feminism Chrity I am supposed to be writing a paper on feminism. How am I supposed to write a paper on feminism? Even feminists cannot define feminism. It is undefinable. why do we have to have required writing? it's so much more fun to blather! maybe I'll blather my feminism paper... 010408 ... ? ... 010517 ... grand poohbah of hate Feminism- the state in which a woman does not get enough dick, or refuses the beatings she deserves. and as for you chrity, i've got a present for you that also defies definition, its wrapped in my pants and it wants to bust a hole in your tight "promise keepers of america" pledge. renounce the hollow god you follow and take the sacrament that is my fluid. 010517 ... ClairE Feminism is a dirty word. I'd like to reclaim it. I am a feminist. Without protest signs or man-bashing (although I do not shave under my arms). history. can you believe it? 011126 ... Annie111 I used to think it was a dirty word, now i see it everywhere. I can't escape the injustice, sometimes, I see it all around me, and i try and stop from seeing it. Most of the time it is an overeaction. Men and women are different, not better than each other, just different. Their brains are different in some ways. But maybe society makes a brain. I don't hate men. But I hate inequality. 011127 ... bethany my mom started a feminist group in our little CT town when i was about 8 it's name was bitch bitch bitch BANE 020329 ... Syrope Feminism is the radical notion that women are people... "I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is; I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat." Rebecca West "Rape is like a summer storm, you can't do anything about it, so you might as well lay back and enjoy it." - George W. Bush running for Governor of TX 020330 ... silentbob did bush really say that? i have found that feminism is the pursuit to make men and women equal. ANd some people say "I hate feminism" or "I am not a feminist." everyone should be a feminist. 020331 ... girl_jane http://www.motherjones.com/interview/difranco.html The following is a little tid-bit I was reminded of when I saw this word on blather. from an interview with Ani Difranco MoJo Wire: In the LA Times piece you write, "Either you are a feminist or you are a sexist." DiFranco: Well, I just see a lot of people who are really terrified of the "f-word." A lot of women these days, a lot of young women don't want to call themselves feminists. You have this cheap, hideous "girl power" sort of fad, which I think is pretty benign at best, but at worst, I think it's a way of taking the politics out of feminism and making it some kind of fashion. I see a lot of young female performers -- and Joni is kind of an older guard -- who do not call themselves feminist, but would certainly believe in their own right to self-determination, and wouldn't want anybody to stop them from becoming themselves. They just refuse to recognize the relationship between their lives and those of other women, or feel any solidarity there. And that scares me, because I think if we can't use the word feminist, if it's some kind of taboo or dirty word, or means you're ugly, or you're angry, or you're not dateable [laughs], then you've just reduced the language by a whole concept. I just don't know any other word than "feminist" that describes a person who believes women are people. 020331 ... Raina angry chicks... 020401 ... crimson I am so goddamned sick of Society's opinion. I’m not interested in having anyone around who will urge me to look into makeup and hair product. It's a waste of time to pursue a boy that thinks a babe who has more mind and body hair than she does makeup is gross. 030815 ... shoccolo there's nothing wrong with lesbians. there's nothing wrong wth radicals. there's nothing wrong with feminists. but create one being with all these traits, and you have found a way to destroy equity entirely, by creating a being who cares not for her sisters, but only for her friends who will lie down with her, and despise the only beings in the natural world able to provide us with a means for procreation. come on, ladies, you may hate them, but we need them to exist. after all, if it's your right to have a child regardless of all your beliefs, i hope you TEACH your sons [to treat women with genuine respect], rather than DROWN them like farm-kittens. why can't we all just get along? the odds of bumping into a man who DOESN'T open the door is 50-50, because he's been scolded too many times for having respect for his FELLOW HUMAN BEINGS. conversely, we women complain that chivalry is dead. trust me, the dark ages was no time for women, and you don't want a man like that. 030815 ... silentbob meanwhile, back in the states i know a boy who refuses to date a girl who wears makeup. Then she wears it and he doesn't notice, because he's only ever seen her in make-up, and doesn't even realize she's wearing it. Then when she takes it off he is shocked and wonders what happened to her face. society shouldn't be afraid of anything. 030815 ... misstree i believe that all extremists should be taken out and shot. i also couldn't care less if a guy opens the door for me, as long as he lets me help push when the car breaks down. 030816 ... shoccolo well thank you misstree - because we do need to find a balancve again. there are some men that i don't WANT to open the door for me, but when they're afraid of being sniped out as backwards for having respect for the person behind him, that just gets me in a knot. i blathed that because of an interview i saw years ago, with naomi wolfe - who in her own right is a very responsible and rational feminist - but somewhere in there is a bit of sexism, which i just can't jive with. the point of feminism was for us to feel secure in who we are, regardless of an imposed stigma, or a pre-determined role we should be bound to as women. i myself am a very active feminist in my community, though i don't appreiate tyhat being associated with lesbianism and radical behavior - because really we're all just people, and judgement should be saved for those whose opinions truly matter, in the end. sorry if i offended anyone. on an un-realted topic... silent bob, your friend is not crazy - the best make-up is the make-up you can't really tell is there. after all, it is to enhance our beauty, be you male or female, not to hide it. 030817 ... shoccolo wow, i'm also a terrible speller today, it seems... 030817 ... Dan Feminists are just chicks who got rejected so much that they think that the problem is with society and men, as opposed to their own ugly faces. 040413 ... Smurf Feminism used to be about equality. Well now we have equality, in every country I've been to the constitution protects it and I hear about law suits over this in the states all the time, the women almost always win. It's not about Females being equal to males any more. It's about Females taking over the males. It's working too! Men are sued for hitting women but they can kick us in the nuts and throw our possessions out of the window on a 10 story appartment and everyone cheers! 040425 ... girl_jane Not everybody thinks that way, Smurf. I hear plenty of stories about crazy girlfriends from my guy friends. I've met their crazy girlfriends, and just like most other people, I think they are the fucking devil. Whether is a guy or a gal, nobody should be throwing other people's things out a 10 story window. 040426 ... notme equality? or semi-equality? 040426 ... minnesota_chris ok, smurf, if someone kicked YOU in the nuts and threw your stuff out the window, I might cheer. Or snicker. Possibly both. I mean, that shit's funny. Um, I think feminism is just about human rights. 040426 ... Smurf That's nice chris, I also think feminism is about Human rights..... I also think Panago is about pizza and chocolate comes from Coco. 040427 ... minnesota_chris ok, call me professor obvious, but people seem to think that women are going crazy when they just want to be treated like people... 040428 ... Smurf Yeah I do think they're going crazy because they're already being treated like people, I just don't like the whole Chivalry thing where women come first, because that's not equality, thats women first. 040428 ... sixstop i find myself avoiding people who identify themselves as 'feminists.' 040429 ... Smurf I too 040501 ... minnesota_chris it's a bad thing to be consumed by any ideology, even Christianity (and I am a Christian). But I just hate it when people are being downtrodden. 040502 ... sixstop feminism no longer seeks a treatment level equal. many acts of feminists seek to remove any kind of engendering traits. Sorry, but women and men are different. Politically motivated too, most feminist groups...makes me question their doctrine. 040502 ... Smurf Feminism has led to great leaps in biological technology such as the test tube baby. 040502 ... minnesota_chris many acts of feminists seek to remove any kind of engendering traits? That's like saying all pagans eat babies, just because ONCE I ate a baby sandwich. I mean, come on. chopped baby salad, with radiccio, mmm. 040503 ... sixstop I didn't say that because it was only 'one time,' goofball, and I also did not say all were this way. It would be an intellectual infancy to make such a connection. The only thing -I- talked about was -my- experience. ...whatever thats worth to you, I don't care. 040505 ... minnesota_chris I'd like to hear about your experiences. "many acts of feminists seek to remove..." is not talking about your experiences, it's making a general statement. And I don't know, maybe it's right, it's just that I don't know what you're talking about. 040506 ... sixstop oh.. .well, thats an extension of the earlier blathe where I. . .hmmm... I thought I prefaced this with "my experience" somewhere... oh well, I apologise. Guess I didn't. I'll find examples later, I'm sleepy. 040507 ... girl_jane At the very beginning of the school year, I had to read a book called "Who Stole Feminism." It was all about feminism and how some women are taking it way too far. The author, a woman who's name I cannot remember, called that radical type "gender feminists." Those are the type who use words like "herstory" instead of "history" and "ovular" instead of "seminar" and other crazy bullshit like that. It's these "gender-fems" as I like to call them, that are fucking up the idea of feminism and making women afraid to use the f-word when describing themselves. Somebody mentioned chivalry a bit before. That can be nice sometimes, but it should go both ways. A guy opens the door for me, I'll hold it for him too. I also think the idea of guys paying for everything is wretched. First date-whoever asks the other out is the one who should pay. If in a steady relationship, try to keep in fairly even without keeping a tab. Women, don't be afraid of this word. Let's take it back from those crazed gender-fems. 040507 ... minnesota_chris I like your idea of whoever asks out, pays. You don't want anyone to say "no" to a nice restaurant if they can't afford it! 040507 ... mrrrrrrrrr God forbid the extremist idea of woman being seen as human. I mean come on..thats a pretty radical idea isn't it?!?!? I've gotta say its pretty sick reading "feminists are just girls who are rejected from society because they're ugly and can't get any." Excuse me? The majority of "feminists" I know get TOO much sexual attention from society, and that is exactly why they have the beliefs that they do...because they want to be seen as more than a sexual object! They want to be recognized for being human instead of a body with a cunt, and boobs. And that comment is exact proof of why it is hard to be a woman in a patriarchal society. That comment wad directly focused on physical appearance rather than anything else. Is that not proof of how women are seen? ANd no feminism is not about hating men..Yes it is about recognizing patriacrhy, but women oppress themselves too. Is there equality in our society on purpose ? Directly..Probably not, but indirectly Ya. Ya it is. Feminism also isnt about abandoning stereotypes. If you're a girl and you like the color pink, and you like make up, and you like shaving your legs . That's fine! There is nothing wrong with that, as long as you feel happy about that and that YOU have made that decision than all the better for you. You just cant force that on other people. ANd finally..I'm going to contradict myself here..I hate the word 'feminism' because there is such a stigma attatched to it. I think when you think about feminism you should think about the freedom of all Genders, and sexes. Men may not be as exploited in society, but hey they have to live with REALLY crappy stereotypes and expectations too! I think if we can all see eachother as sexless, or see eachother as individuals the whole world would be a LOT better off. Anyway.. thats my rant. Poorly written, terrible grammar , and probably somewhat jumbled and unsensical. 060128 ... mrrrrrrrrr God forbid the extremist idea of woman being seen as human. I mean come on..thats a pretty radical idea isn't it?!?!? I've gotta say its pretty sick reading "feminists are just girls who are rejected from society because they're ugly and can't get any." Excuse me? The majority of "feminists" I know get TOO much sexual attention from society, and that is exactly why they have the beliefs that they do...because they want to be seen as more than a sexual object! They want to be recognized for being human instead of a body with a cunt, and boobs. And that comment is exact proof of why it is hard to be a woman in a patriarchal society. That comment wad directly focused on physical appearance rather than anything else. Is that not proof of how women are seen? ANd no feminism is not about hating men..Yes it is about recognizing patriacrhy, but women oppress themselves too. Is there equality in our society on purpose ? Directly..Probably not, but indirectly Ya. Ya it is. Feminism also isnt about abandoning stereotypes. If you're a girl and you like the color pink, and you like make up, and you like shaving your legs . That's fine! There is nothing wrong with that, as long as you feel happy about that and that YOU have made that decision than all the better for you. You just cant force that on other people. ANd finally..I'm going to contradict myself here..I hate the word 'feminism' because there is such a stigma attatched to it. I think when you think about feminism you should think about the freedom of all Genders, and sexes. Men may not be as exploited in society, but hey they have to live with REALLY crappy stereotypes and expectations too! I think if we can all see eachother as sexless, or see eachother as individuals the whole world would be a LOT better off. Anyway.. thats my rant. Poorly written, terrible grammar , and probably somewhat jumbled and unsensical. 060128 ... silentbob i am a feminist. 060128 ... unhinged a lesbian in this town asked me if i was a feminist once, as if those two things had to go hand in hand. when i said i didn't particularly define myself that way she let go a vastly disappointed and judgemental 'oh' as if i was no longer worth talking to. fuck feminism. how about some humanism? or just some plain old-fashioned equality? and what ever happened to earning respect? yeah, fuck feminism. an antiquated political concept that stirs nothing but contempt in most circles, no matter what side of it you're on. i'll shave if i want to, wear a bra, leave my makeup in the draw unless there's a reason for me to doll myself up, cause that's me. for no other reason than that's what i want and i do what i want. i'm not gonna wear the banner of your political agenda even if that's the one that comes the closest to fitting. i don't want a handout; i've got the qualifications to earn what i deserve. don't judge me and i won't judge you. how about some humanism? 'as long as i'm not doing harm why should it bother you? if you don't like my fire then don't come around cause i'm gonna burn one down' ben_harper 060128 ... no reason i was at a multiple-band concert the other day, and i heard someone in the crowd say about the band about to play, "they have a female drummer?" it didn't sound derogatory, and the question was understandable since there are music fewer female drummers than male drummers, but i hope one day these things won't be considered strange. "yes, the band has a drummer." it made me think about other gender divides that exist. i wonder what it would be like if awards shows such as the oscars or golden globes didn't have "best actor" and "best actress" categories, but just had general "best actor" awards, and awarded them to whomever was the best that year, regardless of gender. (maybe they could have two best actor awards, for the top two people.) 140423 ... no reason music fewer? huh. oops. maybe i'll coin that as a term. 140423 ... nr "why do you write these strong female characters?" "because you’re still asking me that question." (joss whedon says it best.) 140423 ... DeShawn Let's focus on women who are stoned to death for taking off their Hijabs, or places where women STILL can't drive. Where women are second class citizens and can't get an education or get anything without the aid of a husband. Women of America, Canada, Britain, and the majority of the Western world have made it. In fact it's getting to the point of privilege. On equal footing in all other regards women have a much greater chance of keeping children in a divorce. If a woman breaks a nail beating her man, that man better have some type of video evidence or there's a chance he could be fucked. On the other hand, if a woman wants to really ruin a man who made her feel like shit, all she has to do is find a way to be hurt. I knew a guy whose woman was so mad at him that she slammed a door on her head and called the cops. She claimed he beat her. Luckily, they had a kid who saw everything - but outside of that, he would have been fucked. Let's help the countries that need it. Let's promote feminism in places where women do not have the right to speak without being spoken to. Where literally beating a woman is seen as fine. These are the people that need it most. 180208 ... unhinged uuuhhh...well, back in december i had a coworker tell me not to make a mess in his department before he even gave me a chance to clean up after myself and when i asked him why he thought i was going to make a mess he said 'because you're a woman' so yes, women in the middle east are behind women in the west as far as their human rights go. but that doesn't mean that women in the united states and canada are being treated well. let's not use religious oppression as the standard. (women are in cults, sects of christianity in the west that are also oppressive to women...mormonism comes to mind.) pretty sure that more women than men get murdered every year by domestic violence even in the west. and the reason WOMEN gain custody of the children a vast majority of the time is because women are still the ones doing the vast majority of the WORK it takes to raise children. no, it's not like it was when my dad was a kid. his father went to work everyday and thought that was the extent of his responsibilities as a father. but, women still do the vast majority of cooking, cleaning, ass wiping, soothing, disciplining, and watching of kids. so yes, courts usually give women custody of children by default. and it's because we usually have a stronger connection; we grew the damn babies inside our own damn bodies. so please, men are not victims in custody battles. any man that stands up and fights for the custody of his kids has my respect, but considering the actual physical sacrifices made by women to bring their kids into the world, and the cruel history of the patriarchy the world over, women should retain custody of their kids. these same horrible middle eastern countries you are talking about also give women NO legal rights to their children. if they are even allowed to initiate divorce from their husbands they will not get to keep their kids. so they usually stay in their marriages no matter how horrible because they don't want to be severed from their children or leave their children with abusive fathers. the mens victim movement can kiss my ass. i have been sexually assaulted several times in my life and i never stepped forward because the first time i was assaulted, i tried to come forward and was told not to because i was drunk so that somehow justified the asshole that raped my virginity away from me even though i clearly stated i didn't want to have sex with him...so please. spare me. yes, there are women now that are ridiculous in the extreme (the anonymous accuser of aziz ansari comes to mind) but the lesson here is BOTH parties have to be crystal clear about consent. if you are a man that doesn't want to be accused of assault then maybe you need to clearly and explicitly ask whoever you are getting physical with what they consent to instead of doing whatever you want and claiming it 'was in the moment.' i have had awkward physical encounters in my life where i didn't really speak up and felt weird after the fact but i never once blamed that on the man. yes, i have a history that tends to make saying no seem pointless. but i don't blame any of the men (except for the boy that raped my virginity away from me) for that. my own life says women ALL OVER THE WORLD not just in the middle east need protected. so don't give me any bullshit about how women in the united states and canada and britain need to quit whining and help the women of the middle east. just cause i can drive if i want to and wear miniskirts doesn't mean my oppression has ended. (ask any woman in the west who has been raped and then told she deserved it cause she had on a short skirt if her oppression has ended). it just means you are too myopic to see it. #solidarity real feminism is about EQUALITY until i have equal pay until my niece doesn't have to fear sexual assault when she goes to college until i don't have to hear misogynistic bullshit at work i will not stop fighting for myself or any other woman anywhere that is oppressed by patriarchy 180209 what's it to you? who go blather from