Sunday, August 06, 2006

Non Pc Spoofs and Satire........

Satire is usually funny if done well, even if it is not very pc. A while ago I came accross this site.


I am the first to grant that the guy ( I am assuming he is a man due to his style) seems rather bitter, and he is at times a tad misogynist. Judging by some of his posts he is a Conservative. His humour is a bit repetitive, so he fails to quite pull it off. Top spoof requires that you fool someone at least for a little while, andhe doesn't manage that.

However, he does hit on a few spots. Perhaps because the type of feminism he parodies happens to be the type I despise, that self serving, hypocritical and whingy brand promoted by spoilt and privileged students who are simply looking for a grievance. Too bad they see men as the enemy and not the class system that excacerbates divisions. One blog that is an example of the real thing (and God I wish it was a spoof!) is I'm Not A Feminist, But.


Even worse is the fact that this site is British, I naively thought this kind of nonsense was more the property of the Americans these days.

It is a prime example of the the degeneration of the feminist movement as a whole. There are many other such blogs but I don't particularly feel bothered to advertise them. Besides totally ignoring divisions among women such as race, class, etc, this brand of feminism takes narcissism and naval gazing to it's extreme. What few politics it does possess leave much to be desired. On the list of links from that site first comes 'Abortion Rights'. Not far below is a list of anti prostitution resources, one of which is dressed up as 'research'. Not far beneath are anti porn sites.

Right. So abortion is always a free choice, according to these middle class remnants of what was once the 'women's movement'. Never mind the social and economic pressures felt by many women, predominately working class women. On the other hand, women can never engage in sex work freely, or any other kind of sex that this self serving elite do not deem 'politically correct'. When it comes to something they happen to dislike we must always be forced or coerced by an evil phallocracy, conditioned by childhood abuse, or just occasionally by economic forces we have no control over. What about the economic forces that often drive women to abortion, or the men who emotionally blackmail or coerce women to abort the unborn child (or foetus) that they sired? Patriarchy is notably exempt from any ire in this regard. How strange. But any conception of class, and the way that the capitalist system as a whole constrains our choices, would be too much to ask from them.

I stand as the type of woman who they would readily shun as being 'male identified' or something worse, readily admitting that I would sooner engage in sex work than have an abortion. I know that's just me, but if they really were 'pro choice' they would not dictate to me what I do with my body, or what type of sex is pc.

As long as these ideas continue, I am sorry to say that I will continue to laugh a little at feministing.org.



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3 comments:

L said...

1) Please explain how I am self serving and hypocritical.

2)I am well aware of the divisions created by the class system, but I fail to see ho we can move to eradicate social class divisions until we eradicate the inequality between men and women.

3)Nowhere do I say that abortion is always a free choice. I simply believe that it is an option that must be legally available to women, as many of us do genuinely want it. Of course some women are put under pressure by social and economic forces to have an abortion, and this is worng, but removing access to legal abortion will not stop this happening. As I'm sure you will agree, the answer to this is to eradicate poverty and create a fairer social system in which women will no longer be pushed into abortions by their inability to financially support a child.

Incidentally, in a truly equal society in which men are not dominant, men would be much less likely to "emotionally blackmail or coerce women to abort the unborn child (or foetus) that they sired".

4)If you had actually read the prostitution reserach that you, for some reason, are so eager to disregard, you would find that over 90% of women in prostitution want to get out of it. I fail to see what is so wrong with many feminists wanting to help them and to raise awareness of the abuse they suffer.

5)I for one do not see you as 'male identified', nor do I have a problem with you saying you would rather engage in sex work than have an abortion. That is your position. However, this does not negate the fact than women are abused, raped and trafficked in order to supply the sex industry with its commodities. Do you really think I am simply being politically correct when I say this is wrong?

Do what you like with your body, just don't think that this gives you the right to disregard the many many other women in the sex industry who have little or no control over what is done to theirs.

8/8/06 6:16 PM
Bad Kitty said...

Laura,

I shall answer your comments one by one:

1.You may not personally be self serving or hypocritical, but I find the type of politics you appear to espouse are often used this way, I explained why in my post. I find them inconsistent.
It was not a personal attack but an attack on some policies I dislike. Often radical feminism focuses more on the personal than the political, and it seems very intolerant of opposing viewpoints.
The stance against porn, for example - it infantilises the women who are involved in it's production. I'm not denying that exploitation and even force occur or have been known to, but speaking on a general basis the women are adults and are capable of consenting to the act.

2. Ridding the world of inequality between men and women should, in my view, be part of a broader package to challenge the social system. I don't view it as being seperate.

3. I have no general disagreement with your third point, only that I believe abortion should be legally restricted, and the unborn at least recognised as having some rights. 'Abortion Rights', as I understand, are in principle against any restrictions.

4. The research you draw from is very skewed, and there is an absence of research regarding the sex industry that is broad enough to draw hard and fast conclusions.
The research you use is drawn from street prostitution, very often from very bad beats. Research done with the indoor market in the United States, with members of COYOTE (the sex workers rights union) showed a very different picture, with only a minority of the women wishing to leave prostitution. This is why I don't deem the research you link to be conclusive, and it gives a false impression. If it was impartial it would show both sides of the story.
By all means, those who want to leave should be helped to do so. I don't like the idea of anyone being trapped in a job they hate.

5. Of course I am against forced prostitution. Sexual slavery is not the same thing to me as sex work. And no, I do not think my position gives me the right to disregard the people who have no control over what is done to them (any more than your position on abortion would give you the right to disregard the Chinese women who suffer forced abortions at the hands of the State). I am not implying that you do disregard them, but the accusation could be levelled both ways. Just because I think something should not be criminalised does not mean I disregard those who are forced into doing it against their will.

8/8/06 9:51 PM
Bad Kitty said...

I would also add that women as well as men enjoy viewing porn (I happen not to but it's not for me to dictate other people's preferences). Much of it is aimed at a male market, and I don't deny there are problems with it.

It would be a good idea if there could be such a thing as fair trade porn, with a union stamp to show that the actors consented and were members of a sex workers union.

8/8/06 9:59 PM

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