Thanks, Jake, for your understanding about this subject. I have to say that
I don't understand what Bob Burns was trying to say. It sounded like a
rationalization for men's "frustration" with women and that we should
understand this as a reason (excuse) for some men's subsequent behavior,
including the intimidation, harassment, and rape of women. Why anyone would
play the devil's advocate in this situation is beyond me. Bob, if I'm
misunderstanding, and I hope I am, please let me know.
Just last Sunday morning, a University of Colorado student was gang raped by
6 men here in Boulder. She was kidnapped just steps from the campus, in a
student area, and raped for 2 hours in their van. This occurred in the
first week of classes. Now we are a campus in fear, confusion, and
depression. This is not a matter of how men feel about their frustrations
in "dating," and to even draw a comparison between crimes against women to
dating women terrifies me. It demonstrates a real lack of sensitivity and
understanding of the issue. This is about hate crimes (yes, I said hate
crimes) against women. This is brutality and terror inflicted upon women
simply because they are women. It's about women being seen and treated as
second class, as deserving less freedom than men, and having to live a much
more constrained and fearful life than men do. Rape is extremely prevalent
(a newspaper article a few weeks ago estimated it may be as high as 1 out of
4 women), and the undercurrent of violence against women that flows through
our existence is certainly a very important and serious matter.
Here is the link to the story about the rape in Boulder:
http://www.bouldernews.com/
Marnie Enos Carroll
Sociology grad student
University of Colorado-Boulder
----- Original Message -----
From: Jake A Paisain <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: STUDIES IN WOMEN AND ENVIRONMENT <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Monday, August 30, 1999 5:28 PM
Subject: Re: sharing a personal experience
>
> I'm sorry to learn of infin888's experience at feeling threatened. As a
> skinny gay man in Montana, I can relate to the feeling of terror and not
> feeling safe. It takes a lot out of you. I have post-traumatic stress
> disorder because of it. I think a lot of people do.
>
> Maybe you could carry mace instead of a gun (although, yeah we *shouldn't*
> have to in a perfect world... but it ain't so yet) and keep your mind on
> kicking any potential attacker as hard as you can in the nuts. It
> seriously immobilizes any man. Do you have access to self-defense courses
> at any local womens' centers? YWCA? something like that? I know it might
> seem like a pain, or drastic, or something, but maybe learning, with other
> women, how to capture your power, and defend yourself, would give you more
> confidence to deal with situations like the one you describe...
>
> As for Bob Burns statement about sexual frustration and woman being the
> "seducer" or "rejector" in a patriarchal construction/ it is exactly
> that... a patriarchal construct... and it must be OBLITERATED if we are to
> survive as a species on this planet. A woman is more than just a
> "babe"(seducer) or a "bitch"(rejector)... a FALSE dichotomy created and
> maintained by men obsessed with their mothers and their dicks.
>
> A woman is a human being who has power which deserves respect.
>
> Furthermore, if more men took out their sexual frustration on each other
> in sexual (men doing men) rather than violent means (like sports,
> fighting and war) then maybe we'd all get along better.
>
> So, I say this to any open-minded man lurking about ecofem who is
>
> > single, frustrated in my feeble attempts to connect
> > with women, and frequently possessed by this
> > mythological vision of the seductive, attractive
> > woman.
>
> to join a circle jerk and get over it.
>
> I am, of course, speaking for myself(as an ecofeminist), and not for any
> women.
>
> jpaisain
> missoula
>
>
> On Sun, 29 Aug 1999, Bob Burns wrote:
>
> >
> > Dear Ecofems;
> > Once again I'm moved and appalled by the woman's
> > experience who shared in Digest 1453. One of the
> > grounds of my spirituality is nature, and feeling
> > welcomed and at home in the forest. It was a very
> > profound and saddening thing to hear that almost no
> > woman I know feels safe walking alone after dark, even
> > in the 'middle of nowhere' Maybe especially there. I
> > have no solution or suggestion about the situation.
> > I'd like to share, though, a perhaps not unrelated
> > dynamic from a male point of view- that of being
> > single, frustrated in my feeble attempts to connect
> > with women, and frequently possessed by this
> > mythological vision of the seductive, attractive
> > woman. I said to one friend once, in my exasperation
> > "So much for the great patriarchy- men have
> > everything they want- except the one thing they want
> > the most!" Of course, it could be a kind of just
> > deserts; if the only power the patriarchy leaves to
> > woman is the power to seduce and to reject. And even
> > people who have no intention to exploit this dynamic
> > are still caught in it. It's just a thought I thought
> > I'd throw out- maybe the solution is the solution to
> > both of these problems (female fear, male frustration)
> > is the same thing...
> > Maybe I'm just revealing my ignorance of even the very
> > basics of feminism here, but I'll throw it out
> > anyway..
> > In hope of a safer and more ecstatic world..
> > Bob Burns, in the Georgia wilderness
> >
> > __________________________________________________
> > Do You Yahoo!?
> > Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com
> >
> >
>
>
>
