CALL HER DADDY

Pod’s gift to women has made internalized misogyny external.

Words by Megan Adams Art by Fe Kligerman

You would think a podcast with the name “Call Her Daddy” would be full of fresh perspectives and female empowerment — the name subverts gender roles! Unfortunately, Alex Cooper, the now-solo host (after Sofia Franklyn’s unceremonious exit) and a wealthy white woman who offers an outlook sans nuance, fumbles the bag in a big way.

We commend trying to make empowering media for women that talks about the taboo in a way that can make people feel more comfortable in their bodies. Sex should be fun and liberating! But Cooper lets internalized misogyny bleed into her content so much so that it becomes poisonous.

“Call Her Daddy” aims to emphasize teaching women “how to live more confidently” and “how to play the game” — something men have been playing all along and arguably invented. But it begs the question of why play a “game” that’s purpose has always been to empower only white cisgender heterosexual men? Why mold unsuspecting people into players of a game that they don’t want to play? Especially when playing the game, according to Cooper, almost always means living life in accordance with what will please those men.

There are a few majorly insane themes throughout the pod that really scream, “I hate women.” For example, Cooper claims that one of the best things you can do for yourself as a woman is to know your attractiveness “ranking” from one to 10 (what is this, middle school?) and act accordingly. So, if you think you are perceived as a three, you need to “make up” for being below average by being extremely good at sex. We worry for the sanity and self-esteem of the young girls who listen to this and take it to heart. There is no reason to reduce oneself to a number; telling other women to do that so they can “play the game” better is insensitive and obtuse.

Another stellar example of full-blown internalized misogyny: hiding your sexual past. Because hey, men don’t want to know that you’ve ever even TOUCHED another person before them. Cradle their precious egos and hide your personhood from them so they don’t think you’re a whore! And it doesn’t stop there. “Call Her Daddy” even has an entire episode devoted to teaching men how to emotionally manipulate their way out of the friend zone. The friend zone itself is a crazy concept – only being friends with a girl in hopes of one day sleeping with her. But teaching men how to “escape” is even further proof this podcast puts men’s desires far above female empowerment.

At the end of the day, misogyny affects everyone. “Call Her Daddy” telling women how to live their lives to appeal to men does far more harm than good. It assumes that all men only want casual sex and forces women to cater to that expectation rather than living life on their own terms. Rest in piss, “Call Her Daddy.” Cause of death? Stuck in the friend zone.