whatsername thejadedhippy

green day listening, (mostly) white, cissexual, heterosexual, socialist libertarian, hippie, feminist, pagan, GEEK, grad student, and social justice blogger

Posts Written by whatsername

By whatsername thejadedhippy • 16 years ago

The Irony of Anti-Sex-Positive Feminist’s Arguments

x-posted from my blog: The Jaded Hippy

It’s been a while since I wrote a post from a specifically sex positive perspective. But that all changes tonight because a few days ago I had a run in that sent my mind off in that direction.

In comments at fem.men.ist’s place a conversation began about sex positive feminism, with a very angry radical feminist who was hearing about it for the first time and didn’t like what she was reading. Needless to say, she and I exchanged words. But since then I’ve been going over and boiling down my argument and though it’s getting to the same point as my very first post about sex positivity, I thought it might be worth going into again.

The radfem’s main argument (in the comments conversation, though her argument in her blog post appears similar) consisted of two points 1) certain sexual behaviors are inherently degrading to women (she also threw in there that heterosexual sex can never truly be consented to, which I would take to mean is "always rape" as the famous quote goes, but I never got to follow up on that point) and 2) that by supporting and accepting women who choose to engage in such behaviors for pleasure, sex positive feminists are supporting and enabling the sexual exploitation and degradation of women.

So here’s my problem: this line of arguing is utilizing the master’s tools.

By whatsername thejadedhippy • 16 years ago

Oy, the Transformers Movie

Oh dear gods where to even begin with this movie. Oh, and spoilers below.

First of all, if you were annoyed by the tropes in the first movie, don’t even bother trying to see this one, they’ve multiplied in numbers and intensity at least 5 fold.

For instance, one of the things I liked about the first one is that at least the lead female character you know DID SOMETHING. She drove a huge truck backward and was AWESOME. In this one? Same lead female does NOTHING. You know except scream a bit here and there and get rescued and such. Bleh.

In the same vein, the running while holding hands trope of action movies was alive and well. ...

Oh dear gods where to even begin with this movie. Oh, and spoilers below.

First of all, if you were annoyed by the tropes in the first movie, don’t even bother trying to see this one, ...

By whatsername thejadedhippy • 17 years ago

Listen up white women: On racism and feminism

K, seriously, fellow white feminist women? READ THIS.
Annotate it.
Highlight it.
Scribble notes in the margins.
Read it BEFORE you try and engage with black feminist, womanist, or other feminists of color.
No… really, I mean it, NOW.
Because this shit keeps happening, and while I know you don’t mean it like that, while I know you didn’t do it on purpose, while I know that the world around us has tainted us and we never asked to be a part of it…tough shit, we are.
Please take my advice on this. Save yourself the embarrassment. I’ve been the newly feminist white woman from suburbia raring to go and finding herself with shit coming out ...

By whatsername thejadedhippy • 17 years ago

Citizen’s Briefing Book and the Freedom of Choice Act

So earlier today I got an email message from the Obama team to tell me about a new feature on Change.gov. It’s called The Citizen’s Briefing Book and lets us put up our issues, vote on those put up by others, and comment on them. Naturally one of the first areas I looked at was “Health Care” and was surprised not to find the Freedom of Choice Act in a high position. So I searched for it. Guess what I found?
So I’m putting a call out to all those feminists out there who I’ve seen discuss the importance of this act. Spread the word, go vote it up, and make your voices heard, ...

So earlier today I got an email message from the Obama team to tell me about a new feature on Change.gov. It’s called The Citizen’s Briefing Book and lets us put up our issues, vote on ...

By whatsername thejadedhippy • 17 years ago

Trans Murder Apology

Where to begin? Especially in light of the TDoR…

Forums can be such catalysts for thoughtful articulations! Arguing with people has always been much more fruitful for my brain than analyzing by myself. Recently, as in, over the last two or three days, there has been a conversation going regarding the murder of Angie Zapata.

Now, any feminist who’s been around the block has seen this exact same rationale leveled at women who are raped, "well if she didn’t [whatever she did] then [that] wouldn’t have happened to her!" And we call this rape apology.

I don’t know if there is a term for this that I simply haven’t come across yet, but there should be a term for ...

Where to begin? Especially in light of the TDoR…

Forums can be such catalysts for thoughtful articulations! Arguing with people has always been much more fruitful for my brain than analyzing by myself. Recently, as in, over ...

By whatsername thejadedhippy • 17 years ago

If You Live in California…

Please give your attention just for a second to this post.

Major h/t to bfp for this one.

Who is Californians for Humane Farms?
Californians for Humane Farms is sponsored by the Humane Society of the United States, Farm Sanctuary and other animal protection groups, family farmers, veterinarians, and public health professionals, who have joined together in an effort to launch a statewide initiative for the November 2008 ballot—one that will improve the lives of millions of farm animals in California.

Please give your attention just for a second to this post.

Major h/t to bfp for this one.

Who is Californians for Humane Farms?
Californians for Humane Farms is sponsored by the Humane Society of the ...

By whatsername thejadedhippy • 17 years ago

Beauty Privilege -or- How the “feminists aren’t all hairy and ugly!” reassurance actually hurts us all

OK so I wasn’t actually going to post this here because I thought maybe where my thought process came out of would come off as confrontational? But then Rachel went and posted about conventional beauty and the would blow up around that and I just couldn’t resist…

Apparently I have one bone left to pick over one of Jessica Valenti’s choices in Full Frontal Feminism (and to be fair she was hardly the first to employ this tactic). That is, her numerous reassurances that "not all feminists are fat, ugly, hairy, lesbians." Yah ok, that’s true, but how about those of us who ARE? Or those of us who maybe aren’t all of those things, but maybe, say, one ...

By whatsername thejadedhippy • 17 years ago

“Deconstructing Transgenderism” psssst your cis-privilege is showing

So I linked my regular blog readers earlier this week to the latest edition of the Radical Feminist Carnival . And it was a really good haul. For the most part. The exception was that mAndrea managed to get another of her transphobic posts into a feminist carnival. Even more distressing to me was that she did so unacknowledged in this case. When her first post came out in the Carnival of Feminists , there was a significant response and uproar. Resulting in a long discussion and many people letting Natalie know that transphobia is not an acceptable part of their feminism or any equality rights movement.

Yet in this new Radical ...

So I linked my regular blog readers earlier this week to the latest edition of the Radical Feminist Carnival . And it was a really good haul. For the most part. The exception ...