As you probably know, I am a man who identifies as a feminist. A recent blog post made me reconsider exactly what that means. In the post and the comments on said post, I learned that some people don't think men can be feminists/shouldn't take the label for themselves. This started a long thought process for me that I'm going to share here. One of the things I have concluded is that adopting the label is a conscious act. It means something.
First, I want to talk about what my feminist identity means to me. It is a statement to others about my agreement with an ideology (feminist theory) and my stance of solidarity with the women's movement. The blog writer and several commenters expressed a fear that men who identified as feminists were simply doing so to score points with women and/or insert themselves into leadership in feminist movements. I'm sure that's happened and will happen in the future. It sucks and men who do that are dickholes.
I agree with those who were arguing that specific viewpoint insofar as I know that applying the label of feminism to a man does not exempt him from male privilege. Feminist men are still fully subject to male privilege, no matter how long they have identified this way. I know that. I try to check my privilege every day because I know that it blinds me and advantages me at the same time. This makes it a lot more difficult for a man to be a feminist.
Where I disagree, however, is the argument that because of male privilege, men cannot be feminist. In the selfsame comment thread, they seem to accept a definition of feminism as "the struggle to end patriarchal oppression of women." MEN CAN DO THAT TOO! I have heard it said (and said so myself) that feminism doesn't hate men-it respects them enough to have higher expectations. Not to imply that these people hate men, but I don't think men are so crippled that they cannot struggle to end patriarchal oppression of women. Must they acknowledge and constantly be aware of their position in the power hierarchy in which they perpetuate systems of inequality while doing so? Absolutely. But honestly, give men some credit here. I believe that men are good enough to (with much effort) be feminists too.
P.S. This discussion is brought to you by The Gender Binary™ and Cissexist Assumptions Productions, Inc.
Seriously though, I might write another blog post about why this blog post was informed and shaped by assumptions about gender that aren't true. No promises, but I totally might.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Jon Stewart: Welcome to my Shit List
So, in case you were unaware, people in America hates atheists. Google atheist discrimination or something if you doubt me. Of course, as with many forms of marginalization, the methods of discrimination have changed in recent years. Largely due to the influence of the advocacy of secular and humanist groups, most people seem to have stopped making open statements about how worthless atheists are as American citizens (*cough* Bush senior *cough*).
No, many people say that they accept atheists nowadays. I've heard the oft-repeated phrase that people can believe in whatever they please. While frequently people qualify this with "as long as they believe in something anyway", I've found that to be less and less common as time goes on. Most people would look at this and claim that this proves that there isn't any religious discrimination against atheists anymore. Well, they are wrong.
An insidious tactic that people seem to use to keep their hate alive is to say they accept (insert minority here), but they wish they didn't have to hear about the problems of said minority. I've seen this directed at almost every oppressed group you can name. Usually, though, there are other people willing to condemn this, as it's a clear attempt to suppress diverging opinions.
This is not at all the case with atheism.
EVERYBODY hates on the atheists when they dare to speak up about something. In fact, I have yet to meet anybody who isn't an atheist who is willing to defend us. Heck, even other atheists throw us under the bus. Time and time again, I've been with other social justice activists and almost none of them think this type of discrimination against atheists matters. Whenever atheists or freethinkers or humanists or whoever speaks up to point out that they are being excluded by some stupid religious practice being legitimized by a supposedly godless government, they get shit on.
The atheists in question are suddenly being assholes, or being overly critical, or making too big of a deal out of a minor issue. You know, the same kind of bullshit people pull with feminists. What's got me fired up about this right now? This shit right here.
Because how dare those atheists file a lawsuit against a clear promotion of Christianity in a museum largely funded by taxpayer dollars? How dare they challenge a clear endorsement of the Christian faith?! What assholes they are to point out that the separation of church and state is a thing! And David Silverman has the audacity to point out that it doesn't even make sense... what an asshole.
So thank you, Jon Stewart, for following in the footsteps of almost everybody else. I really appreciate what you do for politics and I am certain that many of us would be worse off without you. Not atheists, though. I've always been a bit wary of your middle-of-the-road-let's-compromise fetish, but till now it hasn't really rubbed me the wrong way. But this really shows me the folly in your particular approach to politics. The middle of the road isn't always the place to be. What you are doing, Jon, is pretending like you are superior because you are mature enough to compromise. I have seen enough false equivalences in my time (climate change "skeptics", anyone?) to see the danger of that line of thinking.
So, although I quite enjoy your show and even the aforementioned segment made me laugh, I'm putting you on my shit list. You can join the PA liquor control board, the American Family Association, and Herman Cain (fuck you forever and always, you miserable bastard).
No, many people say that they accept atheists nowadays. I've heard the oft-repeated phrase that people can believe in whatever they please. While frequently people qualify this with "as long as they believe in something anyway", I've found that to be less and less common as time goes on. Most people would look at this and claim that this proves that there isn't any religious discrimination against atheists anymore. Well, they are wrong.
An insidious tactic that people seem to use to keep their hate alive is to say they accept (insert minority here), but they wish they didn't have to hear about the problems of said minority. I've seen this directed at almost every oppressed group you can name. Usually, though, there are other people willing to condemn this, as it's a clear attempt to suppress diverging opinions.
This is not at all the case with atheism.
EVERYBODY hates on the atheists when they dare to speak up about something. In fact, I have yet to meet anybody who isn't an atheist who is willing to defend us. Heck, even other atheists throw us under the bus. Time and time again, I've been with other social justice activists and almost none of them think this type of discrimination against atheists matters. Whenever atheists or freethinkers or humanists or whoever speaks up to point out that they are being excluded by some stupid religious practice being legitimized by a supposedly godless government, they get shit on.
The atheists in question are suddenly being assholes, or being overly critical, or making too big of a deal out of a minor issue. You know, the same kind of bullshit people pull with feminists. What's got me fired up about this right now? This shit right here.
Because how dare those atheists file a lawsuit against a clear promotion of Christianity in a museum largely funded by taxpayer dollars? How dare they challenge a clear endorsement of the Christian faith?! What assholes they are to point out that the separation of church and state is a thing! And David Silverman has the audacity to point out that it doesn't even make sense... what an asshole.
So thank you, Jon Stewart, for following in the footsteps of almost everybody else. I really appreciate what you do for politics and I am certain that many of us would be worse off without you. Not atheists, though. I've always been a bit wary of your middle-of-the-road-let's-compromise fetish, but till now it hasn't really rubbed me the wrong way. But this really shows me the folly in your particular approach to politics. The middle of the road isn't always the place to be. What you are doing, Jon, is pretending like you are superior because you are mature enough to compromise. I have seen enough false equivalences in my time (climate change "skeptics", anyone?) to see the danger of that line of thinking.
So, although I quite enjoy your show and even the aforementioned segment made me laugh, I'm putting you on my shit list. You can join the PA liquor control board, the American Family Association, and Herman Cain (fuck you forever and always, you miserable bastard).
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
A Few Words About Rape Culture
The following is a *very* slightly edited version of something I posted elsewhere, but wanted to post here so I can look back at it later. This was basically my attempt to educate people about a culture of rape who had never engaged with these issues before. I'll probably recycle it later. Here it is:
What is a rape culture, you ask? Well, I'll tell you. A culture of rape is a system of ways of thinking and acting that legitimize rape. A culture of rape means that people often do things that make rape okay by implication. A few examples:
Catcalling Any man who catcalls or wolf-whistles a woman is saying that he has the right to comment on her body. Why would he have the right to comment on her body? Because it doesn't belong to her. For some reason, people seem to think that women's bodies exist in the public sphere. Therefore, anyone has the right to comment on them or critique them. This makes rape okay because you can do as you please with your own property. If you see women as your own property (read: you catcall them), then it's okay to rape them.
Slut-shaming If you call women sluts and whores, you are contributing to rape culture. Why? Because you are putting women down for expressing their sexuality. When you label women whores, you aren't just talking about any women. You are talking about "those women" specifically. The ones who enjoy sex too much (or really, at all). You are separating them from the "normal women" and saying that these whores are worth less in your eyes. And if they are less valuable, it's more okay to rape these women than "normal" women. Of course, you can really slut-shame any women on the planet because here's a secret: if you call women who enjoy sex sluts, and all women enjoy sex, then all women are sluts. Hmm. Of course, slut-shaming wouldn't be quite as problematic without...
Victim Blaming This is one of my favorites. Victim blaming is when people entertain the fallacious and offensive notion that women who are raped wanted it or deserved it. People who say things like, "she was asking for it" or "what did she think was going to happen??". Obviously this contributes to a rape culture because people act like rape is the fault of anyone but the rapist. If women who dress like sluts (see slut-shaming above!) are asking to be raped, then who can blame some poor unsuspecting guy who assumes that she wants to have sex and doesn't wait for consent? It wasn't his fault, she led him on!! She was dancing seductively! Shit like that is victim blaming. In case you were wondering, rapists cause rape. Alcohol doesn't cause rape. Miniskirts don't cause rape. Dancing doesn't cause rape. RAPISTS DO.
Those are just a few things that contribute to the culture of rape. There are also many others.
Note: I don't want you to think that I came up with these ideas myself. As someone who is subject to male privilege, I have had to learn about these things from feminists. I had to learn these things from women. I had to challenge myself to really understand why this is such a big deal and how I, as a man, have contributed to these things. I am aware that many men probably haven't done all of that, and probably won't agree with me. They need to get educated.
What is a rape culture, you ask? Well, I'll tell you. A culture of rape is a system of ways of thinking and acting that legitimize rape. A culture of rape means that people often do things that make rape okay by implication. A few examples:
Catcalling Any man who catcalls or wolf-whistles a woman is saying that he has the right to comment on her body. Why would he have the right to comment on her body? Because it doesn't belong to her. For some reason, people seem to think that women's bodies exist in the public sphere. Therefore, anyone has the right to comment on them or critique them. This makes rape okay because you can do as you please with your own property. If you see women as your own property (read: you catcall them), then it's okay to rape them.
Slut-shaming If you call women sluts and whores, you are contributing to rape culture. Why? Because you are putting women down for expressing their sexuality. When you label women whores, you aren't just talking about any women. You are talking about "those women" specifically. The ones who enjoy sex too much (or really, at all). You are separating them from the "normal women" and saying that these whores are worth less in your eyes. And if they are less valuable, it's more okay to rape these women than "normal" women. Of course, you can really slut-shame any women on the planet because here's a secret: if you call women who enjoy sex sluts, and all women enjoy sex, then all women are sluts. Hmm. Of course, slut-shaming wouldn't be quite as problematic without...
Victim Blaming This is one of my favorites. Victim blaming is when people entertain the fallacious and offensive notion that women who are raped wanted it or deserved it. People who say things like, "she was asking for it" or "what did she think was going to happen??". Obviously this contributes to a rape culture because people act like rape is the fault of anyone but the rapist. If women who dress like sluts (see slut-shaming above!) are asking to be raped, then who can blame some poor unsuspecting guy who assumes that she wants to have sex and doesn't wait for consent? It wasn't his fault, she led him on!! She was dancing seductively! Shit like that is victim blaming. In case you were wondering, rapists cause rape. Alcohol doesn't cause rape. Miniskirts don't cause rape. Dancing doesn't cause rape. RAPISTS DO.
Those are just a few things that contribute to the culture of rape. There are also many others.
Note: I don't want you to think that I came up with these ideas myself. As someone who is subject to male privilege, I have had to learn about these things from feminists. I had to learn these things from women. I had to challenge myself to really understand why this is such a big deal and how I, as a man, have contributed to these things. I am aware that many men probably haven't done all of that, and probably won't agree with me. They need to get educated.
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