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Heartland Institute Reacts To Petro-Masculinity Concept With Pathetic Display Of Petro-Masculinity [1]
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Date: 2023-05-10
In March, we wrote about the misogynistic harassment that women climate activists like Sophia Kianni and Greta Thunberg face online. In April, Kianni tweeted out quotes from the syndicated Red, Green, and Blue version of our post. Now in May, to bring us full circle, the Heartland Institute used one of Kianni’s tweets as fodder for an hour-long podcast titled, “Embracing Petro-Masculinity.”
Petro-masculinity is a term coined in 2018 by Virginia Tech political scientist Cara Daggett that helps explain “the historic role of fossil fuel systems in buttressing white patriarchal rule.” Fossil fuels are deeply embedded within other systems of oppression, so when confronted by calls for climate action, people who benefit from oppressive systems often lash out in a violent defense not only of fossil fuels but also of patriarchy and white supremacy.
This concept might seem confusing at first, but it’s very easy to see petro-masculinity in action. The same people pushing fossil fuel propaganda are also spreading hate. Jordan Peterson , for example, is a Canadian psychologist and employee of the fracker-backed Daily Wire who is most well-known for his sexist rhetoric , but who also routinely spreads absolutely stomach-churning racism , transphobia , and, yes, climate disinformation .
As Daggett puts it, “It is no coincidence that white, conservative American men – regardless of class – appear to be among the most vociferous climate deniers, as well as leading fossil fuel proponents in the West.” See the 2011 study " Cool dudes " if you don't believe Daggett!
The Heartland Institute’s podcast is a clear example of the way that fossil fuel interests defend other oppressive systems of power. In case you are blissfully unaware, the Heartland Institute is a climate change-denying, Big Tobacco-supporting, Big Oil-funded nightmare of a conservative think tank. Climate activist Sophia Kianni merely naming the idea of petro-masculinity threatens misogynistic, oil-stained organizations like Heartland because the concept reveals exactly what’s going on with these toxic groups.
In response to Kianni’s tweet , Heartland’s H. Sterling Burnett , Anthony Watts , and Linnea Lueken predictably rushed to the defense of fossil fuels and patriarchy, calling petro-masculinity a “ridiculous label to slur climate realists” and devoting an hour-long podcast episode to “[embracing] ‘petro-masculinity’ 100% and [pointing] out that without it, the world would soon collapse.”
And there it is! Their world of systemic racism, sexism, and fossil fuel pollution would indeed collapse without the intertwined evils explained by the term petro-masculinity.
In addition to parroting gas stove propaganda and attacking climate models , the podcast contains exactly the vile drivel you would expect, with Burnett ranting about “ coal masculinity and yellow people ” and obsessing about cars as phallic symbols , for example.
Heartland’s rabid, immature response to Kianni’s tweet of a quote from our post on petro-masculinity only proves one thing: Fossil fuel interests are threatened by the concept of petro-masculinity, and climate advocates must continue to point out the intersections between fossil fuels and other systems of oppression.
In any case, we can’t wait to see how the Heartland podcasters react to this post, since they seem to be such big fans of the Denier Roundup!
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https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/5/10/2168529/-Heartland-Institute-Reacts-To-Petro-Masculinity-Concept-With-Pathetic-Display-Of-Petro-Masculinity
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