Blog Against Sexism!!
I should be going to sleep right now since I promised to help with the postering blitz at 7.45 AM, but apparently I love to play on the internets when I should be sleeping and love to sleep when I should be working. no, I don't work when I could be playing on the internets, but that's a whole 'nother story.
anyway, thought I would come back to my poor, ignored lj since today (well yesterday) was Blog Against Sexism Day in honour of International Women's Day.
This week, there have been tons of events and talks going on at McGill and around Montreal. I made it to not a single one. Granted, I have been helping a lot with Floh's, Marcelle's and Max's campaigns and in theory that is working for the ladies since a vote for them is a vote for a more progressive McGill (and in essence, less sexist, heterosexist, heteronormative McGill).
But still, I am annoyed with myself.
Not only because I am in women's studies and because I would have found all of them extremely interesting, I'm sure, and because I should have been supporting these efforts... but really because I am someone who is able to not go to these events. I don't need to confront sexism on a regular, obvious basis. For the most part, because of my skin colour, social class, education, and the people I associate with, I am often able to avoid the existence of the more evident signs of sexism and gender inequality.
Unfortunately, that has recently become less true because of a certain someone who has turned out to be quite the opposite of the male feminist he purports himself to be. Questionable sexual practices with women, questionable treatment (or should I say use?) of women, and mostly, the refusal to confront or question his sexual politics because he is a "progressive" and thus must be immune to the ills of sexism.
Seeing him pull this shit and refuse to acknowledge it has reminded me that feminism and the women's movement and gender equality are not simply about eradicating gender-based violence, giving women equal pay, having equal representation in government and in business, ending representations of women as property/meat/sex objects/fill in the blank, or ending homophobia, transphobia or heterosexism. It is also about the more pervasive and insidious forms of sexism that we are so easily able to ignore. It is even more not just about confronting rapists or Bush or those "other" countries that don't give their women rights; it's about confronting ourselves, no matter how liberal, progressive, pro-women/gender equality, politically correct we are.
There is no cohesive, decisive, certain conclusion to this rant. That's just the point- until we decide to stop making up excuses and get over ourselves so we can just work on all of this shit, there can be no conclusion.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That turned into a way more serious and way longer rant than I meant it to be. well, good for me!
Happy (belated) International Women's Day, everyone!
anyway, thought I would come back to my poor, ignored lj since today (well yesterday) was Blog Against Sexism Day in honour of International Women's Day.
This week, there have been tons of events and talks going on at McGill and around Montreal. I made it to not a single one. Granted, I have been helping a lot with Floh's, Marcelle's and Max's campaigns and in theory that is working for the ladies since a vote for them is a vote for a more progressive McGill (and in essence, less sexist, heterosexist, heteronormative McGill).
But still, I am annoyed with myself.
Not only because I am in women's studies and because I would have found all of them extremely interesting, I'm sure, and because I should have been supporting these efforts... but really because I am someone who is able to not go to these events. I don't need to confront sexism on a regular, obvious basis. For the most part, because of my skin colour, social class, education, and the people I associate with, I am often able to avoid the existence of the more evident signs of sexism and gender inequality.
Unfortunately, that has recently become less true because of a certain someone who has turned out to be quite the opposite of the male feminist he purports himself to be. Questionable sexual practices with women, questionable treatment (or should I say use?) of women, and mostly, the refusal to confront or question his sexual politics because he is a "progressive" and thus must be immune to the ills of sexism.
Seeing him pull this shit and refuse to acknowledge it has reminded me that feminism and the women's movement and gender equality are not simply about eradicating gender-based violence, giving women equal pay, having equal representation in government and in business, ending representations of women as property/meat/sex objects/fill in the blank, or ending homophobia, transphobia or heterosexism. It is also about the more pervasive and insidious forms of sexism that we are so easily able to ignore. It is even more not just about confronting rapists or Bush or those "other" countries that don't give their women rights; it's about confronting ourselves, no matter how liberal, progressive, pro-women/gender equality, politically correct we are.
There is no cohesive, decisive, certain conclusion to this rant. That's just the point- until we decide to stop making up excuses and get over ourselves so we can just work on all of this shit, there can be no conclusion.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That turned into a way more serious and way longer rant than I meant it to be. well, good for me!
Happy (belated) International Women's Day, everyone!