Sexism at the border: A personal account. "For me, carrying my own condoms (in purses, wallets, camera bags; everywhere) is a routine act towards safer sex. For someone else with the power to not only deny passage but judge, moralize and intimidate, it has become enough evidence to put a woman through hell. My story has brought a number of women out of the woodwork stating that they have had similar experiences." [h/t
Alex Grossman]
posted by jaduncan
on Apr 6, 2013 -
203 comments
As the culture evolves, people who benefitted from the old ways invariably see themselves as victims of change. The world used to fit them like a glove, but it no longer does. Increasingly, they find themselves in unfamiliar situations that feel unfair or even unsafe. Their concerns used to take center stage, but now they must compete with the formerly invisible concerns of others.
If you are one of the newly-visible others, this all sounds whiny compared to the problems you face every day. It’s tempting to blast through such privileged resistance with anger and insult.
Tempting, but also, I think, a mistake. The privileged are still privileged enough to foment a counter-revolution, if their frustrated sense of entitlement hardens.
posted by Kitty Stardust
on Jan 18, 2013 -
49 comments
If a man finds himself attracted to a woman who doesn't conform to this list (more on the specifics of the list in a minute), does he not count as a man? What if she's "perfect" for him? What if she makes him feel like a whole person for the first time in his life, but she just happens to have chunky ankles? What does "perfect" mean then? What does "hot" mean? What does "the One" mean? What we're setting up here is an impossible cultural standard that excludes...well...100% of women. Because literally no one is that weird Frankenstein's Monster-with-Benefits that your art department put together.
In her typical masterful style, Jezebel's Lindy West reminds us that being a
perfect woman is no excuse for being actively harmful to humanity.
posted by Jon_Evil
on Dec 13, 2012 -
68 comments
Point:
At the end of October, National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, members of the men’s movement group RADAR (Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting [2]) gathered on the steps of Congress to lobby against what they say are the suppressed truths about domestic violence: that false allegations are rampant, that a feminist-run court system fraudulently separates innocent fathers from children, that battered women’s shelters are running a racket that funnels federal dollars to feminists, that domestic-violence laws give cover to cagey mail-order brides seeking Green Cards, and finally, that men are victims of an unrecognized epidemic of violence at the hands of abusive wives."
[more inside]
posted by andoatnp
on Nov 21, 2009 -
125 comments
Whether she is called a
geisha, a
courtesan, a
prostitute, or a
dominatrix, women who make their living by
offering intimate, one-on-one companionship to men (sexually or otherwise- as is more often the case) have been around since
day one. Often
reviled,
marginalized, and
belittled, are they truly the
hapless victims and
social parasites they are often
portrayed as? Or is this sort of
profession really one of the few areas where an intelligent woman can achieve
financial security and prosperity, even in a
patriarchal society?
(note: I am well aware that sex is not normally part of the deal with geishas and dommes. However, they are frequently lumped in this category.)
posted by evilcupcakes
on Apr 10, 2003 -
50 comments
