The Slimes does it again

I know that railing against the Sunday Times for shitty journalism is like turning up at The Holiday and expecting a think-piece but an article on its online site ysterday really pissed me off. Basically the article suggests that cricketer Michael Clarke's (I know: who? but read on) break-up with his girlfriend is the result of another woman, and it starts like this:

CRICKETER Michael Clarke's partner of nearly eight years has emerged as the
latest casualty in model Lara Bingle's pursuit of champion sportsmen. Erina-Lea
Connelly yesterday confirmed Test batsman Clarke - "the man I thought I was
going to marry'' - had called off their long-term relationship and asked her to
move out of his $2.8 million waterfront pile in the Sutherland Shire at the end
of last year.

Yes it's sensationalist and kinda crappy writing but it's more than that. Demonising the "other woman" as a home wrecker (see also Jolie, Angelina and Johansson, Scarlet) is more than just sexist - I think it's dangerous in what it says about men, and women and the way it sets up women against each other, rather than against the partners who are breaking up with them.

The message here seems to be that it's not Clarke's fault if he was lured away from Connelly-whats-her-name - it's obviously Lara Bingle's fault. The subtext being that Bingle is also a fame-whore and probably a bit of a slut because she's also alleged to have had an affair with some married AFL-er whose name I don't care about.

I seem to see this kind of thing all the time, post notably in the whole Pitt/Aniston/Jolie thing (and seriously, that's the last time I'll mention it because even I want to gouge my eyes out if I read one more article involving Jolie helping orphans out of wells or Pitt flying a plane or Aniston's on-off relationship with Bloaty McBloat) and it infuriates me.

There are bitches and there are bastards around but nobody can lure anyone who doesn't want to be lured and girls who like guys who are taken don’t mysteriously gain the ability to hypnotise them into running away with them. If they did then I’d be holed up in a little French villa with Johnny Depp as I type and James Franco would be our pool boy…