Is it all about infidelity and the breakdown of a public persona, or is the Tiger Woods story more about those universal issues of masculinity, femininity, and sexual attractiveness. Furthermore, I have discovered, while participating in the discussion on the Tiger Woods matter, on 'Divorcing Tiger? You go, girl' in the Globe and Mail (Timson, Dec 17, 2009), that there are a number of similarities between the women commenting there and the ones who were committed to taking a stand (against me) on the editing of the Montreal Massacre article on Wikipedia. They share the same dogmatic views, and the same resistance to my ideas (although I do think they did ultimately, on Ecole Polytechnique massacre, but just didn't give me credit for them). The same kind of girls - pseudofeminists?
Photos of a scantily-clad Elin Nordegren, from before her marriage to Tiger, are easily accessible online (WWTDD, Dec 14, 2009). I wonder how Tiger feels about this. His wife's body - in pictures - was available for all men to appreciate, not just him. I wonder if it could have been jealousy or insecurity that led Tiger to take on mistresses. His sense of self - his masculinity - would be at stake, not just as an athlete but as a man.
I have mentioned in the comments section of this Tiger Woods article my dismay at the one-sidedness of the article, even though it appears that Elin Nordegren may have commited a violent act against Tiger Woods. There is some suggestion, in another article, that the children may have witnessed the violence. If so, then Elin's violent act could be a matter for social services. This raises the issue of what is acceptable for women, in terms of commiting violent acts. It supposedly is acceptable to knock him around, according to some, if she had no other recourse. The question is, should she be judged harshly for her actions when her husband was such a jerk, or should she have been able to control herself and let the law take care of it - or the divorce court.
On the matter of the car accident, and the suspicion of the golf club violence: Both Elin Nordegren and Tiger Woods would have been in trouble, had the truth come out in a police report. But he probably didn't want to press charges against Elin, and never intended to. If he had had to answer the question, what provoked the attack, no doubt he wouldn't have said. If his girlfriends had kept their mouths shut, or denied any involvement (IOW, closed ranks with the adulterer), he would have gotten off scot-free, and his wife probably would have continued to play her dutiful role. We know, as women, how difficult it is to be believed when our husbands cheat. Having the whole thing made public forced her to play her hand, and forced him to back away from public committments in golf.
Journalists have a great deal of power, to sway public opinion as well as perhaps influence the course of action Elin would want to take. Accusing her of not standing up for her rights, or for putting up with men's bad behaviour, may have placed her in a position she didn't want to take. This is one of the influences feminism has had over women's lives - making them feel inadequate, not good enough, standing by her man. No one knows, except the two people involved in this marriage, what really went on and what the options are for resolving it.
Divorcing Tiger? You go, girl
By Judith Timson
Thursday, Dec. 17, 2009
Globe and Mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/family-and-relationships/divorcing-tiger-you-go-girl/article1404256/
elin hit tiger in the head with a golf club, part 2
By WhatWouldTylerDurdenDo
Dec 14, 2009
http://www.wwtdd.com/2009/12/elin-hit-tiger-in-the-head-with-a-golf-club-part-2/
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