Category Archives: oppression

FAQ: What’s wrong with saying that things happen to men, too?

October 18, 2007 · by · in clarifying-concepts, FAQ, FWW, masculinity, netiquette, privilege

Short answer: Nothing in and of itself. The problem occurs when conversations about women can’t happen on unmoderated blogs without someone showing up and saying, “but [x] happens to men, too!” (also known as a “Patriarchy Hurts Men, Too” or PHMT argument, or a “What About The Mens?” or WATM argument). When this happens, it […]

Reading roundup

September 30, 2007 · by · in feminism, gender, privilege, recommendations, reproductive justice, Solidarity & Sisterhood, violence

The 45th Carnival of Feminists went up last week at Feminist Philosophers. Lots of good reading there, and below are links to some more great feminist reading that I’ve found in my feedreader this last week. I can’t read all the blogs out there, so obviously I miss great stuff. If you’ve read something insightful, […]

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: 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 […]

Feminism Friday: Safety vs. Patriarchal Overprotection

April 20, 2007 · by · in clarifying-concepts, Feminism Friday, op-ed, privilege, Sexuality & Health, violence

Reader Justin wrote and asked me for advice on an ethical balance problem, and with his permission I quote his email: I have a question which has been bothering me for some time, and which may/may not be worth addressing on the site. In any case, its something I don’t feel precisely comfortable asking my […]

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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