October 25th - Feminism Plus
I had a feeling this was going to happen.. just a little mail received from my comment at the end of my journal about feminism... So here we go, I'm getting into it. See I'm writing in military green...
The common arguments I received, as I usually do, usually include some feminist statistics around violence, wage, etc... to show how women really do have the worst end of the societal stick. Those are great.. statistics are wonderful, they just don't always show a very big well rounded picture.
They are usually statistics that conveniently leave out certain whole areas.. like war and the draft. Yes women are victims of more violence and lower pay then men.. if, and big if, you discount the fact that we send out our men to war on a regular basis. (very high violence, very low pay, incredibly traumatic). Centuries of the most brutal and deadly violence. What about the prison situation lately? Checked into those statistics?... Saying men are more violent, may well be true, but is meaningless if we don't take some responsibility as part of the society that created that scenario. A society that is comprised of both women and men, and it does us no good to just label that stuff as 'evil man crap' and try to divorce ourselves from it as women. If you ask me, it's a convenient cop-out.
The argument often then is that men do this to themselves. Personally, I think if we are ever going to get anywhere, we all have to take some responsibility for what we do as a society. Make up your mind ladies, are we victims or are we collaborators? Do we have power or don't we? Personally, I think we do, and always have. You tell me that the mother's role in our society in how our children grow up isn't a pivotal one and hasn't always been. I personally think ideology that focuses on our oppression rather than our power can also be damaging. You move in the direction of your expectations.
Think about that.. it's important.. you move in the direction of your expectations.I think that happens as a society too.. we move in the direction of our expectations.. our children move in the direction of the expectations we have for them. As a society, as people, we are molded and influenced of societies expectations of us..
and so tell me.. what is it we expect, from men?
What about more subtle forms of violence to the psyche?
How easy is it do you think for most teenage boys to get a babysitting job?... Do you think all teenage boys are possibly child molesters? Many people do, as a society we have a distrust of our men, and it starts in youth. Unfortunately statistically.. most new parents aren't willing to take the risk.. the presumption in our society is men are potentially 'evil'... how damaging is that?
I think society.. which is comprised of men and women and individuals... functions together to oppress both men and women through stereotypes that are damaging for everyone, and perpetuates a lot of social problems.
Feminism... is a sexist word, and many forms of it, seem to be about sexist ideology to me. I prefer not to use it. If we were using Masculinism... a lot of feminists would be a little unhappy about the label choice. I share some of the ideals.. yes, but I dislike the label immensely, I also dislike the stereotype that a lot of very angry women have made of the label. But honestly, as far as labels go.. if you look at the sexist nature of the label itself.. and the feminist arguments around language.. it fits in it's hypocrisy. I don't have a problem with 'sexist' language per se, I don't' think language is inherently sexist, I think it's our understanding of it that makes the difference... for instance, I use 'mankind' quite happily, for me it's always been a term that is inclusive of men and women. I just think it ironic to use the term 'feminism'.. when most feminists argue for gender inclusive language.
I'm happy for the feminist movement and women's liberation.. wonderful... now what about the rest of the population?
Going on 19
Going on 19
And there's going to be a war
I may be dead
before I hit 24
I had a crush on a girl
who I tried to kiss
sexual harassment
of the little miss
Then I fell in love
and I wanted to adore
instead everyone assumed...
I just wanted to score.When I was 12
my older sister babysat next door
I wanted to work too
Their daddy said
"who the hell are you?!"Women can wear anything
anything at all
If I slip on pink taffeta
I'm headed for a fallI have to be careful
how I dress
where I work
and what I do
what I say
how I move
and if I fall in love with youThe worlds not safe
for little boys like me
I've been told all my life
that the truth well set me free
I've been told it's the truth
that there's evil in meI'm going on 19
and there's going to be a war
I may be dead
or I may kill someone
before I'm 24
XOX
Katt