Discussing Harvard University president Lawrence H. Summers's recent decision to resign, Rush Limbaugh said, during the February 22 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, that Harvard should “change its name” to “Hervard” because “a bunch of angry feminazis took him out simply because he spoke the truth about diversity on campus and the differences in men and women.” During a January 15, 2005, speech at the National Bureau of Economic Research's (NBER) Conference on Diversifying the Science & Engineering Workforce, Summers reportedly suggested, in the words of The New York Times, “that biological differences between the sexes may be one explanation for why fewer women succeed in mathematic and science careers.” Continuing, Limbaugh called the feminist movement “militant” and suggested that Harvard “sequester the students” into two schools, “Hisvard and Hervard.” According to Limbaugh, at “Hervard: Übersexuals need not apply; metrosexuals would be welcome, but the slots are very competitive. Transsexuals, your scholarship's in the mail before you even apply.”
The advertising agency JWT has defined "übersexuals" as “men who embrace the positive aspects of their masculinity or 'M-ness' (e.g., confidence, leadership, passion, compassion) without giving in to the stereotypes that give guys a bad name (e.g., disrespect toward women, emotional emptiness, complete ignorance of anything cultural outside of sports, beer, burgers, and athletic shoes),” citing rock singer Bono, actor George Clooney, and former President Bill Clinton as examples. On the October 11, 2005, broadcast of his radio show, Limbaugh declared that "[b]y this definition, I'm one," adding, “This is what men were before feminism came along and neutered them.”
From the February 22 broadcast of The Rush Limbaugh Show:
LIMBAUGH: Ladies and gentlemen, I'm tempted to say that we are on “Summers's eve.” We are at Summers's eve. I know Summer's Eve is also -- I think; I used to be an expert in these things -- a feminine deodorant spray, but it's also -- it also designates, ladies and gentlemen, that we are in the last days of the administration of Larry Summers as president of Harvard. And, by the way, this happened -- I think we need to change the name from Harvard to Hervard, because a bunch of angry feminazis took him out simply because he spoke the truth about diversity on campus and the differences in men and women.
The feminist movement is still alive and well, and it contains the central belief there's really no difference between men and women, we're all the same, we're all just conditioned differently, but we can all do what everybody else does, we're all equal, there is no inherent difference. Now, you think I'm laughing when I -- joking when I suggest they change the name from Harvard to Hervard; they changed the word “history” to “herstory” at one point, remember, in the militant feminist movement. In fact, maybe we can have two schools, Hisvard and Hervard, and just sequester the students. Hervard: Übersexuals need not apply, metrosexuals would be welcome, but the few slots are very competitive. Transsexuals, your scholarship's in the mail before you even apply.
