#feminisms

[loki-zen]

like completely aside from the fact that an it's unwelcoming to questioning, nontransitioning & closeted people, how did we (as vaguely progressive-shaped people who can be assumed to have been feminists in the 00s/10s and to be trans-positive now) go from obsession with the idea of unconcious bias and that orchestra thing and everything to "hey let's emblazon everything from email sigs to chat handles with signifiers of gender, in a work context. We'll put it right next to the name so everyone knows it's like the second most important fact about people. I bet this will have no unforeseen consequences."

[bossymarmalade]

I generally don’t write much in the way of serious topics on tumblr because I don’t find it a useful platform for that, but I’ve seen a number of posts/talked with mutuals lately about what we’ve been noticing in the erosion of feminist theory and how it’s discussed.

To me the culprit is the nature of tumblr itself. There’s no one stationary place for a conversation; people reblog a conversation that has branched off in a bunch of directions. They argue a point that could’ve been addressed by the OP except the conversation continued without the OP. They end up in places that were never intended.

Add to that: a) the way a pithy phrase captures attention faster than a thoughtful analysis and b) the number of ppl reblogging to point out that their particular group was not specifically taken into account, and you have an attempt at discussion that’s hobbled from the start.

I wish we could have discussions here like we used to on lj/dw but we can’t. So instead any discussion of feminism has its teeth cracked out one at a time with “but men can be abused too” and “what about transmen” and “eyeliner so sharp it could kill a man” and “WOMEN!! She!! Her!!” and look. All of these things have their place in the discussion. 

But when people generally don’t even know what the core tenets of feminism are, don’t understand the kyriarchy, or multiple axes of oppression, don’t understand second- and third-wave feminism, and just choose to make everything binary all over again? Right now in tumblr discourse, either critique of Men is wrong bc it doesn’t take into account these particular men, or All Women are Right All the Time Actually. And neither of these is useful in dismantling what feminism is intended to dismantle.

Feminism is for everyone, yes. But feminism is also an ideology intended to make people uncomfortable with and outraged at the status quo, the kyriarchical messages we grow up with and live under. It’s all right if your feminism isn’t mine, but if yours doesn’t actually stand for anything and is more concerned with empty virtue signaling or pat catchphrases, then does it actually benefit the cause? Or is it just lip service in between nitpicking? Is it just window dressing for oppressive systems? Is it doing those institutional systems’ work for them?

I don’t have any concrete suggestions about this; like I said, I don’t think tumblr as a platform can provide any repair. But who knows. Maybe a bunch of like-minded feminists talking about it more (and by like-minded, I just mean “invested”; the faces of feminism are legion) will help rejuvenate something that’s been pretty good to a lot of us (or at least offered a helpful framework to build our senses of self on). Maybe I’ll go back to talking about feminist topics myself. Maybe that’s not quite a bridge called our backs but it’s more than being the second sex. Maybe maybe may be.

[femalelore]

don't assume we can all pick up the pieces.

It's infuriating how society often fails to grasp the depth of pain that comes with being sexually assaulted.  The trauma isn't just a fleeting moment; it's a relentless shadow that follows you, affecting every aspect of your life. People throw around phrases like "move on" or "get over it," as if healing is a simple switch you can flip.  They don't understand the sleepless nights, the constant anxiety, the feeling of being unsafe in your own skin. It's a battle every single day, and the scars, both visible and invisible, are a testament to the strength it takes to keep going.  The pain is real, and it's time we stop minimizing it and start supporting survivors with the empathy and respect they deserve.

[myalgias]

During my decades of organizing, I’ve witnessed how white, class-privileged feminists wield their power to ensure that sex workers and trans women are excluded from social and labour protections, kept out of unions and social justice movements, barred from emergency services like shelters, and targeted by law enforcement for deportations and arrests. Normally when a powerful group tries to harm and eliminate a less powerful group, we call it authoritarianism or fascism. But when it’s largely privileged white women, it’s called “feminism.” 

[radfemverity]

To say that straight men are heterosexual is only to say that they have sex exclusively with women. From women they want sex, service and devotion. All of that which pertains to love, most straight men reserve exclusively for other men. The people whom they admire, respect, adore, honor, whom they imitate, idolize, and form profound attachments to, whom they are willing to teach and from whom they are willing to learn, and whose respect, recognition and admiration they desire… those are, overwhelmingly, other men.

Heterosexual male culture is homoerotic; it is man-loving.

— paraphrased from Marilyn Frye, The Politics of Reality: Essays in Feminist Theory (pages 134-135)

[books-in-media]

The New York Review of Books, (January 14, 2021)

—The Opening of the American Mind: Ten Years of The Point, The Point (2020)

—Hooked: Art and Attachment, Rita Felski (2020)

—Wild Thought, Claude Levi-Strauss (1962)

—Thinking Out of Sight: Writings on the Arts of the Visible, Jacques Derrida (2021)

—The Angel in the Marketplace: Adwoman Jean Wade Rindlaub and the Selling of America, Ellen Wayland-Smith (2020)

—Unspeakable: A Life Beyond Sexual Morality, Rachel Hope Cleves (2020)

—Feminisms: A Global History, Lucy Delap (2020)

—Queer Legacies: Stories from Chicago’s LGBTQ Archives, John D'Emilio (2020)

[feministbibliobs]

nächste Öffnungszeiten : next opening hours : prochaines heurs d'ouverture

di, 9.1.24 18:30-20.00h

mo, 29.1.24 17-19:30h

DE die feministische bibliothek ist offen - kommt vorbei zum schmökern, auf einen tee, bringt medien zurück und holt neue <3

FR la bibliothèque féministe est ouverte - venez feuilleter des livres, boire une tisane, rapportez vos médias, empruntez-en de nouveaux <3

EN the feminist library is open - come by to browse books, drink a tea, bring back your media, borrow new ones <3

📖🐙📚🪱📕🐻☕️🫖🍪🌈⚧📒✏️

[femalelore]

The Woman vs. Woman Dynamic in Mental Health Stigma

Women often face significant stigma when it comes to mental health, which can be exacerbated by the woman vs. woman dynamic. Cultural norms dictate that women should be strong, nurturing, and self-sacrificing, leaving little room for vulnerability (Rosenfield & Smith, 2019). This stigma can prevent women from seeking the help they need, leading to untreated mental health issues (Rosenfield & Smith, 2019). Those from marginalized communities face even greater barriers due to intersecting stigmas related to race, socioeconomic status, and sexual orientation (Rosenfield & Smith, 2019).

The internal battle is often compounded by external pressures, including societal expectations and the judgment of other women (Rosenfield & Smith, 2019). This woman vs. woman dynamic can create an environment where women feel isolated and unsupported, further exacerbating their mental health struggles (Rosenfield & Smith, 2019). Addressing these stigmas requires a multifaceted approach, including education, advocacy, and support systems that empower women to seek help without fear of judgment (Rosenfield & Smith, 2019).

References:

Rosenfield, S., & Smith, C. A. (2019). Gender and mental health: Do men and women have different amounts or types of problems? In R. C. Kessler & A. P. McLaughlin (Eds.), Handbook for the study of mental health (pp. 73-89). Cambridge University Press.

[animentality]

[witchlinda]

Taisiia Onofriichuk from Ukraine performs her hoop routine to the sound of "Thriller" by Michael Jackson at the 2024 Paris Olympics Rhythmic Gymnastics Individual Qualifiers

[loki-zen]

Relevant to this: whenever you read about movie stars wearing corsets for roles and finding them a nightmare it’s relevant to note that

they are invariably wearing styles for upper class women, not styles worn by women who were expected to do things in them

they aren’t always made to be historically accurate anyway, and when they are

movie acting (and the training or lack thereof that many movie stars have as actors) tends to neglect a step that my training taught me was essential:

If you are a modern woman you did not grow up wearing these clothes and you do not know how to move in them. Stage actors rehearse in long skirts and stays and whatever else might be relevant and these and prestige period TV productions frequently have support from garment historians and living history practitioners in order that they might begin to approach the ease with which someone moves in these things if they have worn them their whole lives.

Living history practitioners have noted that there are countless things about the way you move when doing everyday tasks that have different optimal forms which, when adopted, make it suddenly make perfect sense how you (eg) cut and dry hay with a scythe in a corset and long skirt. This even extends to the design of environments! If you walk out of an accurately reproduced Victorian environment in a huge era-appropriate skirt, you immediately start knocking things over with it and getting it caught on things, because our environments were not designed with the expectation that anyone dresses like that.

It’s interesting to think how this could have contributed in the past to enforcing the exclusion of women from certain environments, and to the enduring cultural associations between clothing and the emancipation of women.

[queenofswords]

People on that post I made about liking fur and leather saying “Actually, we all just need to consume less 🥺” yes. That’s what I’m fucking saying. I got my primary leather jacket for Christmas in my freshman year of high school and I’m now 22. My fur coat was made in the 50s and I picked it up for $60 at an antique store years ago. I still sometimes wear a pair of leather hiking boots my mom got in the 90s while the pleather boots I bought in high school barely lasted 3 years. By wearing fur and leather, I am consuming less. It’s economical in the long run, the quality is better and it lasts longer. You think I have the money to buy a brand new leather jacket every year? The other two leather jackets I have are also vintage, one is from the 70s was fished out of the garbage and the other was $9 at a thrift store. They. Last.

[bread-and-roses-too]

Not feminist as in "women should be included in the draft" but feminist as in "being drafted is a violation of bodily autonomy for any gender".

The draft should not exist. Drafting people into the military is a violation of human rights. You should not be able to force someone to risk their life. If you can't find enough people who care about a conflict to keep it going then it simply shouldn't keep going. You can't even force someone to donate a kidney using government power, why the fuck can you force them to donate their whole body and life to a cause they don't agree with or don't care about?

[femalelore]

a poem made by me. These verses delve into the daily battles fought within the mind, where hope and despair constantly vie for control. It highlights the stigmas faced, the silent struggles endured.

[myalgias]

"Too often, courts and custody evaluators consider that reporting family violence or asking for reduced contact between the father and the child are signs of 'alienation,' that is, brainwashing by the mother to make the child reject the father," the letter, authored by the National Association of Women and the Law says.

…

The calls for a blanket ban come as emerging Canadian and international research casts doubt on the controversial concept that some say highlights how domestic violence is not taken seriously in family courts. Family lawyers have recognized the abuse of the concept in divorce proceedings but assert parental alienation remains a real issue that needs to be thoroughly examined rather than banned.

…

Parental alienation is a concept used to describe when one partner unfairly undermines the relationship of their child with the other parent. It is widely recognized by courts across Canada and is instrumental in custody and access disputes, though the psychological theory it stems from has been widely disputed.

Court reprimands in cases involving parental alienation are often severe. The Star spoke to one woman, who was granted anonymity so as not to risk her ongoing case, who said she had main custody with limited visitations for her ex-partner prior to his claim she was alienating their two daughters from him.

…

"Then my kids were court-ordered to attend reunification camp in the United States," where she was not allowed to contact them, she said. "I had 48 hours notice to transfer care of the children from my care to his care."

"What they tell you is 90 days turned into over 500 for my oldest daughter and my other daughter is approaching 700 days," she said, referring to the time away from her children.

Following a lengthy review of the case, her eldest daughter, now 16, returned home, but her youngest is still with her father.

…

At issue, advocates say, is that accusations of parental alienation have become commonly used in instances where the parent accused of alienating the child — most often the mother — is a victim of family violence. The accusation has come to overshadow allegations of family violence in custody disputes, despite clear provisions in the Divorce Act surrounding family violence. It's become so rampant that some lawyers have advised their clients not to report abuse to the courts, said Suzanne Zaccour, NAWL's director of legal affairs.

…

In one recent study involving Canadians and women from other countries who had been accused of parental alienation, the majority of women surveyed said the claim was brought forward after they raised concerns about abuse from an ex-partner. A 2020 study for the Government of Quebec acknowledged violent spouses may use allegations of parental alienation to counter the charges of violence or abuse laid against them.

[radfemverity]

The trans question seems to be the big barrier preventing a lot of women going from liberal feminism to radical feminism. While our beliefs are controversial in the male-dominated society, it is only the trans one that gets us cancelled, threatened, and even criminally prosecuted in certain countries.

I appreciate this might go down like a lead balloon with those on both sides of the fence, but here is an attempt to bridge the divide.

To the women who feel aligned to most things that radical feminism stands for, but think we’re ‘transphobic’ okay, fine. But please feel free to take the parts of our belief system that you find beneficial, and share those with the women in your life. That is still invaluable work. The ideological purity and labels matter less than the spread of ideas.

I completely take the point from fellow radfems of “How can you defend women if you cannot even define them?” And I have never seen ‘pro-trans’ feminists manage to answer that question. But if they want to try, let’s let them!

There are very few people on this earth qualified to purity test others. Obviously words have to have meaning, you can’t be a mother without a child, or a blonde while all your hair is dark brown. I’m not saying radical feminism should be watered down. My point is that we need to be as open as possible to discourse with women who don’t tick every box. Those who disagree with us on the trans question but agree with us on everything else, those who are conservative and homemakers, those whose main fight is against colonialism, and those who have such an eclectic mix of beliefs that they don’t fit into any one ideology – which represents a HUGE proportion of women.

Radical feminist ideas provide women with the conceptual tools to understand their life experiences, stop blaming themselves for the things they have suffered through, and keep themselves safe. Radical feminism makes women confident in their own judgements – utterly willing to trust their own gut instincts above any socialisation that is harmful to their wellbeing. I want women of every stripe to be given those ideas, even if they cannot stand me.