feminism! (and yeah, I'm back)
I'm back! Mexico was amazing. 
lanna_kitty is a darling, her friends are lovely and I had a wonderful time.
Jumping back into things has been hard. University elections were this week and I've spent a whole bunch of days thinking about feminism.
Mentions of rape, rape jokes, racism and extreme anti-Semitism under the cut.
I've been in many arguments lately about feminism. My dear flatmate doesn't think of herself as a feminist, it goes too far; she's concerned with everyone. She's a political theorist and she's all about the labels and categories and defines as a cosmopolitanist, which is great-
If you're in a group of political theorists. When we're out with engineers and chemists and she says she's not a feminist my stomach turns into knots. In the real world, not a feminist means bigot at worst, ignorant at best. Not a feminist means "I don't see the patriarchy, I have what I want." "What's wrong with staying at home with your children? Why do you hate women who don't want a career?" (I don't! I want equal opportunity stay-at-home-ness!) Within political studies, in the wizard's tower of academia, be what you want, define yourself down to little nuances of the theories. She supports women's empowerment because she supports everyone's empowerment. Women ought to have more choices in life because everyone should.
Great approach on paper, in theory, in the safe, glorious confines of academia. When the newly elected women's officer on my campus, number one student's union in the U.K., gets a death threat and misogynistic slurs in her inbox on the first bloody day after the election- something is wrong with the world. Something is rotten in the state of humanity and I don't think wanting rights for everyone is enough without acknowledging that right now, some of everyone have much less rights they need to fight for than others.
I'm a radical feminist because I think sexism is still real and rampant. I'm far-left of reality because I think the patriarchy is still strong and nearly invisible to many people.
Being a slut has nothing to do with your elected position. in fact, having affairs while married doesn't seem to do anything for you as a leader of a state (as long as you're a man), but say you're a feminist and you give men license to fill your email with all the reasons you're a whore.
The greatest insult of course for a woman is that she sells her body for money instead of saving herself for wholesome sex.
Our newly elected women's officer is told she's redundant, that it's a useless position, that she ought to die and save the union the trouble of paying her £17,000 to whore herself around.
The irony missing the writers of these emails appears to be that any society where telling a woman in power that she's a whore for taking a position against sexism proves exactly what they're arguing against. We need a women's officer because you think it's okay to call her a slut.
No one called the male candidate who cheated on his campaign a slut. None of the newly elected men got death threats, but we don't need a women's officer, an equality officer would be good enough. Men have issues too!
Men are less likely to do well in university if they come from a lower-class background. Men are more likely to be violently attacked by strangers (also more likely to be men) walking home drunk. Someone even told me there's more pressure on men to get a good job so they can provide for their families.
Because the man ought to have a job. Gods forbid he not have a job and his wife get one, because maybe she went to university too. Maybe she's qualified to earn an income.
Men are expected to work more hours and spend less time with their families and yes, this is unfair, but the answer is changing the system. You know what allows more men spend time with their families? Letting more women work. Supporting more women to rise higher in society, to be board members, CEOs, tenured professors, department heads and pro-vice-chancellors so that they can support their stay-at-home husbands or wives.
You know what would help balance the amount of time women in academia lose in their publishing careers when they have children? Flexible hours for their partners, male or female, more breaks to breastfeed, less pressure to get everything done between 9 and 5.
Wanting everyone to be equal is great. Realising that a greater share of inequality is borne by women is essential. I don't want men to be beaten up on their way home from a night out; I also don't want rape jokes to become societally acceptable.
But but, we make jokes about the Holocaust! Everything's funny. (you brought of the Holocaust! Rule of Nazis applies, I win! ... anyway)
The Holocaust happened nearly 60 years ago, and people still live with it today. It can be funny because humour treads the line between acceptable and not and makes us think about society. Rape isn't 60 years old. Rape was yesterday, five minutes ago, this very second; that demands respect for survivors that "frape" and "wow, that test raped me" doesn't contain.
"That test beat me like I dun run away from my massa"
"That test beat me like an Auschwitz guard"
Offensive? You betcha. How about "That test melted my brain like a Martian listening to a yodelling solo" ? Gets the point across! (and it's nerdy)
"Go ahead and do her when she's passed out drunk, 85% of rapes go unreported" is not funny. The idea that someone thought that belonged on a website for university students alongside real suggestions is appallingly not funny.
Cosmopolitanism stands for "Mindfulness Training of the Order of Interbeing" as being aware of sufferings created by, but not limited to, the following causes: fanaticism and intolerances that disrupt compassion and living in harmony with others; indoctrination of narrow-minded beliefs; imposition of views; anger; and miscommunication.
Which is great, but right now, in 2012, this requires acknowledging the a viciously narrow-minded belief: that men are better than women. That women are passive, that less women are in power than men because they simply don't want to be. That this is innate and unshakeable. Women obviously have no interest in running the world, otherwise they'd just do it. If women just cared more, the world's law-making bodies would be more egalitarian.
They'd stop complaining about it, be proactive and go out and get in power!
It's women's own fault really. We just don't care enough.
We're sluts when we do.
More to come, because there's tons of it in my head that I just need to get out. Love you, flist! (Gates in the command chair is SO my feminist icon)
Posted in the mirror verse at http://oparu.dreamwidth.org/309597.html with
comments.
lanna_kitty is a darling, her friends are lovely and I had a wonderful time.
Jumping back into things has been hard. University elections were this week and I've spent a whole bunch of days thinking about feminism.
Mentions of rape, rape jokes, racism and extreme anti-Semitism under the cut.
I've been in many arguments lately about feminism. My dear flatmate doesn't think of herself as a feminist, it goes too far; she's concerned with everyone. She's a political theorist and she's all about the labels and categories and defines as a cosmopolitanist, which is great-
If you're in a group of political theorists. When we're out with engineers and chemists and she says she's not a feminist my stomach turns into knots. In the real world, not a feminist means bigot at worst, ignorant at best. Not a feminist means "I don't see the patriarchy, I have what I want." "What's wrong with staying at home with your children? Why do you hate women who don't want a career?" (I don't! I want equal opportunity stay-at-home-ness!) Within political studies, in the wizard's tower of academia, be what you want, define yourself down to little nuances of the theories. She supports women's empowerment because she supports everyone's empowerment. Women ought to have more choices in life because everyone should.
Great approach on paper, in theory, in the safe, glorious confines of academia. When the newly elected women's officer on my campus, number one student's union in the U.K., gets a death threat and misogynistic slurs in her inbox on the first bloody day after the election- something is wrong with the world. Something is rotten in the state of humanity and I don't think wanting rights for everyone is enough without acknowledging that right now, some of everyone have much less rights they need to fight for than others.
I'm a radical feminist because I think sexism is still real and rampant. I'm far-left of reality because I think the patriarchy is still strong and nearly invisible to many people.
Being a slut has nothing to do with your elected position. in fact, having affairs while married doesn't seem to do anything for you as a leader of a state (as long as you're a man), but say you're a feminist and you give men license to fill your email with all the reasons you're a whore.
The greatest insult of course for a woman is that she sells her body for money instead of saving herself for wholesome sex.
Our newly elected women's officer is told she's redundant, that it's a useless position, that she ought to die and save the union the trouble of paying her £17,000 to whore herself around.
The irony missing the writers of these emails appears to be that any society where telling a woman in power that she's a whore for taking a position against sexism proves exactly what they're arguing against. We need a women's officer because you think it's okay to call her a slut.
No one called the male candidate who cheated on his campaign a slut. None of the newly elected men got death threats, but we don't need a women's officer, an equality officer would be good enough. Men have issues too!
Men are less likely to do well in university if they come from a lower-class background. Men are more likely to be violently attacked by strangers (also more likely to be men) walking home drunk. Someone even told me there's more pressure on men to get a good job so they can provide for their families.
Because the man ought to have a job. Gods forbid he not have a job and his wife get one, because maybe she went to university too. Maybe she's qualified to earn an income.
Men are expected to work more hours and spend less time with their families and yes, this is unfair, but the answer is changing the system. You know what allows more men spend time with their families? Letting more women work. Supporting more women to rise higher in society, to be board members, CEOs, tenured professors, department heads and pro-vice-chancellors so that they can support their stay-at-home husbands or wives.
You know what would help balance the amount of time women in academia lose in their publishing careers when they have children? Flexible hours for their partners, male or female, more breaks to breastfeed, less pressure to get everything done between 9 and 5.
Wanting everyone to be equal is great. Realising that a greater share of inequality is borne by women is essential. I don't want men to be beaten up on their way home from a night out; I also don't want rape jokes to become societally acceptable.
But but, we make jokes about the Holocaust! Everything's funny. (you brought of the Holocaust! Rule of Nazis applies, I win! ... anyway)
The Holocaust happened nearly 60 years ago, and people still live with it today. It can be funny because humour treads the line between acceptable and not and makes us think about society. Rape isn't 60 years old. Rape was yesterday, five minutes ago, this very second; that demands respect for survivors that "frape" and "wow, that test raped me" doesn't contain.
"That test beat me like I dun run away from my massa"
"That test beat me like an Auschwitz guard"
Offensive? You betcha. How about "That test melted my brain like a Martian listening to a yodelling solo" ? Gets the point across! (and it's nerdy)
"Go ahead and do her when she's passed out drunk, 85% of rapes go unreported" is not funny. The idea that someone thought that belonged on a website for university students alongside real suggestions is appallingly not funny.
Cosmopolitanism stands for "Mindfulness Training of the Order of Interbeing" as being aware of sufferings created by, but not limited to, the following causes: fanaticism and intolerances that disrupt compassion and living in harmony with others; indoctrination of narrow-minded beliefs; imposition of views; anger; and miscommunication.
Which is great, but right now, in 2012, this requires acknowledging the a viciously narrow-minded belief: that men are better than women. That women are passive, that less women are in power than men because they simply don't want to be. That this is innate and unshakeable. Women obviously have no interest in running the world, otherwise they'd just do it. If women just cared more, the world's law-making bodies would be more egalitarian.
They'd stop complaining about it, be proactive and go out and get in power!
It's women's own fault really. We just don't care enough.
We're sluts when we do.
More to come, because there's tons of it in my head that I just need to get out. Love you, flist! (Gates in the command chair is SO my feminist icon)
Posted in the mirror verse at http://oparu.dreamwidth.org/309597.html with
comments.