Quote:
Originally Posted by Quintease
I'm not so sure. I consider myself a feminist, yet just the other day I had a rant on a blog about 'man-hating' feminists getting involved in the sex worker movement - in that I don't think their involvement is appropriate. How can any woman who hates men be involved in any movement that involves women interacting with men, loving men or transitioning to be men?
The trouble with feminism that is against men rather than for women, is that it is often Louder than regular feminism and thus becomes the 'face' of feminism. So part of MY feminism is rejecting the oppression of women by other women.
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I think that people getting involved in the sex worker movement is a good thing. I trust that good leadership will assist participants in the struggle to examine the 'isms' and prejudices they came to to the movement with. I trust the people in the movement will then help the others experience the power of coalition-building and movements made of true allies. I think people can evolve away from hate.
Justice work is messy and discouraging, and perfection can never be a standard of measurement. As someone who works against oppression, I find it more helpful to help move people forward from where they are. Nobody's perfect. Everyone has something to contribute.
To underscore this point, i will speak to the topic of this thread. I was raised in, and still exist in a very ugly and dangerous white working-class culture of racist, sexist, xenophobic people. I was a gifted athlete in a world where only boys did sports, yet I was better at almost every sport than any boy. My parents and I had to navigate a world where it was dangerous simply because I was gifted. They struggled with balancing their pride in me with their concern for my safety. It was the 70s but the evolution we went through wasn't because of "women's lib" or any "wave" of feminism. We evolved because of parents' love for their daughter.
So that's where I come from, and I grew into a person who cares deeply about justice. Do I know everything I'm supposed to? Far from it. Have I read theory and been at the right events? Hell no. I've been playing ball and chasing women with my free time. I do not, however, feel that this makes me less of a feminist. Nor do I feel like this excuses me from attending demonstrations, volunteering at feminist events, and speaking up in word and deed when i experience or witness sexism. For example.
I'm not perfect. I am a feminist. For me this means that every child should be encouraged to follow their dreams regardless of how any feature about them has been historically perceived.