Misogyny and Sexism in the News

[Toughy]

Originally Posted by *Anya*

I just want to point out the broad generalization in this statement.

Not all radical feminists think so and not all are "sex negative".

I, personally, identify as a "radical feminist" and certainly am not sex negative.

Just sayin'.

It always bothers me when I read broad, sweeping statements that lump everyone, no matter how we identify, in the same bucket.

Originally Posted by Toughy

Certainly the commentary for each of the photos has a sexist, sexual nature to it, however many of those photos are deliberately sexual in nature. They were intentional.

The question in my mind has to do with what actually makes them inherently sexist? Is it wrong for a beautiful (or not beautiful) woman to intentionally have that type of photo made and published?

Maybe some of them have an exhibitionist streak in them.......and there is nothing wrong with that. Every one of us has looked at sexy photos of women (and men) and liked the photos and imagined all kinds of things while doing so. Does looking at pictures of almost to totally naked women, while thinking about all kinds of things, make me a sexist?

Certainly the radical feminists think so and they also are most certainly sex negative.

I quoted the whole post for clarity. I should have said 'certainly many/most radical feminists think so'. What I think of when I say 'radical feminist' is the anti-porn, no penetrative sex, no adornment (make-up etc), no males over 5 yrs old, separatist lesbian kind of femininst.

So what do you think about the questions I asked? Is porn inherently sexist?

[Kobi]

Originally Posted by Toughy

a link to US laws:

http://reproductiverights.org/sites/...fgmlawsusa.pdf

What is interesting to me is that it is legal (under federal law) for a woman over 18 to have this done. This practice is cultural and not religious.

And then there is the other big can of worms about male genital circumcision/mutilation. This originated as a religious practice and became the norm (a non-religious practice) in the US. It is automatically done to all baby boys before they go home.....parents are not asked unless something has changed in hospitals. It is now being justified as necessary for health reasons.

I worked maternal-child health for many years. Never did I see a circumcision performed without written consent from a parent. To do so would have been a risk management nightmare and a breach of medical ethics.

Originally Posted by Toughy

I quoted the whole post for clarity. I should have said 'certainly many/most radical feminists think so'. What I think of when I say 'radical feminist' is the anti-porn, no penetrative sex, no adornment (make-up etc), no males over 5 yrs old, separatist lesbian kind of femininst.

So what do you think about the questions I asked? Is porn inherently sexist?

The original quote of "radical feminist" was disturbing. Trying to tone it down by adding "many/most" didnt make it easier to swallow.

As others have addressed, both forms are generalizations which negatively sterotype a group with misperceptions of what a radical feminist stands for.

I, too, consider myself to be a radical feminist. I am not against porn per se. I am against the sexual exploitation of women within a patriarchal society. In such a society, with the unequal power between the sexes, females are socialized to be objectified for the pleasure of the members of the partiarchy in many different ways. Doesnt seem to matter if that objectification is in the form of the sexual abuse of children, the sexualization of breastfeeding, sexual harrassment in the workplace, cat calls walking down the street, or even in porn.

It is difficult to sort out if behavior is really consensual or if it is adhering to expectations. That is a troublesome dilemma.

[Toughy]

The original quote of "radical feminist" was disturbing. Trying to tone it down by adding "many/most" didnt make it easier to swallow.

As others have addressed, both forms are generalizations which negatively sterotype a group with misperceptions of what a radical feminist stands for.

okie dokie here ya go...........

'certainly many/most of the radical feminists I have encountered think so'. What I mean when I say 'radical feminist' is the anti-porn, no penetrative sex, no adornment (make-up etc), no males over 5 yrs old, separatist lesbian kind of feminist.

I stand by the above. I don't think (as it is now written) it over-generalizes or stereotypes radical feminism as I have defined it.

I don't think clarifying what I said is 'toning it down'. I do get what you mean about the original statement, but if you still think that after clarification..............shrug.......we will just have to disagree

--------------------

Til now I had never run across anyone who claimed 'radical feminist' who did not fit the above description. Certainly, one can say it is a radical idea that the patriarchy is the root of oppression of women and 'radical feminism' as a big picture concept is fitting. I was thinking that within self identified feminists the ones that are radical are those who are separatist, anti-porn, sex negative, no penetration sexually, no males over 5 yrs old, etc.....we all know who I am talking about....

I did a bit of research and came across this basic definition of 'radical feminism' (I took Wiki's cuz they all say about the same thing):

Radical feminism is a current theoretical perspective within feminism that focuses on the theory of patriarchy as a system of power that organizes society into a complex of relationships based on an assumption that male supremacy[1] oppresses women. Radical feminism aims to challenge and overthrow patriarchy by opposing standard gender roles and oppression of women and calls for a radical reordering of society.[1]

Wiki defines feminism as:

Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights for women.[1][2] In addition, feminism seeks to establish equal opportunities for women in education and employment. A feminist is a "person whose beliefs and behavior are based on feminism."[3]



I personally don't think it's a radical idea that the patriarchy is the root of oppression and the 'isms' in the world. Nor do I believe it's radical to think gender roles are harmful and we need to re-order society. I thought that was just part of plain old garden variety feminist thought.

Seems to me the reason we need feminism is the patriarchy so I have trouble understanding why that is defined as radical.

just nit-picking over semantics in some ways, I guess....

Your mileage may vary.......

[Kobi]

Originally Posted by Toughy

okie dokie here ya go...........

'certainly many/most of the radical feminists I have encountered think so'. What I mean when I say 'radical feminist' is the anti-porn, no penetrative sex, no adornment (make-up etc), no males over 5 yrs old, separatist lesbian kind of feminist.

I stand by the above. I don't think (as it is now written) it over-generalizes or stereotypes radical feminism as I have defined it.

I don't think clarifying what I said is 'toning it down'. I do get what you mean about the original statement, but if you still think that after clarification..............shrug.......we will just have to disagree

--------------------

Til now I had never run across anyone who claimed 'radical feminist' who did not fit the above description. Certainly, one can say it is a radical idea that the patriarchy is the root of oppression of women and 'radical feminism' as a big picture concept is fitting. I was thinking that within self identified feminists the ones that are radical are those who are separatist, anti-porn, sex negative, no penetration sexually, no males over 5 yrs old, etc.....we all know who I am talking about....

I did a bit of research and came across this basic definition of 'radical feminism' (I took Wiki's cuz they all say about the same thing):

Radical feminism is a current theoretical perspective within feminism that focuses on the theory of patriarchy as a system of power that organizes society into a complex of relationships based on an assumption that male supremacy[1] oppresses women. Radical feminism aims to challenge and overthrow patriarchy by opposing standard gender roles and oppression of women and calls for a radical reordering of society.[1]

Wiki defines feminism as:

Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights for women.[1][2] In addition, feminism seeks to establish equal opportunities for women in education and employment. A feminist is a "person whose beliefs and behavior are based on feminism."[3]



I personally don't think it's a radical idea that the patriarchy is the root of oppression and the 'isms' in the world. Nor do I believe it's radical to think gender roles are harmful and we need to re-order society. I thought that was just part of plain old garden variety feminist thought.

Seems to me the reason we need feminism is the patriarchy so I have trouble understanding why that is defined as radical.

just nit-picking over semantics in some ways, I guess....

Your mileage may vary.......

Toughy, I am following you now.

Helps to keep the historical context in sight. We are both of the same generation and it was an entirely different world for women back then. Stuff that is taken for granted now, is stuff we had to fight for then.

Back then, many of the theories and thinking of feminists were considered radical for the times. By todays standards, the theories and thinking are less unusual, more mainstream, less radical in nature. Evolution is a wonderful thing.

And the extent of ones radicalism may have been expressed in any number of ways in an effort to empower oneself and women as a whole by rejecting various patriarchal ways as various factions saw fit.

My memory banks are fuzzy these days. But, it does seem plausible that there were anti-porn sentiments because porn was seen as exploitive of women.

Anti-penetration is ringing a distant bell. Then again, back then, even some unradical lesbians were singing an anti-pentration theme cuz it was unlesbian.

I dont remember an anti-sex thing but I do remember an anti sex with men thing i.e. dont sleep with your oppressor because it clouded your judgement about your oppression kind of thing.

I have no clue why there was a male cut off after age 5. Im not a kid person. Do boys change radically at 6 or something?

In our own individual evolutions, I suspect we could track the changes in our own thinking, perspectives, preferences, definitions. Wish I could remember that far back.

[aishah]

http://preventconnect.org/2012/01/ra...ing-in-the-us/

Sexual violence is a pervasive public health problem in the United States. In December 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey. Throughout the country, headlines of local and national papers described that rape is more common than previously thought.

Today an article published in on Significance Magazine’s web site, a publication of the American Statistical Association and Royal Statistical Society, compared these rates to those of smoking – 18.3% of women over 18 reported being sexual assaulted in their lifetime while 17.4% of women reported smoking. Let consider this as we set health priorities.

Just as in smoking prevention, preventing sexual violence before it happens in the first place is crucial. NISVS demonstrated that sexual violence often first happen when peopel are young, thus early prevention efforts are vital.

For more information on NISVS go to CDC’s NISVS page. You can also find materials on PreventConnect, VawNet’s NISVS Resource Page and the NSVRC’s NISVS Page.

[Soon]

Violence Against Women Act Funding Request Rejected By GOP

[aishah]

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/05/are_...G_hik.facebook

great article about women in the corporate workplace.