Feminism

[viggorlijah]

I keep my LJ locked down for a bunch of reasons. A big part is that I'm still working with Riverkids, so I feel anything public needs to not embarrass the organisation, and then that a lot of my life is bound up in the private lives of teenagers who do not need their mum writing about them, and Maggie who is complicated to write about. I also am

Comments

[sinden]

I meant to go back and tell you how much I liked this post when you posted it originally but got distracted by something shiny (as happens when I'm trying not to focus on work). It ended up dovetailing into a conversation I had on the weekend about feminism, women's sexuality and ownership and how (in Western society) that is still being proscribed by both men and women themselves because of outdated societal views and internalised misogyny.

One of the many things that was discussed was about when -- in Australia -- Julia Gillard became Prime Minister, the papers ran headlines along the line of Welcome to the Matriarchy (because the Governor General is also a woman) and didn't see the irony of it at all. Only about 1/3 of parliamentarians in Australia are women and yet women make up over 50% of the population. And, according to that article, we currently have the most female politicians we've had since Federation (1901). I don't think matriarchy means what you think it means. Especially when one of the things you consitently report is about what the PM or GG is wearing as if it's news.

And that's something that so many people take for granted, that the media spins things. That they overinflate stories and perpetuate logical fallacies because it's what gets the most airplay/readship. One of the most common is that misandry is at the same level or increasingly worse than the levels of misogyny: Yeah, no. You don't get to play the victimised card when you are coming from a place of privilege.

Another is that women's sexuality is owned by them. Look around, the evidence against that is in advertising, music videos, magazines, books. How often have you seen any one of them that doesn't come from the POV of the male gaze? Not often, I bet. There's some, but they are rare and gems in the rough of everything else. And, seriously, if women's sexuality is owned by them, then why is it all nudge nudge wink wink about teenaged boys masturbating when the wind blows allowed and yet the agast horror that teenaged girls might want to do the same leads into a whole new round of slut shaming?

I also really love this opinion piece because it points out the how something so inherent for many women during their lives gets painted with the "otherness" brush. A girl being shown to be going through menarche is more offensive that a dead body? Really? *facepalm*

And, yes, tampons and pads are considered luxury items in Australia and attract the GST and "non-essential" items. I've been wanting that to be explained to me for YEARS.

So, after my rambling (sorry about that), I will conclude with I always like to point out what I believe to be some of the fundamentals of feminism to people when they say that feminism is dead and/or irrelevant:

- Do you believe that if a man and a woman are doing the same job they should be paid the same? Then you're a feminist.
- Do you believe that any person walking the streets has the right to do so without fear of violence? Then you're a feminist.
- Do you believe that every person has the right to speak up and disagree or stand on the outside of the majority or norm? Then you're a feminist.

Because all of these things are the way that women continue to be silenced or disenfranchised around the world.

[viggorlijah]

It reminds me of the Seinfeld sketch about laundry and blood (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQbYzBnrmrQ) watching it, laughing and then going hang on - does he not realize it's about periods and euphemisms and why isn't that media camouflage more worth mocking than pretending it's about injuries?

Then I think about how as a little kid I wasn't sure if menstrual blood was red or blue because in the commercials, it was always blue liquid being poured out! Are they marketing to some kind of vulcan-human hybrid in their spotless white pants?

Derail - but yes, periods are such a great intersection of media/economy, it's fascinating. I do wish someone would come up with a better word for them - other languages must have better phrases. Menses is too wishy-washy, period too general and the euphamisms suck.

[viggorlijah]

Googling for Seinfeld's video, I found this - The Sanguine Sex which is also worth a read.

[sinden]

Definitely worth the read. I disagree with some of the things said, but that's always how it goes when things like abortion are discussed -- it always steers away from need for medical terminations side of things which I think is a big part of the argument as well. Thanks for the link.

[sinden]

And, talk about timing, what with this being the week that the Australian PM's speech about our sexist leader of the opposition.