Tech Fail Backup Plan - Meta Rec
So I tried again to set up a tumblr account so I could poke around fandom activities there - I figure if I'm going to be on a fandom-related podcast, I should at least TRY to access all the wild and crazy thoughts bouncing around tumblr. Account set up, but unable to "reblog" the post I want or pretty much do ANYTHING I want on there. I fucking SUCKS. Who thought that format was a good idea? Why have so many people embraced it????? It is all that is disposable, ephemeral, buried, hidden, and inaccessible. (Oh well. You never know what kids these days will embrace. Going to go sit back down in my rocker, now, and pet my cat.) So I'm using my LJ to make a record of the fact that I read this article and loved it....
For All the Women I Have Loved Who Were Dragged Through the Mud by Aiffe -- This piece had two things that I really found interesting. One was the concept that men's problems are considered more important than women's (and the subsequent term 'androcentrism'), which is something I've long been aware of, but am not sure I ever thought about in quite such bald terms before.
Second was the idea that feelings of powerlessness prompt people to turn inward and obsess over self-improvement. I have been feeling exceptionally powerless lately, so this rang many bells for me:
"Whereas I felt at the time that feminism could be found in ruthless and critical self-examination and improvement of attitudes, I wonder now if that is not also part of the high bar of perfectionism women are subjected to, and also related to the fact that the powerless, feeling at a loss to change the world, turn inward and try to change the self. I’ve often felt that the massive self-improvement fad is a symptom of this generation being deeply dissatisfied with the outer world and craving change, yet feeling powerless in all domains outside the self." - Aiffe
The overall post is about how some fanfic writers vilify canon female characters and why they might do this. (My vote goes to Reason #7 - inconveniencing the male hero.) But there are many others interesting observations about feminism in there. Particularly interesting is that this is an annotated repost, so it contains the original post and the author's comments from a couple years later, so it is an amazing examination of how one's feminism can change. It's a long read, but very worth it, if you are interested in this type of thing.
For All the Women I Have Loved Who Were Dragged Through the Mud by Aiffe -- This piece had two things that I really found interesting. One was the concept that men's problems are considered more important than women's (and the subsequent term 'androcentrism'), which is something I've long been aware of, but am not sure I ever thought about in quite such bald terms before.
Second was the idea that feelings of powerlessness prompt people to turn inward and obsess over self-improvement. I have been feeling exceptionally powerless lately, so this rang many bells for me:
"Whereas I felt at the time that feminism could be found in ruthless and critical self-examination and improvement of attitudes, I wonder now if that is not also part of the high bar of perfectionism women are subjected to, and also related to the fact that the powerless, feeling at a loss to change the world, turn inward and try to change the self. I’ve often felt that the massive self-improvement fad is a symptom of this generation being deeply dissatisfied with the outer world and craving change, yet feeling powerless in all domains outside the self." - Aiffe
The overall post is about how some fanfic writers vilify canon female characters and why they might do this. (My vote goes to Reason #7 - inconveniencing the male hero.) But there are many others interesting observations about feminism in there. Particularly interesting is that this is an annotated repost, so it contains the original post and the author's comments from a couple years later, so it is an amazing examination of how one's feminism can change. It's a long read, but very worth it, if you are interested in this type of thing.