Monday, November 16, 2015

Femininity; a target for scapegoat-ism and negativity?

LGBT movements shouldn’t abandon attempts for legal equality; justice will only throw a sheet over all the cruelty and discrimination that occurs over things like gender and race. It will take a lot of effort to reach any sort of solid institutional change on a national level, but to make an impact in the way that people live and interact with each other, and to re-balance the economic and social structures, we have to uproot the fucked up foundation of our current structures and start fresh. This all sounds very pro-anarchy-come-forth-socialism, but maybe we could benefit from a bit of socialism since the people who have been left out in the cold are the ones who have continuously been the scapegoats and the subjugated.

I don’t think that just writing legislation that criminalizes misogyny will change anything; people don’t change unless it directly affects them in some way. I really, really want to acknowledge the paragraph on page 138 of Urvashi Vaid’s “We’re Dykes” speech/chapter. The first paragraph talks about “admiring tomboys” and being nauseated at the idea of “sissy boys.” I’m so conflicted whenever it comes to assigning words a gender, especially since courageous or strong acts are associated with being “manly” and anything weak or submissive is considered being “girly”. I’ve never once been able to express exactly why it bothers me, but Urvashi puts it into words: “…the contempt in which women—or those who play a female role—are held. And the investment in keeping women in that contemptuous role is very great.” I am deeply disturbed by the hate that our society holds towards women, and I am overwhelmed with the epiphany as to why gender-associated activities bother me so greatly. Many of my friends actively express their dislike for women who aren't mothers or siblings, and I'm unable to get through to them out of not being able to understand their passionate hate for anything feminine while they continue to pursue girls.
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Reading Vaid's chapters, I've heard some repeated themes, some better explanations of movements, and some really good ideas. Overall, I'm feeling very protective over lesbians and transgender people. How can we kickstart more movements to hold our ground?

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