Article

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/brainstorm/200807/why-gender-doesnt-matter


What does everyone think?

Flaming Star

Today I was watching an old Elvis Presley western. While watching I was struck by the fact that alot of a person's actions were attributed to the colour of their skin. It occurred to me, that there were parallels between that bigotry and the bias I encounter on my blog, in regards to having to defend my reasons for being a feminist and having to defend some really radical ideas from feminists that I don't believe in. I know this could risk bringing it back to the debate "but feminism is a "CHOICE", however I don't think that is applicable and also I believe I have defended that stance adequately.

Basically it is one group of people judging a person based on a part of them that may not have anything to do with the action. For example, it has been put forth on my blog that feminists have been not so kind to people in their experience. Can you however state definitively that this is due to their feminism and not due to some other bias they themselves hold? If you cannot then how can you support this intense anger towards all feminists?

Also I wanted to ask any members of the MRA if they feel they should support all assertions of people who identify as MRA (correctly or incorecctly). For example I was reading on one MRA site a statement the blog owner made. It was something along the lines of; there is a point in arousal where a man is no longer in control of his sexual desires. (Thereby excusing rape).

Do you agree with this?
If so how do you support it?
Are you MRA?
If so do you think you should have to defend this view whether or not you agree with it (as some have claimed I have to do in regards to radical feminism claims)

Choice and labels

There are two things I want to address quickly within this entry.

The first one is why I identify as a feminist. There have been a couple of people questioning my use of this label. Well basically (desire for gender equality aside) when I look at the feminist movement I see it as a fight for choice. Examples of this are as follows:

Women having voting rights, this is political choice

"My body, my choice" is self evident

I see choice as the way to achieve true equality in society. I worry less about the amount of female CEO's, although I admit this may be one way of examining if inequality in choice still exists, and more about if true choice for women (and men) exists.

As for the media display that "women can have it all" this is a flawed model that many people have drawn attention to as a flaw in feminism. Actually, feminism renounces this representation as harmful for women. Regardly of what people may have convinced themselves, feminism's job is not quite done.

Also before you ask, I support women staying at home with the children and cooking for their husband (anti-marriage aside for now) if that is their choice to do so and how they go about maximising their happiness. I don't see it as a betrayal of myself or feminism.


Furthering on from this theme the other point I wanted to address is the concept of labels. Ignore my feminist label for one moment, what if I had called myself "Egalitarian open to criticism"? Would the criticism to support ratio have inverted? In regards to the exact same views?

Just because feminism has a bad name doesn't make it a good reason to drop it as a label, in fact I feel it is even more of a reason to adopt it as a proud label and attempt to change public opinion.

In the beginning...

Hey,

My name is Cassie, and I am a feminist. Let us think about that word for a moment "Feminist". This has become a dirty word in society today, I feel a constant pressure to hide or renounce my feminism in social circles. I have read that people are more likely to dislike me if I am openly feminist. However I have decided that is now less important then being true to who I am.

I am not a radical feminism, I will go into more detail about that later. I will provide more information about my political stances, I am;

Pro-euthanasia
Pro-choice
Pro-gay marriage
Anti-marriage in general
Anti-capital punishment
Anti-monogamy
Pro-animal rights


A little relevant background of me so in intellectual discussion we can be aware of any biases I may have. I am a child of divorce, my parents split up when I was 14, I believe it was in the best interests of all involved. I have been stalked, sexually abused and raped by men. This however is something I have come to terms with, I still have bad days, but minimise the impact of my personal history and emotional trauma on my political views.

I am not angry with men, nor do I believe they are "evil". I believe we all play a role in how society develops. I follow the dictionary definition of the word "feminism", which is "gender equality". I am uninterested in man bashing or any similar such things atrributed to feminists. I am in a relationship with an open minded also feminist boyfriend. We are both vegetarians and do our best to lead a moral life.

I am uninterested in the religion entering into the debating, falling back on the bible, "it should be this way because the bible says...", is just an excuse to have biased views. So godly types please keep discussion to something intellectual.

I have no interest in being labeled a "cunt", "man basher", "man hater", or a "lesbian". None of these are true, and anybody wishing to level these accusations against me need to have supporting evidence and "because your a feminist" is not proof.

What I am interested in is debate about gender roles, gender stereotypes, criticisms against feminism, criticisms against anti-feminism, etc. Keep it logical people.

With all that in mind I will start the ball rolling.

"All men are potential rapists"

Now this is an interesting assertation from the radical feminists. It is so interesting because it is factually correct. However I resent the implications that exclude women from this category. A more politically correct phrasing of this statement would be-

"All humans are potential rapists"