"Just Tell Them...

I have worked 40 years to make the Women's Suffrage platform broad enough for Atheists and Agnostics to stand upon, and now if need be I will fight the next 40 to keep it Catholic enough to permit the straightest Orthodox religionist to speak or pray and count her beads upon."

Susan B. Anthony

Friday, July 16, 2010

What Feminism Could Do Better (While I am still away.)

Despite her backhanded mention of Sarah Palin (and make no mistake, Sarah *is* a Feminist) the author makes some interesting points about how the Left is losing it's grip on the word "Feminism." And why.

"Feminism should realign itself with social justice and avoid reducing all questions of women's lives to issues of sexuality and sexual behavior."

8 comments:

  1. Janis2:04 PM

    And only then when it mysteriously aligns with what men want.

    "Social justice" my ass. Feminism should realign itself with WOMEN. No more of this "I support women's ISSUES!" weasel-worded garbage, with the implied, "not WOMEN!" tacked on at the end. Support women, the real live bleeding and sweating kind, or shut up. That's what feminism needs to realign itself with. Not glitter eyeshadow, thong underwear, or cackling over watching That Bitch Over there get what's coming.

    ReplyDelete
  2. As a Feminist... the only "social justice" I am now interested in is that which elevates women.

    But I do believe the point is well made that we really have to get beyond this sexuality litmus test. Which... most of the time... boils down to nothing more than "a REAL Feminist supports abortion."

    There are Feminists on both sides of the abortion issue. And... we all want what is best for our daughters. Justice.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Janis8:30 PM

    It also boils down to "my glitter eyeshadow and fuck-me pumps are feminist, but THAT bitch's aren't!" Seriously. The airheaded quality of it all stuns me. If some woman somewhere jerks off over it, then it's feminist, whatever "it" may be. So while abortion is one side of the "sexuality" litmus test, the other and unacknowledged side is when the third-waver thinks to herself, "Can I publicly avow Opinion X and still get that cute boy in the corner to like me?" Pole-dancer feminism has become the norm because they can adhere to it and still get male attention. To me, that's the poison of "sexuality," not so much abortion. Like alcohol and wife abuse, abortion isn't the reason for women not coming together. It's the excuse. If it's not that, we'll find something else to balkanize over.

    And I want people's daughters to have the power to decide what's best for THEMSELVES, whether I agree with it or not. That means that if other people's conservative daughters want to run for office, then I support them.

    But what you'll find is that most mainstream feminists DON'T trust women -- it's the ultimate anti-choice attitude. "Don't put a chick in charge, she'll fuck things up worse than a man would!" It's the only possible justification behind this nonsense belief that a bunch of Republican women winning their primaries is disastrous for women when the only alternative was a bunch of Republican MEN winning them.

    And if a bunch of conservative anti-choicers get elected, well then the libs had goddamned well better run a bunch of liberal pro-choice women to counter them. Then, with women in charge, women will decide. Finally. And it's what feminists have claimed to want all along.

    Preaching to the choir. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yep.

    Your last paragraph reminds me of what DK Jamaal said a few posts back. Essentailly, the Lefty Feminists now deserve to be mauled by the Mama Grizzlies they have created. How did they create them? By their incessant pandering to the likes of Obama. (Whom Planned Parenthood *finally* notices is not on their side? WTF??)

    I have long siad... if we fail to elect an Athena to the White House.... sooner or later we are gonna get a Kali Ma. The Goddess will exact her due.

    ReplyDelete
  5. yttik7:59 PM

    I didn't like the article. I think what is wrong with feminism these days is nearly the opposite of everything she suggests. Or rather, feminism now days is already practicing her recommendations and that is what's wrong with it.

    Women definitely need to stop aligning themselves with social causes and start aligning themselves with women.

    ReplyDelete
  6. yttik8:11 PM

    Also, Nina Power believes that capitalism is the root of all evil. This meme has been driving me nuts lately. We've never seen capitalism in the hands of women, we don't even know what it would look like. It might be a pretty good system if it didn't exploit and exclude women so much.

    The problem with the anti-capitalist feminists is that changing the system becomes their number one priority, as if women's rights will follow just as soon as we have a different system. The problem is that they put the cart before the horse. No matter what system is in control, if half the human race does not share the power, it's going to suck. We've already done patriarchal socialism, it sucked. You have to have full equality for women in order to have a healthy social, political, and economic structure. Without that, who cares what you call it, it's still just patriarchy.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Good point, Yttik. What would a Feminist Capitalism look like?

    I doubt I'll get to see one in my life time. But... it has to be better than the Capitalism we have under the Patriarchy.... (or the Socialism for that matter.)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Janis4:24 PM

    "Women definitely need to stop aligning themselves with social causes and start aligning themselves with women."

    A-FUCKIN-MEN.

    ReplyDelete