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xiphiasSo, a bunch of people on my friends list have been linking to a post that someone wrote last year about the misogyny in Firefly/Serenity. And, y'know, there's actually a lot of interesting stuff you can do with that, but this post was written from a radical feminist point of view, by a lesbian separatist.
And I was just thinking about how EASY radfem is for me to deal with.
See, I'm a man. And so, by lesbian separatist radical feminist logic, I can never understand a woman's point of view. And THAT means that I have no obligation to try.
Now, the way I was raised, I can look at how society is set up, I can see in what ways the deck is stacked to give men more power for being men, I can see how society promotes some sorts of interactions, and values some types of personality traits more than others. In the forms of feminism in which I was raised, I can look at those things, and see if I can find ways to work around them, to change how I think about them, to work to change society to be more equatable, to allow people to be who they are, to respect the contributions of all sorts of people, to value cooperative and consensus-building interactions . . .
But, from a radical feminist point of view, the differences are not cultural, they're inherent, and, as a man, no matter what I do, I won't change.
And that's so cool. That lets me entirely off the hook. By the feminism with which I was raised, I have a responsibility to work toward a more fair and more just world. But by lesbian separatist radical feminism, I can do whatever I want, because, as I have no ability to be different than I am, I have no responsibility to try.
And I was just thinking about how EASY radfem is for me to deal with.
See, I'm a man. And so, by lesbian separatist radical feminist logic, I can never understand a woman's point of view. And THAT means that I have no obligation to try.
Now, the way I was raised, I can look at how society is set up, I can see in what ways the deck is stacked to give men more power for being men, I can see how society promotes some sorts of interactions, and values some types of personality traits more than others. In the forms of feminism in which I was raised, I can look at those things, and see if I can find ways to work around them, to change how I think about them, to work to change society to be more equatable, to allow people to be who they are, to respect the contributions of all sorts of people, to value cooperative and consensus-building interactions . . .
But, from a radical feminist point of view, the differences are not cultural, they're inherent, and, as a man, no matter what I do, I won't change.
And that's so cool. That lets me entirely off the hook. By the feminism with which I was raised, I have a responsibility to work toward a more fair and more just world. But by lesbian separatist radical feminism, I can do whatever I want, because, as I have no ability to be different than I am, I have no responsibility to try.
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Re: lesbian separatist radical feminism
Date: 2008-03-30 02:52 am (UTC)Re: lesbian separatist radical feminism
Date: 2008-03-30 08:41 am (UTC)i think there are good reasons to consider lesbian separatist feminism a movement one does not want to join (if one could by the sole virtue of being born into and attracted to the right sex) -- some people in this thread have talked about those. i wouldn't join even if they let me, *shudder*. but this person? bah. she doesn't appear to even have read any of the literature carefully. i don't listen to undereducated, rude dimwits; waste of time. i also don't think they're representative of a movement to which they have attached themselves.
like wandra, i actually know more perfectly sane lesbian separatist feminists than nutty ones. i don't agree with them on much, but ya know, they're not off killing people in the name of liberating them, so it doesn't bother me a whole lot.
i am not a feminist, btw. :) and nice icon.