(no subject)

[dexeron.livejournal.com]

Comments

[hardblue.livejournal.com]

A good article in the Times this morning that's on point:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/24/opinion/barbara-life-as-a-brazilian-woman.html

[enders-shadow.livejournal.com]

...cuz.....cuz she's a woman?

[moonshaz.livejournal.com]

No kidding.

Like anyone should even have to GIVE reasons.

[lafinjack.livejournal.com]

Not all women are feminists, and you don't have to be a woman to approve of the aims of feminism, and even then, if you're playing a "but what's in it for ME?" mindset, feminism does not necessarily only directly benefit women.

I think that covers it.

[weswilson]

Holy shit... reading the comments on that video was really depressing... Jesus god, people are morons.

[oslo.livejournal.com]

I'll bet 50% of them are would-be trolls.

[oslo.livejournal.com]

I admit that I tire of the cycle of self-discovery every generation goes through when it hits its early-twenties, now the stuff of youtube videos and infographics and webcomics and all the rest. I mean, I get it. It feels amazing to be young, to identify with a cause, to make that cause a real part of your identity. I enjoy a bit of nostalgia for it every now and then. But I find that it's hard for me to be positive and encouraging as others make the same discoveries for themselves, saying the same things, going through the same motions, with an embarrassing naivete. Again, I was no better. Still - I'm old now.

I mean - these reasons are just taken to be self-explanatory. It's a video purporting to provide reasons for being a "feminist," but there is no rationale at work here, no connection between the reasons provided and some is-ness or ought-ness about being a "feminist." It's a noisy, jump-cutted barrage of packaged outrages. I have no idea what it amounts to.

God, what I wouldn't give for a five-minute video of someone just reading, at a normal level of speech and speed, from a well-honed script.

[enders-shadow.livejournal.com]

" what I wouldn't give for a five-minute video of someone just reading, at a normal level of speech and speed, from a well-honed script. "

You mean a boring ass political speech?

Go watch the SOTU or somefin.

[oslo.livejournal.com]

No, like slam poetry. Like a theatrical monologue. Like a calm conversation with a friend who's passionate about something.

You really are profoundly ignorant.

[enders-shadow.livejournal.com]

Rives-- If I controlled the Internet, on Youtube and TED.com

[lafinjack.livejournal.com]

Think of how amazing Jay Smooth could be if he didn't (apparently) rely entirely on jumpcuts.

[dexeron.livejournal.com]

It's a style. It's not even one I'm particularly fond of (not unfond of it either, really) but it's not that there aren't reasons why each of these things are good reasons to be a feminist - it's just that this is I think more of an answer to "why would someone be a feminist, aren't feminists all about female superiority and taking away men's rights?" The implication is: "here are a bunch of bad things - feminism is about fighting these bad things." So it's a sort of "no, here are several good reasons to be a feminist." And there's tons of places to go for more in depth examinations of the what and why and 101 level explanation of all of them online.

[oslo.livejournal.com]

I understand all that. The point I'm trying to make is that these are all kind of stock "reasons" - "packaged outrages," like I said, which are presented and intended to be taken as perfectly self-explanatory. They serve, in the idiotic age of the jump-cut, as something like an "argument," but ultimately all they are is an affirmation of group loyalty and belonging. At this moment in western of civilization, a person who views, say, the wage gap as a self-evident reason for action to close the gap, without a moment of further reflection, is just engaging in a dialectic I find increasingly tiresome.

This woman may some day develop into a profoundly perceptive feminist activist and scholar. If that ever happens, I am sure she will look back on this video and roll her eyes, a bit.

[enders-shadow.livejournal.com]

Alright, what the hell does male circumcision have to do with her being a feminist??

[solarseraphim.livejournal.com]

Some people believe that male circumcision is mutilation and a violation of the child's autonomy. Also, feminism isn't just women's rights, it aims for gender equality. Thus, the view on male circumcision is pretty much the same on female circumcision.

[enders-shadow.livejournal.com]

Uhmmmm, I'm not sure that it's reasonable to compare female circumcision to male circumcision.

I'm not an anatomist, but doesn't female circumcision greatly alter a womans feeling of pleasure during sex? Does male circumcision do the same?

[oslo.livejournal.com]

If female circumcision impacted a woman's "feeling of pleasure during sex" no more than male circumcision, would it be okay? Would it be as okay as male circumcision, or less okay?

[enders-shadow.livejournal.com]

If circumcision is just an aesthetic concern is diff than a more-than-aesthetic concern

[oslo.livejournal.com]

So, "yes," then?

[enders-shadow.livejournal.com]

I'm not *for* male circumcision, but as a circumcised male, I don't feel *wronged* either.

[dexeron.livejournal.com]

There are several reasons given by those who are against male circumcision, but one of them is, yes, that it does lessen pleasure.

[enders-shadow.livejournal.com]

For serious? I mean, OK, I'll accept that as an answer, and, to be personal, as a circumcised male.....it can feel *better*?

Although, I suppose, I understand that it's alot like the learned helplessness of anybody in any situation they cannot change, and don't know any difference from.

It just struck me as odd that this woman uses something *I* don't mind as an explanation of why *she* is a feminist.
I consider myself a feminist too, but not because I was circumcised as a child. Not at all.

[lafinjack.livejournal.com]

Does male circumcision do the same?

About 2-5% of all male circumcisions, the (probably underreported) rate of male circumcision complications. What would infantile gangrene of the dick do to your feeling of pleasure during sex?

[red-pill.livejournal.com]

i never get why people are worryed about pit hair on girls. espchuly cos its just a little fuzz. its nuts. who gives a shit?

[enders-shadow.livejournal.com]

It's a symbol that they are no longer under the dominion of males. Akin to not shaving your legs or burning your bra.

Humans are wildly in favor of making symbolic gestures super-important.