> Actually. I believe women are socially suppressed
> hence we fight for rights
> but I am not a feminist, if by feminist, it means
> one is totally
> concentrated on the female psyche.
Bluntly (simply) speaking, being a feminist simply
means that you advocate for equal rights for women and
men. (Everything beyond that gets much more
complicated). So don't fear the 'f' word... Indeed,
there are many male feminists!
> I prefer to be issue-oriented ( I don't know if it's
> politically correct)
> especially in the 21st century where people from all
> countries are better
> connected and everyday more and more issues come up!
> We can't give credence
> in solving them if it is simply, very conveniently
> 'categorizing' the
> issues ... or perhaps, if we know the rational
> behind every political theory
> and say "ok for this issue that is class based and
> racial in content, we use
> the reasoning of Marxism and Pluralism to solve the
> fundamentals.
What I mean is that we have to use a broader notion of
justice i.e. it is not enough to simply fight for the
rights of women- we must see get rid of the
homophobia, racism, etc. in some parts of the feminist
movement... We need to be multi-issue in recognizing
the magnitude of oppression. As a woman who labels
herself Queer, I am oppressed by my sex and my sexual
orientation. But, I am also an oppressor if I do not
recognize the privilege society gives me because I am
'white'... Thus, it is not enough for a bunch of white
women to go fight for the rights of all women, because
then others (i.e. women of colour) would be left out
of the picture, and further oppressed.
> Do you 'personalize' or 'collectivized' an item
> before approaching it? Do
> you go by the majority or do you say:' I, this
> individual, believe that
> .....'. There are people who feels that unity is
> power therefore to solve a
> social issue, one has to go with the majority and
> there are people like
> myself who are bloody self-oriented and starts
> feeling the 'energy' in me
> and then decide 'ya' I want this to happen.... or
> no, go and fly kites.
I use both... I utilize my individual personal energy
to get stuff done... but I also rely on collectivism
to keep me 'in check', to create solidarity, etc.
=====
Monika Penner
homepage: http://members.home.net/glen-penn
ICQ: 28921068
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. All in one place.
Yahoo! Shopping: http://shopping.yahoo.com
