Louis C.K. is in Toronto this week.
In 2017, the famous comedian made headlines because he was accused of masturbating openly in the presence of women. Soon after the article was released in the New York Times, Louis C.K. admitted that the allegations were true.
Notwithstanding this fact or perhaps because of it, the comedian has decided to take his comedy show on the road and has managed to sell out many venues, including several shows at Yuk Yuk’s comedy club in Toronto.
I certainly understand the hype: a big name, a fall from grace, the speedy and remorseful mea culpa. It plays out like a Broadway production.
Yet, in real life, I am fighting to make sense of the sympathy and support the comedian has received – and is still receiving.
Why would women, in particular, stand in queue for hours outside a comedy club and pay to listen to a man’s narrative about his exposed member (among other things)? Would women do it if the comedian were Bill Cosby?
I am also struggling to find a word in the English language to accurately define the supportive behaviour expressed by both men and women in Toronto.
Does this word even exist? The only thing that comes to mind is a very interesting term created by Kate Manne, a moral philosopher at Cornell University.
Manne invented the word, “himpathy”, and she uses it to describe societal bonding with a powerful male wrongdoer.
The word appears in Manne’s book, “Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny”. In it, she defines himpathy as “the inappropriate and disproportionate sympathy powerful men often enjoy in cases of sexual assault, intimate partner violence, homicide or other misogynistic behaviours.”
Linguistically, the word himpathy is a blended word, also known as a portmanteau.
It joins the third person singular object pronoun “him” with the noun, “sympathy”. According to the Dictionary of Word Origins by John Ayto, the word “sympathy” comes from the Greek word sumpathéia, which means feeling with, or similarly to, someone else. The two separate words are connected to form a new entity with a new meaning defined by the philosopher.
Hundreds of unique words have been created in the English language by blending two socially accepted words. Some of the more popular portmanteaus are: “man” + “landscaping” to form the word “manscaping”, “Bombay” + “Hollywood” to form the word “Bollywood”, “pre-” + “sequel” to form “prequel”, “information” + “entertainment” to form “infotainment” and “shop” + “alcoholic” to form “shopaholic”.
Himpathy, like sympathy, would appear to fall in the category of an abstract noun; however, it has also been used in articles as a verb (to himpathize) and as an adjective (a himpathetic reaction).
The buzzword is spreading online. It has already been referenced in the New York Times and in The Economist, and I would not be surprised if English-language dictionaries will register the actual usage in the near future.
If you’re interested in how English words are created, click on the TEDTalk below. The lexicographer, Erin McKean, provides a very good 15-minute presentation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ov-Sh8UDnhU
As for the reaction to Louis C.K. in Toronto, I don’t really know what to make of it.
It is a blatant expression of himpathy? Possibly. However, it could also be thought of as twisted camaraderie that crosses gender boundaries. Or, perhaps it is a manifestation of a person’s choice to silence discursive thinking for reasons unknown. The more interesting question, I think, is does the show of sympathy in Toronto absolve Louis C.K. of wrongdoing? It is difficult to know for sure.
One thing I do know for certain is that I could ever support or sympathize with Louis C.K. – not just because he sexually harassed women by obscenely charming his snake out in the open, but primarily because I don’t think he has a funny bone in his body.
