[Chocolate Moose]

One-Trick Pony sounds disrespectful for a man who is fighting two battles - one for Parkinson's disease and the other, stem-cell research. How about, Two-Trick-compassionate-does-more-in-one-year-for-his-fellow-man-than-most-people-do-in-their-entire-lifetime, Pony?

I know it's not that nice, but it's true.

[Janice]

I know it's not that nice, but it's true.
It's not true at all. Michael J. Fox has two causes that he's championing (not tricks). Two causes doesn't make a person a one trick pony (your phrase, not mine). Parkinson's + Stem Cell = 2. Your math is off.

[Family Ties Forever!]

It's a shame how some people are harping on MJF. He has done a lot and contributed a lot to the ongoing research regarding Parkinson's. I"m surprised to read that some people here feel that he's sexist. I disagree. I do not think he is. While the character he played on Family Ties [Alex P. Keaton] could be considered sexist, he as a person [MJF] isn't. Do you really think he would have stayed married to a woman [who seems independent] for more than 20 years? Unless you have actually heard him make sexists remarks, the claim that he's sexist is unfounded. It doesn't seem right to stick labels on people. Some people are so quick to through out words such as sexist, racist, etc. without really analyzing the situation.

[brownie87]

Actually, my mom's misandrist and she believes women are superior to men and that women should rule the world and men should just clean our houses and cook our meals and also that women are independent while men are just pets, blah-blah...she even hates the "Back to the Future" movies because she doesn't think the women characters are written very well and that the movies are basically male-dominated and stuff. Anyway, I didn't mean to start anything. I just really like MJF and think he's a good person. So, the whole "sexist" thing made me think.

[Sharop]

Actually, my mom's misandrist and she believes women are superior to men and that women should rule the world and men should just clean our houses and cook our meals and also that women are independent while men are just pets, blah-blah...she even hates the "Back to the Future" movies because she doesn't think the women characters are written very well and that the movies are basically male-dominated and stuff. Anyway, I didn't mean to start anything. I just really like MJF and think he's a good person. So, the whole "sexist" thing made me think.

I'm sure your mother is a nice person, but I strongly disagree with her views. No sex is better than the other in my opinion. It's odd that she would say Michael J. Fox is sexist - but if she believes women are superior to men isn't she sexist herself? :confused:

I don't think the Back to the Future films are male-dominated - only in as much that the two leading characters are male. There are females that have important roles in the films, such as Marty's mother Lorraine and his girlfriend Jennifer.

[Penny Lane]

As far as I know Michael didn't write BTTF. He just PLAYED A PART. This is just ridiculous!:lol:

[Seth]

but if she believes women are superior to men isn't she sexist herself? :confused:


:thanks:

[Hollow]

Actually, my mom's misandrist and she believes women are superior to men and that women should rule the world and men should just clean our houses and cook our meals and also that women are independent while men are just pets, blah-blah...she even hates the "Back to the Future" movies because she doesn't think the women characters are written very well and that the movies are basically male-dominated and stuff. Anyway, I didn't mean to start anything. I just really like MJF and think he's a good person. So, the whole "sexist" thing made me think.
that makes sense then. that's exactly what i described in my post. the feminist movements are about superiority, not equality.

[Sharop]

I just really like MJF and think he's a good person. So, the whole "sexist" thing made me think.

If I were you I would keep your good opinion of MJF and not worry too much about what your mother thinks. Again, I'm not trying to insult your mother, I just feel that in this case she is very much wrong and is being judgmental and making assumptions without really knowing the situation.