I think that people misunderstand what racism, sexism and privilege
fundamentally are. Fundamentally racism etc. is an institutional issue. The
focus is not on individuals but on the way society creates and enables racism
etc. Saying that racists/sexists/homophobes are bad people is stupid and naive.
It misunderstands what the issue is. Racism, sexism, heterosexism, transphobia
etc. are part of the system of patriarchy. Patriarchy is basically those with
power having privilege over those without power. Patriarchy includes race,
class, gender, sexuality, religion and other categorizations. It varies from
society to society changing over location, subculture and time. The culture and
society itself is racist in that it gives privilege and reinforces privilege in
populations (think the way news is framed and media, if you want examples ask
me for some).
This influences the actions of individuals. Some people are assholes and
so use phrases like ni**er and fa**ot and whore to cause fear in others. The
reason they can cause fear is because of the privilege they have in the society.
If men are cat calling a woman, in general, it is not because they want to
cause fear but they have been taught by society that there is nothing wrong
with it and that it is harmless. If a woman feels threatened by this it is
because she recognizes her lack of privilege and her vulnerability in the
situation. If a person makes a joke about black people liking watermelon they
are not doing so because they are racist, though they can be doing it to be an
asshole, they are doing so because society is set up in a way that makes those
jokes permissible. If a black person hears these jokes and feels awkward it is
because they realize that if they speak up that it makes them uncomfortable
they will be told to be quiet, or to loosen up. They realize their own lack of
power in the situation.
The issue here is that people are part of society and influenced by
society at large. When people say sexist and racist things meaning no harm they
can still be good people, they can simply be ignorant. If someone is saying
racist and sexist things on purpose, they are being an asshole not a racist.
These are two separate things. This is a very nuanced issue and I hope that
people can incorporate these differences into their speech and stop being
confused about this issue.
Patriarchy has nothing to do with power, patriarchy is men being the leader of families, and by deluding that you're enabling more people to rail against patriarchy out of ignorance to what it actually is. Transphobia, hmm, I appreciate what transgender people go through, but I still can't help but find it creepy to mutiliate your own genitals and to start dressing and referring to yourself as your new gender, it is fake, in a social and scientific way. men can never be women, period. they've still got a Y chromosome, they've still got male skeletons, they've not grown a uterus, yes, they've grown breasts, but breasts aren't ONLY female, yes girls have developed breast, but there's nothing preventing men from growing them, aside from hormonal suppression. They can't ever be females, and by trying to become one they become extreme social outcasts, why they'd try to do this from a psychological standpoint? I have no clue, and I'm not saying that they shouldn't if they truly want to become a woman, but I just don't see any benefit from having your penis removed and a pseudo-vagina dug out of the left over tissue.
ReplyDeletepatriarchy and matriarchy is what you are identifying not Patriarchy. Patriarchy is a system of oppression where men hold more power than women. It is an extension of the imbalance of power within the family scaled up to the societal level.
ReplyDeleteIt is not fake at all. Men can be women. Male and Female is biological sex I honestly can't talk to you about this. The harmful insane ignorance in everything after that. I can't.
Men don't hold more power than women though, what rights do fathers have? what rights do men have in an abortion discussion? It's "her body and she has the right to do what she wants" except, that that kid is just as much his, yet he gets no choice, what about spousal abuse? men can be simply accused of spousal abuse and be thrown in jail, if a man calls the cops on his wife or gf for spousal abuse HE GETS ARRESTED. I could go on for days.
DeleteI don't.....
ReplyDeleteRight.
First off, it's not fake. There's nothing fake about it. And I'll address your points in the order you present them.
>>I still can't help but find it creepy to mutiliate your own genitals and to start dressing and referring to yourself as your new gender
There's very little "genital mutilation" going on in SRS, and I recommend you learn the meaning of a word before using it. Secondly, it's not a new gender. That would imply that they were, at one point, another gender. That's simply not the case. They're reflecting externally what they feel internally.
>> men can never be women, period. they've still got a Y chromosome, they've still got male skeletons, they've not grown a uterus
This is simply not true. First off, Y chromosome has a lot less to do with being a male than we ever thought. This isn't new news either, I recommend you read up on it. As for male skeletons, that's not an issue either. If hormones are taken before or during puberty, the body is still androgynous and thusly can be molded by the hormones. Even if it's post puberty, the skeleton doesn't take that much priority, as long as the proportions are correct. And again, this is simply a looks deal, this doesn't define them as a woman. And your uterus comment. Oh dear. A woman is not defined by her ability to give birth, just as she isn't defined by the roles she plays in society.
>>They can't ever be females, and by trying to become one they become extreme social outcasts, why they'd try to do this from a psychological standpoint?
Well, they are females. And since when did they become outcasts? I'd like to see some empirical backing on that claim. As from the "psychological standpoint", if what I'm assuming this statement is correct (because quite honestly, that sentence made no sense) then you're asking why anyone would put themselves through such an ordeal to make themselves "outcasts" in someone's eyes. Well I'll tell you this: they aren't too scared of some people's kneejerk reactions to redefine who they are as a person.
>> I have no clue, and I'm not saying that they shouldn't if they truly want to become a woman, but I just don't see any benefit from having your penis removed and a pseudo-vagina dug out of the left over tissue.
Yes, you really don't have a clue. So why are you talking about this like you're on some high horse anyway? You don't even know how SRS works, how could you begin to fathom the reasons behind it? (Yeah, they invert the male genitalia, they don't cut it off. At any point in the surgery.)
tl;dr: You're a hypocritical know-it-all who likes to talk form his armchair without bothering to actually get into the subject. Kindly GTFO.
@Human+ Interesting what comes to your mind on the topic of transphobia. It seems you're really jumping on that bit of the blog. I think what most pre-transgenders feel when they look at themselves is the notion of "wrong body".
ReplyDeleteYes, gender is a biological category, and, sadly, a lot of the time we're dressed up apes, all about who has the biggest bananas. But it's also a social category and as such, why not shape yourself to the gender you feel is "right". Where is the fake border line? Hair cut? Nose job? Nails? Liposuction? Tattoos? And in the context of social category we all carry 'tags' in clothes, cars, behaviour etc. that indicate our social rank, and what other people may get away with doing to us.
In Patriarchism these ranks are more hierarchical, and even though I disagree with the implication that Matriarchy is not about power at all, @Amanda, there seem to be different social mechanisms. I'd recommend Frans DeWaal "Our Inner Ape" with the difference between Chimps and Bonobos, different conflict resolution models. I have it as an audiobook and it's informative and fun. It shows possible origins of matriarchy and patriarchy behaviour patterns, and lessens the gap between culture & nature.
Personally, most of my life - despite the male privilege issue - I've been very happy being female, and I can only imagine the distress of something fundamentally "wrong" in self-image. And there are more subtle privileges and possibilities in being female, that males don't have to the same extend. Movies help understand: one interesting, cleverly weird one, that addresses the contradictions you mention, is "Transamerica".