feminist blogs

Original Target logo. 1962. Image via Wikipedia Recently, Change.org‘s Michael A. Jones covered a “public relations” misstep by the highly-recognized corporation, Target. It was revealed that the chain had donated $150,000 to a known antigay political figure in Minnesota (home to Target HQ). The matter of whether or not Target officials will work on rebuilding [...]

Read more global feminist posts at Gender Across Borders.

Sexuality is one of those topics that is simultaneously commonplace and taboo. People love to talk about sex, but only in specific contexts. This often leaves marginalized communities — such as queer people, transgender people, the elderly and people with disabilities — out of the discourse entirely. And when those communities are included, the discussion [...]

Read more global feminist posts at Gender Across Borders.

Short answer: No. Feminists come from a variety of backgrounds, with a variety of values and opinions, and (among other things) are in no way uniform in their sexual preferences. Some feminists identify as lesbian, some as heterosexual, some as bisexual, some as asexual, etc. As for the “man-hating” moniker, it has more to do with a backlash against women speaking out about oppression than it does with true incidents of “man-hating” perpetuated by feminism/feminists (see this FAQ entry on conflating the alleged actions of an individual with the ideology of a group).

Feminists as lesbians

Myth#3: Feminists are bitter because they are ugly, hairy and lesbians.
Why would any good consumer be bitter over saving gobs of money by rejecting the billion dollar beauty industry, aimed at manufacturing stepford wives?

What’s wrong with being a lesbian? Let me guess:you think its unfair competition for heterosexual men with little foreplay skills? I say, competition is a good thing; it allows the best lover at the lowest emotional drain to win the girl.

[Aspazia (Mad Melancholic Feminista): Feminism 101: Myths and Facts.]

As you can see by the above quote, the “all feminists are lesbian” myth is often coupled with the myth of all feminists being hairy legged/flannel wearing/mannish/ugly. Neither of which, it’s noted over and over again, is a bad thing. The problem is that these attributes are 1) being used as shorthand for “bad” in a way that allows the speaker to casually dismiss the group and its members, and 2) being forced on people in the group who do not subscribe to them, thus creating effectively erasing their experiences.

Beyond the individual level, however, it’s also important (especially for heterosexual feminists) to recognize that lesbianism has had played a significant and positive role in shaping modern feminism. Notably, Lesbian feminism(Wikipedia link), for all of its flaws (especially regarding its erasure/rejection of trans* people, identity, and issues), called out mainstream feminism on its homophobia and heteronormativity. As the qlbtq article on Lesbian Feminism states, “Indeed, one of the most significant accomplishments of the lesbian feminist movement was to facilitate a network of social and political support that helped lesbians cope with the isolation, stigma, and legal problems that many homosexuals battled.”

Feminists as man-haters

Unlike the “all feminists are lesbian” myth, the “all feminists are man-haters” myth would be a very bad thing if it were true. Good thing, then, that it’s not (this is discussed in more detail in the Why do you feminists hate men? FAQ entry).

Beyond the fact that the “man-hating” myth is, well, a myth, it’s important to note that it has roots in homophobia:

The idea that feminists hate men seems to be based partly upon media representations of 1960s and 1970s radical feminism, especially the horror of lesbian separatism. Here we have a very marginal, but radical, aspect of feminism highlighted and made representative of the entire movement. This claim also compounds the homophobic link between feminism and lesbianism…

[Winter (Mind the Gap): Springing the Traps: On Countering Anti-Feminism(Article no longer available).

]

Indeed, mainstream feminists in the past hoped to distance themselves from the “man-hater” stereotype by distancing themselves from lesbians/lesbianism:

[Betty] Friedan, and some other straight feminists as well, worried that the association [between lesbianism and NOW/the emerging women's movement] would hamstring feminists’ ability to achieve serious political change, and that stereotypes of ‘mannish’ and ‘man-hating’ lesbians would provide an easy way to dismiss the movement.”

[Wikipedia: Lavender Menace.]

Of course, the “threat” to men inherent in both lesbian and feminist thought is that women need not, and should not, position men as the center of their lives:

The Woman-Identified Woman‘s] authors claimed that lesbians and lesbianism are of central, rather than peripheral, importance to the feminist movement. The woman-identified woman, they contended, undermines patriarchy by withdrawing her energy from men, by affirming a connection with other women, and by validating women on their own terms, independent of men. So long as women seek the approval of men and male institutions, they argued, they cannot become autonomous human beings.

[glbt: Lesbian Feminism.]

Related Reading:

• FAQ: Why do you feminists hate men?
• FAQ: Aren’t feminists just hairy-legged makeup haters?

Introductory:

• Melinda Kanner and Kristin J. Anderson: “The Myth of the Man-Hating Feminist” in Michele A. Paludi [ed.] (Praeger, 2009): Feminism and Women’s Rights Worldwide: pp. 1-26.
• glbt: Lesbian Feminism.

Clarifying Concepts:

• Claiming man-hating as a distraction technique:

  It does not really matter whether or not a few individual feminists “hate” men (I haven’t met one yet but I promise I’ll tell you if I do), for accusations of misandry constitute yet another distraction technique. When encountering this statement, don’t go on the run and start talking about your lovely boyfriend and men friends who you (obviously) don’t hate. There’s no way you can prove that feminists don’t hate men to someone who believes this to be the case and, anyway, the argument is again a strategic one. Ask them what man-hating feminists have they met? Can they direct you to references to man-hating feminist articles and books? You’d be interested to read them. Or, if you want to be really provocative, ask them if they understand why some women have good reason to have issues with some men? I mean, if my husband beat me, I might not hate all men, but I might justifiably be very frightened of them. Ask them what they think could be done to stop women feeling frightened of men and feminists from being angry?

  [Winter (Mind the Gap): Springing the Traps: On Countering Anti-Feminism(Article no longer available).

  ]

• Addressing the homophobia of the myth:
  

  Where women are concerned, the line taken is “I don’t want to be a feminist because feminists are all lesbians.” Calling upon homophobic stigma, this claim also presumes lesbianism to be a bad thing with which one does not want to be associated. When young women calmly express the view that they don’t want to be feminists because feminists are lesbians, I am most concerned that these young people are still so comfortable with their own homophobia. Is the existence of lesbians within feminism enough to render the movement disgusting? Are lesbians really considered such socially abject creatures? As a lesbian feminist, the idea that my identity is a source of revulsion to young men and women is not a little disconcerting. There is no point in giving them examples of heterosexual feminists and to do so is again to implicitly disavow all the lesbian feminists. Instead, I would just tell them I find their homophobia utterly repulsive. If they don’t consider themselves homophobic, this might shake them up a bit and open to the way to an actual discussion. If, however, they are happy homophobes, you might be better off finding someone worth talking to.

  [Winter (Mind the Gap): Springing the Traps: On Countering Anti-Feminism(Article no longer available).

  ]


Filed under: debunking myths, FAQ Tagged: debunking, FAQ, feminist urban legends, lesbian, man-hating, myths, queer theory, sexuality

Here is an excerpt from a fantastic post by Hugo Schwyzer demonstrating the damage done by the lack of freedom for women to express their desire openly: For better or for worse, most young women grow up with a cultural awareness that their generally speaking, women’s bodies (though perhaps not their own) are intensely desirable to boys and men; strategies for managing that desire are

I’m no comic book expert — I’ve read and liked a few that others have recommended to me, but it is not my reading genre of choice. I do, however, tend to really enjoy films based on comic books and graphic novels. Not surprisingly, the films I love most are those that include interesting female [...]

Today, comes the claim by the Sunday Telegraph that some local authorities are using money to finance things such as (exotic) holidays, internet dating subscriptions, prostitute services and lap dancing visits for elderly and disabled people. I wish to focus on disabled people, it is also important to account for the fact that many elderly people are also disabled.

As expected, the right are focusing on how this is a perfect ‘typical’ example of public spending waste, as they pathologise those concerned. Whilst I agree with Liz Sayce, chief executive of Radar, that we should consider this on a case-by-case basis, there are several issues I wish to highlight.

Firstly, it illustrates some of the prevailing attitudes that society has about disabled people. For example, Iain Dale proclaims:

We’re entering a big taboo here, because no doubt most able bodied people don’t like to think about the sexual needs of the disabled. One thing I learned when I was a nurse in Germany at the age of 18 was that just because you have some sort of disability does not make you a different class of person. You have the same emotional and physical needs as anyone else.

This is true. Many people ignore this, they are repulsed by the very thought of a disabled person having sex or even thinking about starting a family, for example. Whilst studying disability last year, we were taught about how many disabled mothers were approached by people who were startled to find that a disabled person could have a child/children.There are many complexities surrounding the reports, but the fact that disabled people feel the need to use money for this is very telling of how much society needs to change. It is not, as the Telegraph puts it, “the case of an angry and frustrated young man, meant paying for sex” it is instead very symptomatic of the still many social barriers that exist in society.

As usual, there is often a neglect to consider the reasons for why this may be happening. There is no real consideration for example, that sex education at school is often ignorant to disabled people’s sexuality – the very thought is often constructed as ‘abnormal’. The many media representations of disabled people are often used to reinforce this engrained perception in society of disabled people’s sexuality. For Iain Dale to make the statement: “If that is the case, perhaps every virgin over the age of 30 should take the government to the European Court of Human Rights” is ignorant to the different circumstances and attitudes disabled people have to face daily.

I am not so much taking a stance on whether it is right or wrong for what the local authorities have or may not have done (as these are just allegations), but more reflecting on reasons for why if it is true, it is happening. An article that we were advised to read at university regarding this issue is of particular relevance and I think sums up well the central point I am trying to communicate. Most disabled people don’t want to have to do this, but the structure of society needs to change, attitudes need to change so that there is no longer a real pressure to do so. As I have mentioned, the article was a real eye opener – and I strongly recommend you to read it. It is important to remember however, that there are obviously some disabled people who will want to pay for prostitutes regardless, I am not generalising here.

Everything down to improving education, pay and work conditions for disabled people would alleviate many of these cases – it would enable them to gain more freedom and feel more integrated within society. This would result in attitudes in society changing. There has been tremendous increase and success of disability activism over the last few decades (in particular) and this can only go from strength to strength. But there is a need for more policy change too – but the current government’s onslaught on vital services such as DLA and their promotion of ‘special schools’ – well it is totally illogical.

NB: There are many dimensions to this, including feminists debate around prostitution, which I have commented on before, and surely will talk about more in future.

Temporary Restraining Order Under Effect for Louisiana Abortion Laws. RH Reality Check. New film explores the struggle for women to be ordained in the Catholic Church. Pink Smoke Over the Vatican. Why Are We Often Terrified of Our Own Sexuality? Alternet. What It’s Like to Have an Abortion in Texas: TV Shows Finally Grappling with [...]

It’s not often that events in politics make me happy. But as with the monsoons, when it rains, it pours.
(All emphasis mine)

• Kagan Sworn In As Supreme Court Justice (NPR)

Kagan, 50, becomes only the fourth woman to serve on the nation’s highest court. For the first time in history, the nine-member body will have three female justices sitting on the bench.

• US Judge overturns prop 8 in gay rights victory (NPR)

From Judge Walker’s ruling:

Moral disapproval alone is an improper basis on which to
deny rights to gay men and lesbians. The evidence shows
conclusively that Proposition 8 enacts, without reason, a private
moral view that same-sex couples are inferior to opposite-sex
couples.

The evidence shows that the
movement of marriage away from a gendered institution and toward an
institution free from state-mandated gender roles reflects an
evolution in the understanding of gender rather than a change in
marriage. The evidence did not show any historical purpose for
excluding same-sex couples from marriage, as states have never
required spouses to have an ability or willingness to procreate in
order to marry. FF 21. Rather, the exclusion exists as an
artifact of a time when the genders were seen as having distinct
roles in society and in marriage. That time has passed.

*This post is dedicated to Dee & Ryo from FAKE, the manga that served as my very first introduction to yaoi.

Filed under: News, Non-anime Tagged: FAKE, gender identity, gender norms, inequality, non-anime, politics, sexual orientation, sexuality, yaoi manga

A week prior to its July 13th release, M.I.A.’s new album, /\/\/\Y/\ (or Maya), was made available streaming on the artist’s MySpace page. The agitprop-meets-cyberpunk video for “Born Free” is the most inspiring thing I’ve seen all year (a clear indication that M.I.A.’s message is as much visual as it is aural), and my guess [...]

One of the central problems of North American feminism is its uneasy attitude to female sexuality. One of my most popular posts lists some strange statements about sex I encountered on feminist websites. Among these weird statements was an assertion that still gets a lot of support in the feminist community. It consisted of a defense of faking one's orgasms in order to spare one's partner's ego.