Comments | cinnazimt: Feminism pt 1

cinnazimt

Feminism pt 1

Jun 15, 2006 11:32

Emi asked me the other day if a certain book from the feminist canon was worth reading. I suppose it depends on one's perspective...there are a billion different types of feminism, afterall. So I have a group of questions I'm going to be asking, to get a feel for what kind of feminists we all are...and possibly narrow it down better for myself.

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Comments 22

dreamlit June 15 2006, 21:28:47 UTC

BDSM?

To note, I don't consider myself a feminist. dreamlit June 15 2006, 21:49:57 UTC

C, for some reason, seems to stick out in my mind as most important, though I definitely am for and against particular items listed within it. Genital mutilation has to go. Shaving - I'm a fan but I don't really care what other people do (guys can shave, too, if they want to... women don't have to if they don't want to). Anorexia has to go. Prostitution needs to go. Pornography needs to go. Masterbation (for guys, too) needs to go. Women's health is super important. Rape needs to go. ETC ( ... )

Re: To note, I don't consider myself a feminist. cinnazimt June 15 2006, 22:33:07 UTC

Revision of marriage/divorce/custody laws covers all kinds of things., and remember these are questions of how the state should cover things -- which may or may not be the same as how your faith handles them.

How easy should it be to get married? How shall marriage be defined? What about common law marriages? How easy should it be to get divorced? Remarried? Who has the right to custody? Should temporary marriage licenses be available?

In some cases this means abolishing marriage all together and bringing in community-oriented programs and registries -- other times it means requiring couples to have children. Etc., etc., etc.

Re: To note, I don't consider myself a feminist. dreamlit June 15 2006, 23:33:59 UTC

Interesting... hmmm... more to think about, huh?

Thread 8

klein1601 June 15 2006, 21:35:42 UTC

I'd go with b. The rules with which we govern our society shape our society. I think the easiest and most lasting changes are in the realm of government. Advances made there are not easily surrendered and it's often easier to convince a small group of rulers of the rightness of a cause than the general masses. (Only in a pure democracy are these equivalent.) But then I'm possibly biased since most major movements were minority movements which leveraged the government to act against the wishes of the majority.

arcticfirefox June 16 2006, 09:28:16 UTC

I'm with Klein...B it is....because:

-if it's the law (maternity leave, marriage/custody laws...) then SOME people will be more willing to follow it than if it's some vague standard that some "wackos" came up with

-some aspects of E go too far, when A, B, C, and D seem much more important...E seems to be more of a result of the others, than a way to implement the others...

-After B, I would go with D because the sterotypes are, in my experience, the most visible and common venue for any talk about feminism, gender, etc...

Sometimes I hate being a 6 aranna_elenna June 16 2006, 15:11:38 UTC

I'm so in love with this game.

I pick C, before reading what everyone else has to say, because I think that...damnit, now I'm already rethinking this. But I was going to say that if we fix C, our body image, and figure out our self confidence, then the rest will follow; and also those seem the most damaging so also most pressing. But then I thought that well D might change our self image more than C would, since it is dealing with the psychology. But I'm going to stick with C because I do think if we fix the ideas behind C then a lot of the others will follow. That is what I think, at least until I read what others have to say.

Re: Sometimes I hate being a 6 klein1601 June 16 2006, 17:15:22 UTC

*psst*! Go with b!

Feminist Psychology anonymous June 17 2006, 02:11:28 UTC

If any women claims not be a feminist I am unsure of their "feminist" definition is. Feminist psychology ideals basically state that women should be considered equal to men. If a women thinks she be paid the same wages for the same job as her male counter part...she believes in a principle of feminist psychology. If a women believes that she should have a right to decide what she does with her body (not just limited to reproduction rights),then she believes in feminist psychology principles. If she doesn't believe that women are just as valuable in society as men...she needs to find a women's support group because unfortunately that seems to announce a negative image for her self and other women. Women are not weak. Women are intelligent. And against popular beliefs, women can be excellent leaders, scholars, mothers, and teachers simultaneously.

Re: Feminist Psychology anonymous June 17 2006, 02:14:39 UTC

I apologize for my typing errors :)

Re: Feminist Psychology cinnazimt June 17 2006, 05:09:31 UTC

i don't actually care -- your sentiment came across fine. :-)

Re: Feminist Psychology cinnazimt June 17 2006, 05:08:07 UTC

I think labeling others can be pretty dangerous, so I'm weary. Especially because there are so many ideas within feminism and I certainly don't want myself aligned with all of them. Or even most of them. Equal value? yes. Separatism? Essentialism? no. But there's room in feminism for both of those, too.

Also, I would call feminism a philosophy not a psychology, but that's probably too nit-picky...

Thank you for your thoughts, though.

Thread 5