Comments on: Introduction, or: How I learned to stop worrying and love the non http://www.feminisnt.com/2009/introduction-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-non/ I'm a pornographer, sex worker, atheist, and former "sex-positive feminist" who grew tired of trying to shoehorn my reality into a useless feminist analysis. I blog my observations as a politically-minded smut peddler, ethical slut, and staunch skeptic. I despise people who project their insecurities onto others, or force sex workers into only two roles: helpless victims and evil patriarchy-colluders. If I ever found a nonprofit, it will be called Start Porn Culture and I will go under the alias Gail Vagines. My activist philosophy is informed primarily by Patrick Swayze's character in Roadhouse: "I want you to be nice until it's time to not be nice." Wed, 08 Sep 2010 21:04:36 -0400 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Petter http://www.feminisnt.com/2009/introduction-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-non/#comment-2858 Petter Fri, 30 Jul 2010 23:35:16 +0000 http://www.feminisnt.com/?p=37#comment-2858 Nancy said: “As a waitress you just have to suck it up (so to speak) and deal with it because that's your job. If you are a prosttitute , I imagine it's kind of the same; but you have to do whoever is paying because that's your job. It's not your choice anymore , who you do, because you have to make a living at it. For me, that would take a lot of the fun and enjoyment out of sex. I'd rather be a slut who gives it away for free to the people of MY choosing. It's not objectification of women that's a problem for me -it's the commodification of sex that lessens it for all of us. This is by no means an attack or criticism on you or any other sex worker, it's kind of a defence for those of us who may like sex too much to make a living from it.” I am very glad I read this because it makes perfectly explicit an attitude I have often encountered. On the occasions when I have argued with someone that sex work is not inherently unethical or immoral &c., a very common fallback argument seems to be something like this: “It’s not that it’s wrong, it’s just that it cheapens sex.” Now that I am faced with an explicit form of the argument, I have to say that I find it nonsensical. You like sex too much to do it for a living? If anything the opposite might make sense (it’s surely possible to dislike sex too much to do it for a living). Say rather that you personally would not find it enjoyable in a commercial context and I would nod and not argue, but generalising it seems dangerous. Similarly, I do not have and have never had a desire to hire a sex worker. This is not because I think there’s anything wrong with sex work. I’ve known happy sex workers. It also isn’t because I think it’s dangerous or unclean. (Those sex workers I’ve known? I’ve learned about sexual health and precautions and regular checkups from them; I certainly didn’t have anything to teach them!) It’s just that, to me personally, the social and psychological factors of mutual attraction and being desired are so important that the thought of having sex with someone who does it for money rather than (merely) because they want to does not appeal. This should not offend. But if I go on to say that only losers are interested in hiring prostitutes, that it takes some sort of pathology, or perhaps that people who do just lack my appreciation for the full sexual experience…then I’m just a pretentious cock. (It would be easy to retort that it is some narcissistic or insecure flaw in my own psyche that makes me require a woman to be attracted to me rather than simply regarding sex as sex.) It’s tempting to think so, of course, because it allows me to think of myself as better than certain other people, but I do my fallible human best to suppress the urge to think that “if other people view sex differently than I do, it must be icky and inferior”. By analogy, someone might be greatly, tremendously fond of home-cooked meals prepared with love and care. I personally fail to see why this would necessarily translate into a dislike for restaurants or take-out food (though certainly you or I, as individuals, might have strong feelings on the matter). On a side note, “commodification” is a truly awful word (and often a truly awful concept). Nancy said:

“As a waitress you just have to suck it up (so to speak) and deal with it because that's your job. If you are a prosttitute , I imagine it's kind of the same; but you have to do whoever is paying because that's your job. It's not your choice anymore , who you do, because you have to make a living at it. For me, that would take a lot of the fun and enjoyment out of sex. I'd rather be a slut who gives it away for free to the people of MY choosing. It's not objectification of women that's a problem for me -it's the commodification of sex that lessens it for all of us. This is by no means an attack or criticism on you or any other sex worker, it's kind of a defence for those of us who may like sex too much to make a living from it.”

I am very glad I read this because it makes perfectly explicit an attitude I have often encountered. On the occasions when I have argued with someone that sex work is not inherently unethical or immoral &c., a very common fallback argument seems to be something like this: “It’s not that it’s wrong, it’s just that it cheapens sex.”

Now that I am faced with an explicit form of the argument, I have to say that I find it nonsensical. You like sex too much to do it for a living? If anything the opposite might make sense (it’s surely possible to dislike sex too much to do it for a living). Say rather that you personally would not find it enjoyable in a commercial context and I would nod and not argue, but generalising it seems dangerous.

Similarly, I do not have and have never had a desire to hire a sex worker. This is not because I think there’s anything wrong with sex work. I’ve known happy sex workers. It also isn’t because I think it’s dangerous or unclean. (Those sex workers I’ve known? I’ve learned about sexual health and precautions and regular checkups from them; I certainly didn’t have anything to teach them!) It’s just that, to me personally, the social and psychological factors of mutual attraction and being desired are so important that the thought of having sex with someone who does it for money rather than (merely) because they want to does not appeal. This should not offend. But if I go on to say that only losers are interested in hiring prostitutes, that it takes some sort of pathology, or perhaps that people who do just lack my appreciation for the full sexual experience…then I’m just a pretentious cock. (It would be easy to retort that it is some narcissistic or insecure flaw in my own psyche that makes me require a woman to be attracted to me rather than simply regarding sex as sex.)

It’s tempting to think so, of course, because it allows me to think of myself as better than certain other people, but I do my fallible human best to suppress the urge to think that “if other people view sex differently than I do, it must be icky and inferior”.

By analogy, someone might be greatly, tremendously fond of home-cooked meals prepared with love and care. I personally fail to see why this would necessarily translate into a dislike for restaurants or take-out food (though certainly you or I, as individuals, might have strong feelings on the matter).

On a side note, “commodification” is a truly awful word (and often a truly awful concept).

]]> By: Furry Girl http://www.feminisnt.com/2009/introduction-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-non/#comment-1741 Furry Girl Mon, 21 Jun 2010 21:47:05 +0000 http://www.feminisnt.com/?p=37#comment-1741 Thanks for your comment, Jolene! The feminist/anti-porn activists like to dismiss people like me - the more loudmouth, public, loving-our-jobs sex workers - and say that there are only a wee handful of us, and everyone else is a raped, beaten, trafficked (and probably underage) streetwalker with a drug addiction. The reality is, there are people like me, and there are the abused streetwalkers, but most people in the sex industry that I've encountered are simply humming along, going about their jobs, and mostly pretty happy with their work. It's the silent majority. I was once talking to a completely non-political woman who'd been doing porn for more than a decade, and she expressed genuine confusion that there were people who thought she was being oppressed and abused and needed saving. You don't have to be an intellectual to see why paternalism is annoying and bizarre. Thanks for your comment, Jolene!

The feminist/anti-porn activists like to dismiss people like me - the more loudmouth, public, loving-our-jobs sex workers - and say that there are only a wee handful of us, and everyone else is a raped, beaten, trafficked (and probably underage) streetwalker with a drug addiction. The reality is, there are people like me, and there are the abused streetwalkers, but most people in the sex industry that I've encountered are simply humming along, going about their jobs, and mostly pretty happy with their work. It's the silent majority. I was once talking to a completely non-political woman who'd been doing porn for more than a decade, and she expressed genuine confusion that there were people who thought she was being oppressed and abused and needed saving. You don't have to be an intellectual to see why paternalism is annoying and bizarre.

]]> By: Jolene http://www.feminisnt.com/2009/introduction-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-non/#comment-1736 Jolene Mon, 21 Jun 2010 20:27:53 +0000 http://www.feminisnt.com/?p=37#comment-1736 Thank you for your blog. It's always refreshing to see someone logically state their take on a subject, regardless whether I agree with them or not. You don't pull your punches. I'm glad you don't! I started providing late in life (just turned 54). It was my choice from the beginning to do what I do. The timing was as perfect as it was going to get. When asked, I as often state I'm a provider as that I write or make jewelry. I have a strong supporting cast of friends - and clients. As a relatively new provider (8 months "old" in June 2010), I know I have a lot yet to learn. I can't remember the last time I was as happy with a career choice as I am now. I don't "get" the feminist argument against sex work or porn or any of that; I never have even when I wasn't working in it. (I seldom get into any political argument because I'm "left," "right" or "center" depending on the topic.) But, to be told that my choices aren't the "correct" choices - by so-called feminists who (I thought) stood up for freedom of choice - is lost on me. I do what I want and let it go at that. Someone else doesn't like it, so what? These are my choices; I'll live my life according to my values and in the manner I deem best for me. Let them live theirs the way they deem best for themselves. How is that so difficult to understand? Which is why I'm glad to have found another gal who isn't afraid to speak up. "This is me, this is what I think on this subject and I don't care if you like me or my views." Keep it up, Furry Girl! Thank you for your blog. It's always refreshing to see someone logically state their take on a subject, regardless whether I agree with them or not. You don't pull your punches. I'm glad you don't!

I started providing late in life (just turned 54). It was my choice from the beginning to do what I do. The timing was as perfect as it was going to get. When asked, I as often state I'm a provider as that I write or make jewelry. I have a strong supporting cast of friends - and clients. As a relatively new provider (8 months "old" in June 2010), I know I have a lot yet to learn. I can't remember the last time I was as happy with a career choice as I am now.

I don't "get" the feminist argument against sex work or porn or any of that; I never have even when I wasn't working in it. (I seldom get into any political argument because I'm "left," "right" or "center" depending on the topic.) But, to be told that my choices aren't the "correct" choices - by so-called feminists who (I thought) stood up for freedom of choice - is lost on me. I do what I want and let it go at that. Someone else doesn't like it, so what? These are my choices; I'll live my life according to my values and in the manner I deem best for me. Let them live theirs the way they deem best for themselves.

How is that so difficult to understand?

Which is why I'm glad to have found another gal who isn't afraid to speak up. "This is me, this is what I think on this subject and I don't care if you like me or my views." Keep it up, Furry Girl!

]]> By: Furry Girl http://www.feminisnt.com/2009/introduction-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-non/#comment-754 Furry Girl Sat, 13 Mar 2010 01:58:36 +0000 http://www.feminisnt.com/?p=37#comment-754 Nancy: Excuse me, but if you've never been a sex worker, how do you know that "Porn is sex theatre, prostitution is sex reality"? Having not been in a porn shoot or an escort, how do you know what the different kinds of interactions are like? That's very rude and presumptuous for someone who admittedly has no experience with either. Also, why do you imagine that being a prostitute is just like being a waitress who hates customers? Where do you draw that assumption from? And what makes you think, "You have to do whoever is paying because that's your job. It's not your choice anymore"? Where do you get your information? I'd suggest learning something about a topic before you make proclamations about it based only on your imagination about it. Here are three places t start right here on my blog: http://www.feminisnt.com/2009/sex-worker-literati-and-gradations-of-grievances/ http://www.feminisnt.com/2009/things-ive-gained-from-being-a-sex-worker-an-anti-paternalistic-perspective/ http://www.feminisnt.com/2010/want-to-play-bingo-with-the-antis/ Nancy: Excuse me, but if you've never been a sex worker, how do you know that "Porn is sex theatre, prostitution is sex reality"? Having not been in a porn shoot or an escort, how do you know what the different kinds of interactions are like? That's very rude and presumptuous for someone who admittedly has no experience with either. Also, why do you imagine that being a prostitute is just like being a waitress who hates customers? Where do you draw that assumption from? And what makes you think, "You have to do whoever is paying because that's your job. It's not your choice anymore"? Where do you get your information? I'd suggest learning something about a topic before you make proclamations about it based only on your imagination about it. Here are three places t start right here on my blog:

http://www.feminisnt.com/2009/sex-worker-literati-and-gradations-of-grievances/
http://www.feminisnt.com/2009/things-ive-gained-from-being-a-sex-worker-an-anti-paternalistic-perspective/
http://www.feminisnt.com/2010/want-to-play-bingo-with-the-antis/

]]> By: Nancy Couch http://www.feminisnt.com/2009/introduction-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-non/#comment-750 Nancy Couch Fri, 12 Mar 2010 05:42:18 +0000 http://www.feminisnt.com/?p=37#comment-750 Your blog has given me so much food for thought and for that I aplaud you. Actually , I applaud you for many of your insights as well. I have never been a sex worker and have never known any but I have been a consumer of porn. I think there may be a very important distinction between sex workers who do porn and those in prostitution. Porn is sex theatre, prostitution is sex reality. I loved what you said about objectification and how everyone is objectified according to their jobs( or not) My moment of clarity came when I thought about my years of waitressing, how there were customers I just dreaded dealing with, the kind who were never satisfied and talked down to me as if I were a newbie. As a waitress you just have to suck it up (so to speak) and deal with it because that's your job. If you are a prosttitute , I imagine it's kind of the same; but you have to do whoever is paying because that's your job. It's not your choice anymore , who you do, because you have to make a living at it. For me, that would take a lot of the fun and enjoyment out of sex. I'd rather be a slut who gives it away for free to the people of MY choosing. It's not objectification of women that's a problem for me -it's the commodification of sex that lessens it for all of us. This is by no means an attack or criticism on you or any other sex worker, it's kind of a defence for those of us who may like sex too much to make a living from it . So it's your capitalist sensabilities that are the point of diversion for me. Even that doesn't turn me off that much and I look forward to reading more of your posts-Cheers Your blog has given me so much food for thought and for that I aplaud you. Actually , I applaud you for many of your insights as well. I have never been a sex worker and have never known any but I have been a consumer of porn. I think there may be a very important distinction between sex workers who do porn and those in prostitution. Porn is sex theatre, prostitution is sex reality. I loved what you said about objectification and how everyone is objectified according to their jobs( or not) My moment of clarity came when I thought about my years of waitressing, how there were customers I just dreaded dealing with, the kind who were never satisfied and talked down to me as if I were a newbie. As a waitress you just have to suck it up (so to speak) and deal with it because that's your job. If you are a prosttitute , I imagine it's kind of the same; but you have to do whoever is paying because that's your job. It's not your choice anymore , who you do, because you have to make a living at it. For me, that would take a lot of the fun and enjoyment out of sex. I'd rather be a slut who gives it away for free to the people of MY choosing. It's not objectification of women that's a problem for me -it's the commodification of sex that lessens it for all of us. This is by no means an attack or criticism on you or any other sex worker, it's kind of a defence for those of us who may like sex too much to make a living from it . So it's your capitalist sensabilities that are the point of diversion for me. Even that doesn't turn me off that much and I look forward to reading more of your posts-Cheers

]]> By: Kitty http://www.feminisnt.com/2009/introduction-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-non/#comment-646 Kitty Sun, 28 Feb 2010 11:36:32 +0000 http://www.feminisnt.com/?p=37#comment-646 Hey, Had your blog recommended to me by a friend. So far I love what I see, and I think I'll be a regular visitor. I'm a Women's Studies major that's just starting to branch out into Sexology. I've also worked as an exotic dancer for the last three years, and believe me I've had plenty of practice in defending myself against feminists who want to tell me that the way I make my living, my lifestyle and my appearance are contrary to feminism. So, while our experiences may well be very different, I can definitely appreciate much of what you say here. Personally, I still call myself a feminist - because I don't believe that feminism is about having to force yourself into a mould constructed by other people. I see it as a way of upholding the importance of a person's choice, of bodily autonomy and mutual respect for others. What I do for money, who I fuck and what I wear have nothing to do with feminism, because they are what make me comfortable, they are what I have chosen and they are what I feel is best for me. But we can argue semantics until the cows come home. Bottom line is about prioritising our own beliefs, sexualities and passions over compartmentalising our lives into a convenient philosophy. In anycase - you rock. Keep it up! Hey,
Had your blog recommended to me by a friend. So far I love what I see, and I think I'll be a regular visitor.
I'm a Women's Studies major that's just starting to branch out into Sexology. I've also worked as an exotic dancer for the last three years, and believe me I've had plenty of practice in defending myself against feminists who want to tell me that the way I make my living, my lifestyle and my appearance are contrary to feminism. So, while our experiences may well be very different, I can definitely appreciate much of what you say here.

Personally, I still call myself a feminist - because I don't believe that feminism is about having to force yourself into a mould constructed by other people. I see it as a way of upholding the importance of a person's choice, of bodily autonomy and mutual respect for others. What I do for money, who I fuck and what I wear have nothing to do with feminism, because they are what make me comfortable, they are what I have chosen and they are what I feel is best for me.
But we can argue semantics until the cows come home. Bottom line is about prioritising our own beliefs, sexualities and passions over compartmentalising our lives into a convenient philosophy.

In anycase - you rock. Keep it up!

]]> By: Furry Girl http://www.feminisnt.com/2009/introduction-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-non/#comment-615 Furry Girl Mon, 22 Feb 2010 23:15:18 +0000 http://www.feminisnt.com/?p=37#comment-615 First, that's great that you defend your sex worker partner to friends. It makes me happy when I see people embrace their partner like that, rather than lie about what they do or join in with their friends in being uncomfortable and awkward at their partner over sex work. I actually do liken "feminism" and "patriotism", but not in the same sense you do. Both "feminist" and "patriot" are terms that are embraced/appropriated by people of all stripes - right, left, anti-government, pro-government - to use as a banner to wave for literally <em>whatever</em> their cause is. So, to me, both words/concepts just lose their meaning because of their ability to be applied to everything anyone has ever thought about any political issue. First, that's great that you defend your sex worker partner to friends. It makes me happy when I see people embrace their partner like that, rather than lie about what they do or join in with their friends in being uncomfortable and awkward at their partner over sex work.

I actually do liken "feminism" and "patriotism", but not in the same sense you do. Both "feminist" and "patriot" are terms that are embraced/appropriated by people of all stripes - right, left, anti-government, pro-government - to use as a banner to wave for literally whatever their cause is. So, to me, both words/concepts just lose their meaning because of their ability to be applied to everything anyone has ever thought about any political issue.

]]> By: Meg http://www.feminisnt.com/2009/introduction-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-non/#comment-614 Meg Mon, 22 Feb 2010 19:14:14 +0000 http://www.feminisnt.com/?p=37#comment-614 PS - I'm Canadian...but I lived in the States for a while and nearly ended up brainwashed. PS - I'm Canadian...but I lived in the States for a while and nearly ended up brainwashed.

]]> By: Meg http://www.feminisnt.com/2009/introduction-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-non/#comment-613 Meg Mon, 22 Feb 2010 19:13:06 +0000 http://www.feminisnt.com/?p=37#comment-613 I think what I really like about this response or rant or whatever is that it puts a truly positive face on a really damn frustrating situation. I live with and love a sex worker and I can't tell you how many times over the years I've had the "you-must-have-no-respect-for-yourself-not-be-bothered-by-her-work" debate, or (since we have an open relationship) the "you-must-be-so-afraid-of-losing-her-to-let-her-get-away-with-that" debate. It's always close friends who start up these debates and they always argue from a position of ostensible "feminism". I want a feminism that embraces the good people can do for themselves and others with their bodies; I want a feminism that admits love doesn't need to be about jealousy or possessiveness; I WANT A FEMINISM THAT DOESN'T SPLASH A COAT OF PAINT OVER ALL THE OLD INSECURITIES...and call them "empowerment". But, as you said, there's already a well-established Coca-Cola that sucks, so for a long time I've taken "feminist" almost as an insult when applied to me. Why? Because "feminist" the way it's used now has become an ideology all its own that we buy in to, all-or-nothing. If you're a feminist, everything feminist has to be GREAT! It's like how if you identify as an American patriot, woe betide you if you say "Bullshit, this isn't what this country was built on, or for!" about, say, "anti-terrorist" measures like Guantanamo Bay. Patriotism in America has become something where, in order to preserve the "ideals that this country was founded on" - like justice and liberty and so on - in some form, no matter how diluted, for its citizens, America must take those options away from other people. Because they aren't "Americans" and that makes it somehow okay. Feminism is the same. In order to make sure that all these women who identify as feminist can keep their feminist identities while also preserving the "morality" that was impressed on them at a young age (and which they've never tried to examine for internal logic), some women are thrown out of the conceptual fold. Sex workers, for example, are "not feminist" either because they're slaves to the patriarchy (in which case they need to be rescued and de- or re-programmed) or they're "trafficked victims" (in which case they need to be rescued, pitied, and brought to speak at lectures) or they're slaves to their addictions (in which case they need rehab and THEN de- or re-programming); if they insist that these labels don't apply to them, they're either "not representative" or "fooling themselves". In point of fact, some of the most empowered women I have ever met, some of the strongest, healthiest, most open-minded and all-embracing women I have known, have been sex workers. And mostly they don't identify as feminists, because the term has been taken from them. Women who should be working WITH sex workers to improve the situation and options of ALL women are instead lying to themselves about sex workers and lying to the world about them too...and getting an awful lot of credence. It's a sad thing when a movement that was all about opening eyes now deliberately closes, not only its own eyes (in order to preserve comfortable, illogical early canalization) but the eyes of others. Feminism had a right to be angry as long as it was trying to gain something for all women. Now, though, it's trying to say "We're better than you and you don't even know why because you're a poor confused benighted hooker - don't worry sister, come here to the light!" Is there some rule that movements that fight against oppression must one day oppress? It's just like American patriotism...just like it. I think what I really like about this response or rant or whatever is that it puts a truly positive face on a really damn frustrating situation. I live with and love a sex worker and I can't tell you how many times over the years I've had the "you-must-have-no-respect-for-yourself-not-be-bothered-by-her-work" debate, or (since we have an open relationship) the "you-must-be-so-afraid-of-losing-her-to-let-her-get-away-with-that" debate. It's always close friends who start up these debates and they always argue from a position of ostensible "feminism".
I want a feminism that embraces the good people can do for themselves and others with their bodies; I want a feminism that admits love doesn't need to be about jealousy or possessiveness; I WANT A FEMINISM THAT DOESN'T SPLASH A COAT OF PAINT OVER ALL THE OLD INSECURITIES...and call them "empowerment". But, as you said, there's already a well-established Coca-Cola that sucks, so for a long time I've taken "feminist" almost as an insult when applied to me. Why? Because "feminist" the way it's used now has become an ideology all its own that we buy in to, all-or-nothing. If you're a feminist, everything feminist has to be GREAT! It's like how if you identify as an American patriot, woe betide you if you say "Bullshit, this isn't what this country was built on, or for!" about, say, "anti-terrorist" measures like Guantanamo Bay.
Patriotism in America has become something where, in order to preserve the "ideals that this country was founded on" - like justice and liberty and so on - in some form, no matter how diluted, for its citizens, America must take those options away from other people. Because they aren't "Americans" and that makes it somehow okay.
Feminism is the same. In order to make sure that all these women who identify as feminist can keep their feminist identities while also preserving the "morality" that was impressed on them at a young age (and which they've never tried to examine for internal logic), some women are thrown out of the conceptual fold. Sex workers, for example, are "not feminist" either because they're slaves to the patriarchy (in which case they need to be rescued and de- or re-programmed) or they're "trafficked victims" (in which case they need to be rescued, pitied, and brought to speak at lectures) or they're slaves to their addictions (in which case they need rehab and THEN de- or re-programming); if they insist that these labels don't apply to them, they're either "not representative" or "fooling themselves".
In point of fact, some of the most empowered women I have ever met, some of the strongest, healthiest, most open-minded and all-embracing women I have known, have been sex workers. And mostly they don't identify as feminists, because the term has been taken from them. Women who should be working WITH sex workers to improve the situation and options of ALL women are instead lying to themselves about sex workers and lying to the world about them too...and getting an awful lot of credence.
It's a sad thing when a movement that was all about opening eyes now deliberately closes, not only its own eyes (in order to preserve comfortable, illogical early canalization) but the eyes of others. Feminism had a right to be angry as long as it was trying to gain something for all women. Now, though, it's trying to say "We're better than you and you don't even know why because you're a poor confused benighted hooker - don't worry sister, come here to the light!"
Is there some rule that movements that fight against oppression must one day oppress? It's just like American patriotism...just like it.

]]> By: Christine http://www.feminisnt.com/2009/introduction-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-non/#comment-44 Christine Sun, 30 Aug 2009 10:08:57 +0000 http://www.feminisnt.com/?p=37#comment-44 I loved your response, I love how well thought out and articlate it was. I've never felt that feminists were as strong or as powerful as coca'cola. It probably irks me more than anything when there is a new completely misogynistic TV show or movie and the girls sit back and giggle as if to say, it's ok, I'm cool, I'm just one of the boys, like being a feminist means you're serious, unattractive and humourless. Feminism really gave me strength as a teenager and young woman, it gave me insight, perspective, and hope that the world doesn't have to be as fucked up as it is. Having read your blog though, I completely understand why you would distance yourself from feminism, I can only imagine what the Andrea Dworkins would say about your hard and creative work. I loved your response, I love how well thought out and articlate it was. I've never felt that feminists were as strong or as powerful as coca'cola.
It probably irks me more than anything when there is a new completely misogynistic TV show or movie and the girls sit back and giggle as if to say, it's ok, I'm cool, I'm just one of the boys, like being a feminist means you're serious, unattractive and humourless.
Feminism really gave me strength as a teenager and young woman, it gave me insight, perspective, and hope that the world doesn't have to be as fucked up as it is.
Having read your blog though, I completely understand why you would distance yourself from feminism, I can only imagine what the Andrea Dworkins would say about your hard and creative work.

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