feminism

i still hate on most men 24/7. ok. my hate-on for male stupidity is due to the fact i socialize as a man with men because i like to listen to loud music, watch cartoons, and discuss politics over too many beers. i hear what most of these tools say about us women, and as a result, i am completely appalled. the worst men on earth for this shit are those who fancy themselves progressives.

i yell at my guy friends regarding their treatment/discussion of women all the time, and it either gets
a) hearty laughter
b) hearty dissing of feminism for being a bourgeois construct

note to self:  kick all men in the balls more often. 

are women stupid? i think we are socialized to be somewhat pathetic. i believe i was, but i do not take well to any socialization process. i think the way men are is due to a really pathetic machismo socialization process.

ive taken a liking to judith butler, because i think that ditching gender as a binary is only a good thing. i dont think you can ditch gender as a binary entirely, since a lot of the gender discrimination is predicated on the male/female or queer/hetero splits. there needs to be a way that people can discuss gender and queerness while defining it for themselves in a way that does not negate either the feminist or gay rights histories/projects.

what i mean by that is i am so tired of all the "im a feminist, but i shave my legs"/"im not a feminist, but i think women get paid less than men" bullshit.

1. you are a feminist if you think the advances made by the womens movement (birth control, pay equity, access to all professions, etc) are noteworthy achievements. this doesnt mean you are a radical feminist or a feminist activist or a butch who doesnt ascribe to a depilatory regime.

the reason i am telling you that you are a feminist is because the history of keeping women down still affects women today, and it would be nice if all women who believe these advances are good could have a label that just means 'i believe in equality and freedom from being a birthing cow' so that we could present a united front against the way things were. nobody is going to confiscate your nailpolish or alienate your male friends the second you are comfortable describing your beliefs as feminist.

2. expanding peoples ability to identify with a wider gender spectrum would enable women to demonstrate that there are so many different ways of living as women and that none of them conflict with acknowledging the need for women to stand up for themselves and their rights.

i know this sounds whack since im advancing one big label while encouraging more small labels.  im trying to advance the notion of one big label that means 'i think women shouldnt be screwed over/treated like babies' co-existing with a complex idea with gender that would enable people to combine their personal gender identity with the broader aims of feminism.

(this post has been drafted as a massive flip of the bird to all the haters out there.)

Comments

[Declan]

I think it's important not to concede words or let them be defined by your opponents. I think the gay community has been very successful with this. So much so that the National Post had a cover story last week about how the word 'community' was being used too widely, a comment I first remember hearing many years ago from right-wingers trying to prevent the gay community from using the word 'community' because they believed (rightly) that the term gave them legitimacy.

Consider all the female-specific descriptors in use for a long time, 'Queen', 'Princess', 'Lady', 'Bitch' and their male equivalents. Would a man rather be considered a Prince or a woman a Princess? A Lord or a Lady? Rather rule the roost or be a mother hen? Cocky or hen-pecked? Words are important.

Check out this page

Synonyms for 'lady' apparently include 'babe', 'bitch', 'queen bee' and 'weaker sex*'

* listed as slang.

Compare with lord.

Meanwhile 'princess' is linked to 'darling' which in turn is synonymous with 'baby', 'lamb', 'pet', 'spoiled child', and 'sweetie-pie'

One Last link

Companies like Monsanto spent millions (successfully for the most part) to try and eradicate the term 'frankenfoods' from the discourse, and the copyright industry has similarly been successful with a multi-million dollar campaign to make people think that downloading music off the internet is 'theft'.

[Steve]

i prefer being called a flaneur myself.

[ainge]

flaneurs have come up way too many times this week. its like dandy is dead.

[Mary-hm]

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