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Gleaned from [Stardate:Whenever]. (ed. edited for format and spelling)
The internal thoughts of one woman and her friend – their ‘joke’ about performing femininity. A small portal of insight into what women living under patriarchy have to deal with.
“I think I’m going to perform femininity today.”
“Oh, you don’t have to but whatever makes your feel comfortable.”
Standing at the mirror of the bathroom I am verbally acknowledging I am doing something that is a performance. I am also listening to someone verbally confirm that I dont need to do so. I am listening to someone who I seek healthy validation from, tell me that I do not need to perform femininity.
I acknowledge that my worth as a woman is not contingent on performing femininity. I acknowledge that my worth as a woman is not wrapped in the validation of men. I acknowledge that my worth as a woman is not serving society’s aesthetic desires.
I still put on makeup because there is a confidence that comes with performing femininity.
This is the toxicity of being a woman, even knowing that you are worth something because you exist, you still internalize a confidence in performing.
That confidence is more powerful than my academically trained mind.
That confidence is more powerful than my feminist history. That confidence is more powerful than my authentic worth.
I’m writing this post to remind women that the patriarchy is hard to fight and sometimes you will fall into the confidence that comes with pleasing a male-centered society. Whether that be wearing makeup, ignoring a sexist joke, or doing more than your fair share of work. There is a safety in doing what is expected, in an attempt not to stand out.
Feminism is a difficult political line to toe and sometimes you will fail to live up to the party line. You are no less a feminist when you fall down if anything your failings are further proof that the patriarchy is real and it’s crushing, controlling, and destroying women’s lives. It’s okay and I still see you as my sister. For the women who wake up and fight femininity-normativity, in whatever way they might do, I want to congratulate you”
“[T]he goal of feminism is not to validate every feeling that every person has ever felt. the goal of feminism is to liberate women from patriarchy, and feminism will accomplish this by being critically analytical in order to reveal the truth about sex and gender, in order to build a world that accommodates female bodies to the same degree that the world accommodates male bodies”
Not seeing or feeling the empowerment of sexwork prostitution? Me either.
Tatsuya Ishida has been fearless as of late critically examining the ill effects of prostitution and human trafficking in our society. Go to sinfest.net to see the whole series.
Surprise, yet another Cesspool on the interwebs!
This post from the garrulous hodgepodge of turds known as ‘ihatesocialjusticewarrors’ manages to test the very boundaries of quantum physics – the stupid here is so super-dense that the Planck constant just may not apply. The original buffoonery can be found at ihatesocialjusticewarriors.com. The dumb is strong at this site, consider yourself warned. :)
“There is a widely held belief that feminism is a movement for equality between men and women. This is inaccurate and a misconception.”
Whaaat? These two sentences are true. Feminism is the movement to liberate women from the detrimental constraints of patriarchal society. Might we have common ground between DWR and ‘IHATESOCIALJUSTICEWARRIORS’?
???
Wait for it.
“Feminism is actually a form of sexism.”
And *boom* goes my head into the desk.
“Feminism views women as inherently inferior to men, no different than the traditional ‘sexists’ they are actively engaged in fighting against.”
Not. Even. Close.
Feminists are in the business of analyzing, deconstructing, and critiquing the patriarchal society that women are forced to live in. The goal of feminism is to eradicate the patriarchal superstructure that society is based upon; the very same patriarchy that damages both women and men.
Women are treated as inferiors in society because the patriarchal status quo, not because of any inherent inferiority.
Happy to clear that up for you.
“Feminism doesn’t encourage women to be as efficient as men, but rather they attempt to adjust policies to accommodate women. This isn’t equality. Instead it’s making the determination that being a woman is a handicap and special rules need to apply.”
What does being ‘efficient like a man’ look like? It looks like you are implying that men are the default normal setting in society and, that if women could just be more ‘man-like’ they would do better. Of course, the idea that default human = man, is the sorta of bullshit that feminists have been fighting against since the founding of the movement.
Adjusting policies? You mean supporting structural changes that move toward levelling the playing field? We certainly cannot have any of that.
The common thread running through so much of the feminist backlash is the wacky idea that equality is somehow achievable with the current state of affairs. The problem with this analysis (other than its made of certified grade A bullshit) is that it ignores the structural reality of society. Society is heavily tilted toward favouring men. How could it not be, as men are the primary architects of society, so why would they not craft it in their favour?
Axiomatically speaking, no egalitarian solution can be reached until patriarchy has been dismantled.
It is known that being female *is* a handicap in society. Females are not taken seriously, not given bodily autonomy, not paid as much, and for the most part relegated to the sex class to be objectified by the ‘default humans’ a.k.a men. Not exactly carnival fun times for the double XX caste.
“If feminists truly believed that women were equal to men, then there would be no motivation nor reason for them to implement, or to push to implement, special rules or adjust any of the policies that govern workforce requirements or productivity.”
Because not challenging the status quo will somehow fix the status quo…
1. Observe differential treatment on the basis of sex.
2. Do nothing about it.
3. …
4. Profit! – Sweet sweet egalitarianism for all!
C. *thud* *gasp* Need ASA stat, head sore from repeated desk impacts.
“Let’s face it, feminism is just a different form of sexism.”
Maybe in your imaginary world reverse racism(?) exists as well, but back here in reality feminism really isn’t sexist, as it attempts to directly address sexism in society and fix said problem.
“It’s also misogynistic in that it attempts to put unrealistic demands onto average women and it denies the very nature of what a woman is and how nature designed her.”
Just *love* the biological essentialism to justify misogyny, so fresh, so original.
Aww f*ck, it is all about the fluff pink lady brains isn’t it? Along with the migrating wombs and bouts of hysteria – women had better just shuffle back to the kitchen before more male egos are hurt and privileges are threatened. It’s not patriarchy that is holding women back, but rather biology that makes females inferior…
*thud thud thud thud*
“Feminists hate women and want them to be men instead. There, somebody finally came out and just said what we were all thinking.🙂”
Feminists want to see the structures in society that mandate differential treatment based on body type erased. Feminists have no desire to become the oppressor class, rather they seek to redress the fundamental imbalances in society.
And there you have it gentle readers, your dose of deconstructed ass-hat misogyny for the day.
Brilliant strip from Tatsuya Ishida illustrating that ironic moment when the notion of ‘victim-less crime’ goes up in smoke and shit proceeds to get real. Go to sinfest.net to read the rest of the story.
Oh you darn Men. Is there anything you cannot do?
Given the calibre of many male self-identified feminists, one would have to conclude that the answer is generally “no”. If tomorrow Patriarchy absconded (woo!) and humanity somehow got its collective head around the notion that women are people and were treated as such – then I think men could be feminists (although with patriarchy gone there might not be the need for feminism), but that is the only case that I can think of at the moment.
The problem facing male feminists is the differing ways in which the sexes are socialized. Different language, nuances, and expectations are foisted upon girls and boys by the societal environment around them. This is what the social construction gender looks like .
Like it or not, metrics like these are used in society to evaluate your efficacy in terms of being in one particular sex role, or the other. Gendered socialization is inescapable as it is the societal air we breathe toxic as it may be. So take a moment and consider how your perception of the world is right now and then then imagine if the the prism of how you look at society and how society looks at you is the other coloured box.
Thus bringing us to the fundamental point – women and men experience life quite differently, concomitantly life treats women and men differently. This wouldn’t be a problem if both sets of traits were equally valued in society, however, one set of traits is given precedence. And not just your ordinary precedence, but a precedence in a supererogatory degree.
This ‘precedence’ is what feminists like to call patriarchy. Patriarchy is simply the structuring, adjudicating, and maintenance of society for the benefit of one class of people who possess (in theory) the traits mentioned in the blue box. Those who are assigned the other box are assigned less importance and worth and treated accordingly in society. Thus, in a patriarchal society, the experiences of women and men are quite different.
Men doing feminism have to be very aware that how they interact with society is not the way it works for women. This point needs to be hammered home because, let’s be honest here, a good portion of dudes just don’t get it (sample the RPOJ tag for evidence of this assertion). 
Can men be effective in helping women push back the patriarchal tide? Absolutely! Being a feminist ally, and standing up for women, but not leading the charge is what dudes can do to make things better in society.
“This episode examines the general lack of female representation among standard enemies as well as in the cooperative and competitive multiplayer options of many games, and the ways in which, when female enemies do exist, they are often sexualized and set apart by their gender from the male enemies who are presented as the norm. We then highlight a few examples of games that present female enemies as standard enemies who exist on more-or-less equal footing with their male counterparts.”
The part that got me was the argument that it was unrealistic to portray women as combatants in video games; the very same games that allow you to refill your health bar by eating a hot-dog.
bleatmop
Mystro
The Arbourist
Dead Wild Roses 
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