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Feminism and Political Correctness (1 Viewer)

xdemi101

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ccc123 said:
Don't you think it could be sort of interpreted as a form of 'female empowerment'? It is like a woman is indicating that she is in control of her sexuality and will do what she likes.
i think in some instances female celebrities can be empowered by ther sexuality. i think Beyonce or Madonna, as good examples; they're the strong women who are in control

A negative one would probably be... Britanny Spears, who just struts around scantily clad in her video clips for attention, and it looks pretty demeaning to her.
 

Zephyrio

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xdemi101 said:
i think in some instances female celebrities can be empowered by ther sexuality. i think Beyonce or Madonna, as good examples; they're the strong women who are in control

A negative one would probably be... Britanny Spears, who just struts around scantily clad in her video clips for attention, and it looks pretty demeaning to her.
How is it possibly empowering to be made an object of sexuality...? These celebrities have thrived on this kind of image (though Beyonce does seem rather tame to me. Try Christina Aguilera) are valued not because of any modicum of intelligence they may have, but because people want to have sex with them. And I don't find anything empowering about that.
 

Captain Gh3y

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Zephyrio said:
Lol @ feminists who cite the word "history" as a gross chauvinist construct aimed to demean women. This is really random, but it's so lulworthy.
it comes from a greek verb that means 'to study' doesn't it?

can't remember where i read that but when i saw it i thought "so much for the her-story thing" lol
 

KFunk

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ccc123 said:
haha. The thing is though, pretty much every word in the English language could be said to be chauvinist constructs, because the English language is largely a product of men.
I don't buy a lot of that stuff - it smacks of overanalysis (and this is coming from a phil major). I've heard claims like yours made about language and education with arguments to the tune that university life itself is chauvanistic. What example was given?

Seminar <---> Semen

I had never (ever) formed this association before being presented this analysis and I see little reason to think that my subconscious contained anything like this either. It has been claimed, rather harshly, that "humanistic fields like English... have largely collapsed as serious disciplines while becoming the repository for all the world's bad philosophy, bad social science, and bad history". While I find that this criticism oversteps the mark, this kind of analysis (seminar <-> semen) is nonetheless a case in point. Not only is the claim based on dicey analysis (which seems to rest on a most dubious pseudo-homophone) but it seems also to rest on certain assumptions about the human mind which, I suspect, probably lack neuroscientific justification.

Anyway, that's my rant. Though some words may promote chauvinism to some degree, such as the notorious personal pronoun 'he', I really feel that seminar<->semen talk is rubbish.
 

scarybunny

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Lots of textbooks and lecturers today say "she", and I wonder why they don't just use the sexless "they".
 

KFunk

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scarybunny said:
Lots of textbooks and lecturers today say "she", and I wonder why they don't just use the sexless "they".
Probably partly for stylistic reasons. Some expressions and figures of speech don't flow as naturally if you use 'they' and it can also make things sound too impersonal. Some books I come across try to alternate between he and she - at first it threw me off a bit but now I don't really notice it.
 

esquared

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bassistx said:
I don't know if you're being serious or not lol but thanks feminist boy for making my point clear :D
Whaa?

esquared said:
Yeah i'm with you bassistx.

Shaving is not a sign that the fascists have won.

Read it again... it was serious, and its in agreement with you.
 

xdemi101

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Zephyrio said:
How is it possibly empowering to be made an object of sexuality...? These celebrities have thrived on this kind of image (though Beyonce does seem rather tame to me. Try Christina Aguilera) are valued not because of any modicum of intelligence they may have, but because people want to have sex with them. And I don't find anything empowering about that.
okay point taken.
i guess its better to achieve fame without resorting to that kind of publicity and image they're portraying.
but who is a good exmaple of a successful actress/female singer who has done this..in recent times?
i cant think of many. im not saying it cant be done but that in todays society it seems that having a good voice isnt good enough to be successful, or having talent isnt enough.

i guess actresses like natalie portman has achieved that.
i hope that makes sense lol.

with the whole semester - semen thing
has anyone seen legally blonde where that girl wants to change it the the 'ovester' i.e. ovaries.
 

ccc123

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Zephyrio said:
How is it possibly empowering to be made an object of sexuality...? These celebrities have thrived on this kind of image (though Beyonce does seem rather tame to me. Try Christina Aguilera) are valued not because of any modicum of intelligence they may have, but because people want to have sex with them. And I don't find anything empowering about that.
I think xdemi101 was thinking more along the lines I was, in that there is a percpetion that gratuitous female sexuality is breaking free from the archetypal pure, virginal and submissive female, and thereby could be considered 'empowering.' Sure, as Schroedinger rightly said, this perspective is grounded in a misunderstanding of empowerment, but it nevertheless exists.
 
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I used to argue that new wave feminism was a corruption, however the more I've come to think about it I've realised in a large part I think it's because I do not like the threat which it brings. Womens sexual liberation whereby they act like men is not an image of the future which I particularly like, but would it make them more happy? When I think about it, probably.
 

bassistx

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yunsss said:
So you're saying women don't have a right to act like that?

Everyone has a right to live how they like (e.g. what they choose to appear like, what they want to behave like). Just because you don't understand it doesn't necessarily mean it's incorrect.

Is it such a terrible thing that such people exist for you?
Oh my God. Not another Sarah. You completely missed the point.
THE POINT IS - DOES REMOVING BODY HAIR, WEARING MAKE-UP AND HEELS, ETC. MAKE YOU INFERIOR? I DO NOT THINK SO THEREFORE I ENCOURAGE WOMEN TO DRESS/BEHAVE/ETC HOW THEY ARE EXPECTED TO IF THAT IS WHAT THEY WANT (IF THEY DON'T DO ANY OF THIS STUFF BECAUSE THEY PERSONALLY DON'T WANT TO AND IT'S NOT A "FEMINIST STATEMENT" THEN I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH IT). TAKE A LOOK AT WOMEN'S CLOTHING, MAGAZINES, ETC - SOME PRODUCTS ARE TARGETED AT WOMEN ONLY. I AM JUST SAYING THAT IT'S OKAY TO BE A "WOMAN" AND STILL BE EQUAL - YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE ROUGH/MACHO/SHIT TO BE EQUAL.

"Conforming to men's standards" is bullshit to me. Because if you embrace it, it backfires. CLEARLY.

Zephyrio said:
I can understand your viewpoint, but to me, acting lasciviously in music clips etc only reinforces the idea that women are meek and are only tools for sexual exploitation.
+1
I don't see why girls can't sleep without whomever. There is definitely a difference there and it's disgusting. I'm not promoting promiscuity(sci?) but I think whatever your gender is, you should be able to enjoy yourself without being labelled etc.

esquared said:
Read it again... it was serious, and its in agreement with you.
lol yay I couldn't tell if you were sarcastic or not, but it definitely made my point clear so thanks again :D

youBROKEmyLIFE said:
I used to argue that new wave feminism was a corruption, however the more I've come to think about it I've realised in a large part I think it's because I do not like the threat which it brings. Womens sexual liberation whereby they act like men is not an image of the future which I particularly like, but would it make them more happy? When I think about it, probably.
CHAUVINIST
 
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yunsss

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bassistx said:
Oh my God. Not another Sarah. You completely missed the point.
THE POINT IS - DOES REMOVING BODY HAIR, WEARING MAKE-UP AND HEELS, ETC. MAKE YOU INFERIOR? I DO NOT THINK SO THEREFORE I ENCOURAGE WOMEN TO DRESS/BEHAVE/ETC HOW THEY ARE EXPECTED TO IF THAT IS WHAT THEY WANT (IF THEY DON'T DO ANY OF THIS STUFF BECAUSE THEY PERSONALLY DON'T WANT TO AND IT'S NOT A "FEMINIST STATEMENT" THEN I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH IT). TAKE A LOOK AT WOMEN'S CLOTHING, MAGAZINES, ETC - SOME PRODUCTS ARE TARGETED AT WOMEN ONLY. I AM JUST SAYING THAT IT'S OKAY TO BE A "WOMAN" AND STILL BE EQUAL - YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE ROUGH/MACHO/SHIT TO BE EQUAL.
But it's their choice in the end. It's not up to you or anyone to impose anything on them. Their choice and if it is misguided then it's their mistake. I agree with you on some points but typing in caps with your tone isn't going to make you many friends. This is should be a discussion but it sounds more like crazy rant from your end.
 
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zimmerman8k said:
But women already have the freedom to do everything men do. Some looney feminists encourage them to do this, but the majority of women don't choose this. Men and women should be treated equally, but the reality is they are different, and it is to be expected that they will choose to act differently and play different roles.
Well I agree that many will choose to pick different roles to men, but I also think it's true that there will be real pressures in society to keep people from being perhaps who they want to be (i.e. it's legal to be gay, but surely you can understand there's pressure that might keep someone from wanting to come out / admit to themselves that they are gay). In my experience quite a few girls I've known, imo and occasionally theirs, want to be much more sexually promiscuous than they are, however the fear of retribution from their peers/men and just this general notion that it's wrong (something maybe worth arguing about) leaves them deciding it's not worth it.

bassistx said:
CHAUVINIST
Well probably a little bit... but at least I'm honest about it.
 
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Well as much as guys say that I don't think it's always completely truthful... If men truly valued promiscuity as they sometimes claim to do then why all the attacks on women who dare step out of line and start sleeping around? The truth is imo most guys value promiscuity FOR THEM while seeing a chicks promiscuity with other males as diminishing her worth.
 

xdemi101

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ccc123 said:
I think xdemi101 was thinking more along the lines I was, in that there is a percpetion that gratuitous female sexuality is breaking free from the archetypal pure, virginal and submissive female, and thereby could be considered 'empowering.' Sure, as Schroedinger rightly said, this perspective is grounded in a misunderstanding of empowerment, but it nevertheless exists.

lol yes i think thats what i meant but i put it a bit more colloquially than you lol.

i was just saying that women today are far from those portrayed in the victorian era, where they are put on a pedastool and they have to be pure and modest, and celebs such as beyonce go against that. and at least she has the talent to match her attitude/performances
 

ccc123

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yunsss said:
But it's their choice in the end. It's not up to you or anyone to impose anything on them. Their choice and if it is misguided then it's their mistake. I agree with you on some points but typing in caps with your tone isn't going to make you many friends. This is should be a discussion but it sounds more like crazy rant from your end.
I don't think bassistx was trying to dictate how a woman should dress/act etc. I think the point she is making is that invariably, women are inherently different to men, due to both biological differences (obviously) but also social constructs that constitute what makes a 'woman'. Bassistx is not saying that exhibiting archetypally masculine characteristics/behaviours is 'wrong' per se, but is questioning whether by embracing some of the things that distinguish us from males (e.g wearing heals, make-up etc) we are really denigrating ourselves.
 

boris

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You know what I don't get?

Women who sit there and bag out other women for their choices whilst telling them they should make their own choices? It's dumb and contradictory.

If a woman doesn't want to shave or wear make up because she thinks they're a construct of a male dominated society, that is her choice. It doesn't make her less of a woman. She is no more/less a woman than the ones who do shave and dress according to social standards. Both women have made a choice to live and dress the way they choose to.

This whole argument is dumb and contradictory.

bassistx said:
THE POINT IS - DOES REMOVING BODY HAIR, WEARING MAKE-UP AND HEELS, ETC. MAKE YOU INFERIOR? I DO NOT THINK SO THEREFORE I ENCOURAGE WOMEN TO DRESS/BEHAVE/ETC HOW THEY ARE EXPECTED TO IF THAT IS WHAT THEY WANT
You're so dumb. What you're saying here is exactly what you're trying to argue against. You're saying women have the right to wear heels, shave and wear make up regardless of social constructs yet you're arguing against women who reject the social expectations of women by dressing the opposite. EITHER WAY, it's the choice of the woman and she is exercising her right to choice.
 

ur_inner_child

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I agree with boris' sentiments.

Girls who don't follow certain social expectations don't necessarily do so consciously. Nor do I feel certain actions that bassistx mentioned are exclusively male or female.
 
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