Arnold Schwarzenegger Regrets Using the Term “Girlie Man,” but Not for the Obvious Reasons

“I called them girlie men because they weren’t willing to take risks.”
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Arnold Schwarzenegger regrets his catchphrase “girlie man.” He regrets it, which is great, because it’s one of the more frustrating phrases out there—a cousin of “sissy,” a bad friend of “queer”—managing to be misogynistic and homophobic at the same time. Lobbed intentionally as an insult in pretty much any context, it’s a schoolyard insult that makes its user sound 100 years old.

Schwarzenegger first borrowed the term from a Saturday Night Live sketch written for (and poking slight fun of) him, “Pumping Up with Hans and Franz,” to describe George H.W. Bush’s opponents in the late 80s. He repeated it in a 2004 speech at the Republican National Convention as California’s governor, saying, “To those critics who are so pessimistic about our economy, I say: don’t be economic girlie men.” Really shoehorned the self-referencial joke in there, and now it has its own Wikipedia page.

But today, he backs down from his trademark insult, telling Men’s Health (Men’s Health!), that he now wishes he didn’t use it. Great. One of our most virulently anti-Trump Republicans is looking back on his past behavior amid the #MeToo movement and thinking hard about it. Welcome one step further into the resistance, Arnie.

But wait. The conversation was more about partisan politics than how damaging the phrase itself is:

At the time it felt like the right thing to do. It was in my gut. I improvised it. I called them girlie men because they weren’t willing to take risks. They were afraid of everything. Politicians in general want to do little things so there’s no risk involved. But it was shortsighted. In the long term, it’s better to not say that, because you want to work with them.

He added later that his regret was based in the partisan nature of its use, not the term: “When you can reach out across the aisle and work together, you can get much more accomplished, rather than ‘girlie men’ or ‘fuck you’ or ‘it’s my way or the highway.’”

Earlier in the interview, Schwarzenegger admitted he “stepped over the line several times”—he was accused of various gropings over the years (which he didn’t outright deny, saying instead he couldn’t remember entirely, but some (“sound like me”)[https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/celebritology/post/arnold-schwarzenegger-a-history-of-accusations-and-denials/2011/05/17/AF7Clo5G_blog.html?utm_term=.ca5d2b0b774a]—and as a result implemented a sexual harassment course in his gubernatorial administration. “When I became governor, I wanted to make sure that no one, including me, ever makes this mistake,” he said. It’s a stunning bit of disconnect. He regrets doing specific wrong to specific women; he has no apparent regret for the phrase he amplified representing a broader culture of misogyny and homophobia. And mostly, he just comes across like he wants Democrats to like him again.

Like Senator Jeff Flake and Senator Susan Collins before him, Arnie’s moment as some kind of hero of the resistance was short-lived, if it ever got off the ground at all.