Category Archives: sexism

Open Thread: Feminism, Sexual Orientation and Social Hostility

October 8, 2007 · by · in feminism, man-hating, sexism, sexual orientation, spot the strawfeminist

This thread is a response to a comment from Astrodyke in the Suggestions thread: I don’t see tags for “lesbian” or “sexual orientation”. It’d be nice to have some FAQs about lesbianism and how it relates to feminism. There are the straw questions, “Don’t all feminists hate men?” or “Aren’t all feminists lesbians?” But there […]

Double standards

August 16, 2007 · by · in announcements, feminism, gender, sexism

Jessica of Feministing is asking for input regarding sexist double standards – e.g. sexually active men are studs, sexually active women are whores etc etc. Sexist double standards are going to be the subject of her next book, and she wants to include as many “infuriating, funny, weird (or whatever)” examples as she can, with […]

FAQ: Isn’t the existence of the term “sex-positive feminism” effectively an admission that many feminists are anti-sex?

July 15, 2007 · by · in FAQ, gender, introductory, objectification, oppression, Sexuality & Health, violence

If only it actually were that simple. Sex-positive’s opposite is not sex-negative. The terms sex-positive, sex-pos etc came about as a movement in opposition to the feminist anti-pornography activists of the late 1970s/early 1980s. Let’s spell it out: Pornography does not equal all sexual behaviour.. Prostitution does not equal all sexual behaviour. Consensual sex play […]

Frequently Whimpered Whines: The Nice Guys™ theme song

June 14, 2007 · by · in clarifying-concepts, FWW, masculinity, objectification, privilege, sexism

From the FF101 Jargon File (edited to add, for the benefit of those who can’t/won’t find the time to click on a link, with the full text of the “Nice Guys™” entry, added text in italics) : “Nice Guys™” – The “™” marks the difference between men who are genuinely nice people and men who […]

FAQ: Aren’t feminists just sexists towards men?

June 3, 2007 · by · in FAQ, FWW, gender, man-hating, masculinity, sexism, spot the strawfeminist

AKA Aren’t feminists just “reverse sexists”? Short answer: Neither feminists as a group, nor feminist theory, engages in sexism or “reverse sexism” against men. Often times the feminist focus on women’s issues, as well as their recognition and continued efforts to correct the imbalance of power (see male privilege), are seen as looking to privilege […]

FAQ: But men and women are born different! Isn’t that obvious?

May 10, 2007 · by · in clarifying-concepts, FAQ, FWW, gender, identity, oppression, privilege, sexism, spot the strawfeminist

That idea is known as “essentialism”: the belief that there are uniquely feminine and uniquely masculine essences which exist independently of cultural conditioning. Both actual (minor) and alleged (major) differences between the sexes have been used to justify inequities and constraints which harm women emotionally, financially and physically. Even where (and if) such differences do […]

FAQ: Why "feminism" and not just "humanism"? Or "equalism"? Isn’t saying you’re a feminist exclusionary?

April 12, 2007 · by · in FAQ, FWW, introductory, privilege, sexism, spot the strawfeminist

This question implies that one must be either one or the other. People and philosophies are far more complicated than that. A feminist may also be both a humanist and an equalist. There’s no law that says only one box can be ticked here, and it’s hugely important not to get sucked into thinking that […]

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