patriarcy, feminism, feminist, gardisil, cervical, cancer, promiscuity, slut, asshat
You know what Gardisil is, right? That vaccine you give to girls so they don't get HPV, which in turn prevents them from getting cervical cancer later (by later, I mean their 20s) in life?
You remember how every religious crazy in this country suddenly decided that vaccinating girls against HPV would cause them to FUCK EVERY MAN THEY MEET? Because the only thing stopping teenage girls from having nonstop, raucus, perverted group sex was the threat of possibly getting cervical cancer 10 years down the line.
Well, now giving Gardisil to boys is being considered, and nobody's even mentioned that it might make them slutty. All of the sudden, we care about cost effectiveness and safety.
Hey, patriarchy? Yeah. FUCK YOU!
Showing posts with label patriarcy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label patriarcy. Show all posts
Monday, March 30, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Vagina as Leg Shackle
patriarcy, feminism, feminist, vagina, modesty, dress, feminine
This bothered me the first time I read it, and it's bothered me ever since, so I thought I'd bother you, and share the joy. (No need to thank me.)
From Modest Articles and Testimonies:
If you feel you can’t do something in a dress, I would encourage you to question whether it is an activity that you can do and be feminine.
First of all, I can think of one activity that it is easier to do in a dress than in pants*. Secondly, a vagina is not a leg shackle. Hi, this is Personal Failure, and I'd like to introduce you to the last 100 years. Honestly.
What does "feminine" mean anyway?
According to the dictionary: pertaining to a woman or girl. Okay, so being a woman, that would make anything I do feminine. And that, kids, is the point. I am a woman. I can't stop being a woman (not that I'd want to). Therefore, everything I do is feminine. I don't become a man the instant I put on pants** or pick up power tools.
I think my irritation with this stems from two underlying ideas. The first is that everything a woman does, thinks or wears must stifle her and hem her in. Pants allow one to participate in sports and construction, and we wouldn't want women thinking they can do that sort of thing, would we? The other is that people like this are so obsessed with form over function. It's not enough that I am a woman, I must appear to be stereotypically female as well. I need long hair and skirts and aprons to shout to the world, and myself, that a woman is all I am.
That's what it is, isn't it? A constant visual reminder to the woman herself that she is less. That her life is confining. A constant visual reminder of all the things she can't do, not because she isn't capable of doing them, but because the patriarchy doesn't want her doing them. Because the patriarchy knows that the instant women figure out their own strength, their own power, the patriarchy's free ride is over.
I recommend putting on some pants and grabbing some power tools. Strength, now that's feminine.
*Ever since the summer of 1999, I have not been able to view walls the same way.
** If the writer of the quoted piece looks like a man in pants, she is wearing the wrong pants. I could not possibly be mistaken for a man while wearing pants.
This bothered me the first time I read it, and it's bothered me ever since, so I thought I'd bother you, and share the joy. (No need to thank me.)
From Modest Articles and Testimonies:
If you feel you can’t do something in a dress, I would encourage you to question whether it is an activity that you can do and be feminine.
First of all, I can think of one activity that it is easier to do in a dress than in pants*. Secondly, a vagina is not a leg shackle. Hi, this is Personal Failure, and I'd like to introduce you to the last 100 years. Honestly.
What does "feminine" mean anyway?
According to the dictionary: pertaining to a woman or girl. Okay, so being a woman, that would make anything I do feminine. And that, kids, is the point. I am a woman. I can't stop being a woman (not that I'd want to). Therefore, everything I do is feminine. I don't become a man the instant I put on pants** or pick up power tools.
I think my irritation with this stems from two underlying ideas. The first is that everything a woman does, thinks or wears must stifle her and hem her in. Pants allow one to participate in sports and construction, and we wouldn't want women thinking they can do that sort of thing, would we? The other is that people like this are so obsessed with form over function. It's not enough that I am a woman, I must appear to be stereotypically female as well. I need long hair and skirts and aprons to shout to the world, and myself, that a woman is all I am.
That's what it is, isn't it? A constant visual reminder to the woman herself that she is less. That her life is confining. A constant visual reminder of all the things she can't do, not because she isn't capable of doing them, but because the patriarchy doesn't want her doing them. Because the patriarchy knows that the instant women figure out their own strength, their own power, the patriarchy's free ride is over.
I recommend putting on some pants and grabbing some power tools. Strength, now that's feminine.
*Ever since the summer of 1999, I have not been able to view walls the same way.
** If the writer of the quoted piece looks like a man in pants, she is wearing the wrong pants. I could not possibly be mistaken for a man while wearing pants.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Quiverless
quiverfull, patriarcy, misogyny, religion, christian, feminism, feminist,
Please read the fascinating story of a woman who once led the Quiverfull movement, and has since left.
If you're feeling lazy, I think this paragraph sums up how the movement feels about the women who sacrifice so much to make it happen:
Garrison complied. She'd had her first three children by cesarean section, but after coming to the Quiverfull conviction, she was swayed by the movement's emphasis on natural (even unassisted home) birth. During one delivery, she suffered a partial uterine rupture and "felt like I'd been in a major battle with Satan, and he'd just about left me dead." The doctor who treated Garrison lectured her for an hour not to conceive again, but she felt that stopping on her own would be rebellion. When she turned to her leaders for inspiration, she received a bleak message: that if she died doing her maternal duty, God would care for her family. For six months, she couldn't look at the baby without crying.
I love a movement that puts men in no danger at all, why decrying the women who refuse to die for patriarchy.
Also visit Garrison's blog and offer her some atheist cookies.
Please read the fascinating story of a woman who once led the Quiverfull movement, and has since left.
If you're feeling lazy, I think this paragraph sums up how the movement feels about the women who sacrifice so much to make it happen:
Garrison complied. She'd had her first three children by cesarean section, but after coming to the Quiverfull conviction, she was swayed by the movement's emphasis on natural (even unassisted home) birth. During one delivery, she suffered a partial uterine rupture and "felt like I'd been in a major battle with Satan, and he'd just about left me dead." The doctor who treated Garrison lectured her for an hour not to conceive again, but she felt that stopping on her own would be rebellion. When she turned to her leaders for inspiration, she received a bleak message: that if she died doing her maternal duty, God would care for her family. For six months, she couldn't look at the baby without crying.
I love a movement that puts men in no danger at all, why decrying the women who refuse to die for patriarchy.
Also visit Garrison's blog and offer her some atheist cookies.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
