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Riding the waves of Feminism
August 29, 2008 - 5:40pm
Riding the waves of Feminism.
This is a really important question. I think (especially in progressive circles) it's all too common to assume everyone knows the basics of every movement. My suggestions would include checking out Feministing.com or Shamelessmag.com on a daily or even weekly basis.
Right now I'm just starting Jessica Valenti's Full Frontal Feminism. I'm still on the first chapter, so I can't provide much of a review, but it seems like a must read for young women (and men) interested in learning about feminism, without being buried in rhetoric and theory.
She also undercuts the authority of her answer by saying:
Is this calculated to leave the questioner any less "confused" and uncertain?[ 29 August 2008: Message edited by: M. Spector ]
I, however, couldn't possibly comment.
Oh, yes, women should just conform to the patriarchial notion of a "authority", that should not be undercut.
No, it is calculated to say that, all feminists have their own equallyauthoritative viewpoint, that is as valid as hers.A multi-dimensional viewpoint gotten, if you will, as opposed to a patriarchial linear one.
[ 30 August 2008: Message edited by: remind ]
Why should the alleged questioner be satisfied with this answer, given that her alleged question was predicated on an admission that she had "tried looking online," found the subject "very complicated and unreadable," and pronounced herself "confused". Surely what she was allegedly looking for was an authoritative explanation, not just one more opinion among thousands.
Guess who I'm going to nominate.
Sorry, I couldn't resist.
I'm not a big fan of the Ann-Landers kind of advice column, but the response here seems appropriately short and basic as a touchstone for larger study. It would be nice if Ms. C gave some suggestions of further reading (Full Frontal Feminism might be a good suggestion, jrose!) but her response seemed otherwise adequate considering the context.
Authority is social, pragmatic and relative. Like Escalus says in Measure for Measure, 'The Duke is in us'.
[ 30 August 2008: Message edited by: Catchfire ]
What we have here is an alleged questioner who has already done some research on the web and is baffled - so "confused", in fact, that (s)he resorts to writing to an anonymous advice columnist, seeking - not advice or opinion - but to clarify the facts. (S)he is not asking for "a full picture of what it means to be feminist."
I would be surprised if that alleged questioner is now satisfied with a clarification of the facts that could have been obtained easily from a number of web sources no more anonymous and at least as authoritative as Ms. Communicate, once the latter has said "the more feminists you ask about this question the more answers you’ll have." It seems to me that this was likely part of the problem that moved the alleged questioner to write to Ms. Communicate in the first place!
Sorry, the questioner wasn't asking to be sent back to the internet and the library - been there, done that. The question was mainly factual in nature and asked Ms. C. to "explain the basics." It was not a plea for further avenues of research.But in the name of the more open perspective, we'll accommodate yours too. [img]tongue.gif" border="0[/img]
[ 30 August 2008: Message edited by: martin dufresne ]
I'm not sure if a Women's Studies course is the best choice for the high school curriculum, rather I'd be a huge supporter of a mandatory course that helps students understand the intersections between racism, gender inequality, sexual politics, classism, sexism, etc. etc. etc.
I expect to be sitting on a patio for much of the day, catching up on some reading, so I'll fill you all in about Valenti's Full Frontal Feminism shortly.
I expect it is the part of the problem that prompted the letter. It's one of the difficulties, even flaws, of the feminist movement. The central organizing principle, equality of the sexes, becomes so muddied with the multitude of takes on just what that means that there is no answer anymore.
It's not surprising that a lot of young women, rather than trying to ravel out the tangles we feminists have created, say "I'm not a feminist, but..."
given the space restrictions she had.
[ 31 August 2008: Message edited by: CMOT Dibbler ]
[ 31 August 2008: Message edited by: CMOT Dibbler ]
[ 03 September 2008: Message edited by: martin dufresne ]
http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/compilations/Prov inceTerritory/ProvincialWomenRightToVote.aspx?Menu=ElectionsRidings-Election
For provincial elections, women in Quebec got the vote in 1940. I remember that my mother did not have the vote in municipal elections in the early '60's (the vote only went to the 'head of the household') and that, when my father went on business trips, she had to have a notarized letter so she could take her kids to the hospital should something horrible befall us. Legislation for job equity did not include sex discrimination.
[ 03 September 2008: Message edited by: Digiteyes ]
Hah! I had a cab driver this morning tell me I shouldn’t keep a book like this on my desk at work if I want to keep my job. Umm … Excuse me?
Meh, I'm keeping it proudly on my desk. I'd love to see management say a darn thing about it.
Heck, I keep Hairy Pothead in plain view at work. [img]biggrin.gif" border="0[/img]