The nice thing about lesbian separatist radical feminism is that it requires nothing from me.

[xiphias]

So, 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.

Comments

[ckd]

It's like free will vs. determinism, but in a completely secular construct.

[zarq.livejournal.com]

Not to mention that it's just all so boring.

But then. extreme selective perception bias often is. :P

[ailbhe]

Hell, I'm worse, I had *babies* and *no job*.

[ex-serenejo.livejournal.com]

The ways in which this post is complete bullshit are overwhelming my ability to type them all out. I will try later.

Here thanks to the omniscient Ron Newman

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I read that woman's post and, you know, nearly fell over laughing. Even better than her raging sexism is her statements about interracial couples and how they don't work. I don't think she realizes just how in sympathy she is with the guys in the funny hoods on a few points.

[ron_newman]

Please do.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

I've found the further towards the extremes you get, right or left, the less and less ultimate difference there really would be in the outcome if they had their way.

[vito-excalibur.livejournal.com]

Could you? Isn't there a feminist bingo card spot for "well you better gimme my credit for being a Feminist Guy cause if you don't it's always within my power to be a Total Asshole"?

[ex-serenejo.livejournal.com]

I love you, you know. Deeply and abidingly.

[mightydoll.livejournal.com]

hrm..

I don't read this post as containing that message...though I can see how someone could reach for that conclusion.

I believe xiphias is going for a rather cheeky way of expressing his frustration with the inherent misandry expressed in the original post. He's not saying "accept me as I am or I'll be like the other dicks" he's pointing out a rather valid complaint with a rather specific group of people.

[copperpoint.livejournal.com]

Any chance of a link to the post that inspired this?

[filkerdave.livejournal.com]

Hier, bitte

oh.my.god

[punketta.livejournal.com]

that article! WTF!?

[(Anonymous)]

That sounds most peculiar to me.

I haven't read the post in question, but one thing that seems odd to me is that you would assume that it represents all lesbian separatist radical feminist thought.

I used to be a lesbian. I've done a lot of women-only stuff in the last thirty years that some would label separatist. I certainly know a lot of people who would call themselves separatist, and a lot (including me for a long time) who would describe themselves as radical feminists. I edited a radical feminist journal for ten years.

And the attitude you're describing isn't at all familiar to me. It sounds like some kind of caricature, to be honest. I don't think I know a single radical feminist who thinks "the differences are not cultural, they're inherent". Maybe they are some, I don't know. But if there are they certainly don't have a monopoly on "the" lesbian separatist radical feminism point of view.

[wandra.livejournal.com]

Oops, that wasn't supposed to be anonymous, it was from me. Have logged in now!

[mightydoll.livejournal.com]

a comment that won't make it through the blog-owners' screen, I'm sure.

I've never seen the show, however I do feel the need to point out that just because a writer writes assholes, does not mean they ARE assholes. A writer is not the characters he creates and suggesting that a man rapes and objectifies his wife (further, "guarantee" ing it) in print is libel.

As a writer, I often write in a way that is reflective of what I see around me and of my experiences with other people. In creating realistic characters, often I have to produce unlikable fucktards, this does not mean I condone the actions of my own characters.

It's a poor writer indeed who can only write facets of themselves. Some folks call that clinical narcissism

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

One possible starting point would be with what lesbian separatist radfem DOES require from me.

In any case, I'd really like to see what you have.

[mightydoll.livejournal.com]

I've never heard the term lesbian separatist radical feminist before. I have met some pretty objectionable radical feminists though who have most certainly given the message that men (and boys) are inherently incapable of empathy to the feminist cause.

On another note, I've also encountered that same attitude from at least one minority-identified individual in regards to my cultural heritage.

It can be a rather frustrating argument to field and it's completely and utterly counter to the ideals of any group seeking freedom from prejudice, and I'm certain that most intelligent people are able to recognize and reject it, but there are a great many folks out there who are angry and poorly informed who are quite happy to propagate ignorance.

[mr-clarinet.livejournal.com]

aaaahahahahgxzhgfhjgfaj that article is the funniest thing I've read all week.

i also kind of get a kick out of the idea that there can be multiple strands of lesbian separatist radical feminism. at this rate, we'll have a different kind of feminism for every person that exists...

[jehanna.livejournal.com]

I haven't read this fabled post. I can't do any flavor of "separatist" feminism, though, not only because I have so many male friends, but because it rules out a place for anybody on the genderqueer spectrum at the table. No can do. Cannot separate one part of my self from another.

[filkerdave.livejournal.com]

Cliquez ici

[greenlily.livejournal.com]

I read that already, courtesy of someone else's LJ, and the only thing I could think was, "This is why I don't call myself a feminist. Because someone, somewhere, will think that that means I think the same things as this person."

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

You SHOULD call yourself a feminist, though. If you don't, then you leave that person to define it.

Like why I define myself as an American patriot. And a feminist.

[jehanna.livejournal.com]

...wow.

I don't know the series, but I think I now know as much as I need to about the poster. In response to a very polite inquiry from a gay man requesting to comment? "I don't hate your sex, I hate your gender. If you don't understand what I mean by that then go and do your feminist homework before attempting to take up space on my blog."

...just wow. This is NOT my idea of feminism, or indeed any -ism that can be considered anything but bigotry.

[jehanna.livejournal.com]

Indeed. I've never let this sort of thing stop me from calling myself feminist...there's always a range of behaviors and beliefs on any spectrum. I call myself Jewish, too, even though there are plenty of more orthodox persons in some places who would disagree.