Sunday, January 26, 2014

I'm Not White, I'm Green! What?

Recently, well probably before too, there have been white feminists saying "I'm not white, I'm green!" as some sort of uber thinking on ending racism by fiat within feminism. Only, it's not ending racism, its racist! Let me make a little analogous statement:

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I have the solution to sexism within the humanist movement. You see, I'm not male, I'm unisex. All of you people talking about sexism just haven't seen the light I have that there is no sex, there are only people! Please join me in moving beyond gender into an unsexualized future!

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See how ridiculous that sounds?  But why? If everybody did just forget about it, our problems would just go away, right?

It seems similar to the "just get rid of marriage" solution to marriage equality, where we can supposedly solve a problem of bigotry by erasing the thing "causing" the bigotry. Only it's not marriage's fault, its the bigots who are against homosexuality. And, it's also the folks who are enabling them by trying to just wash the problem away.

Do you think that a racist cares if you think you're green? Do misogynists care if I think I'm unisex? We have to listen to be able to fight bigotry, not bury ourselves in a bed of privileged mental onanism!

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Being a male feminist, what to do?

Ok, if you're male, like me, and you've discovered that you're a feminist (or that you want real equality for women, if the term which means exactly that makes you feel uncomfortable), what can you do?  Going online and learning what women have to put up is a good start, but how can you make changes?  Here's my 2 cents, or dudesplanation:

Vote and actively campaign for women candidates. Do your homework, I'm not saying vote blindly. Having women in positions of political power is important and you can use your vote and voice to help make that happen.

Don't use any gendered terms when describing a woman or the actions of the women, especially if you disagree. This is obvious, but leave gender out of it (funny how there are a bunch of derogatory female terms, but very, very few male ones). Call other men out when they do it.

Examine your motives for being critical of a woman. Would I react this way if a man did the same? Do I react when a man does this? Why do I need to be critical in this situation?

Before assuming that a women doesn't know something and launching into an elementary explanation, assume the woman already knows what you know. If she wants to know, she'll ask. Women are as smart as men, so assume the woman you're talking to is as smart or smarter than you, if ranking intelligence is your thing.

If you have power over a woman (boss, rank, professionl respect, etc.), don't abuse that power. Power can make people in both positions do things they wouldn't if the power was balanced. Be professional, be boring, just do your job. Use your power for gender equality. Give women the same promotions, raises, bonuses, recognition, recommendations, support that you give men.

Give money to organizations that help women. NARAL, RAINN, Planned Parenthood, YWCA and many others address the needs of women. There are many more that do good work. Buying a pink cap of your favorite sports team is a start, but it's not anywhere close to being philanthropic. Do some homework, give your money to an organization that does the most good.

Don't be apathetic when you see something that is wrong. Speak up. Give your voice as a counter to misogyny.

To conclude, do something to help end gender inequality!


Friday, January 3, 2014

Goddammit Obama

Couple of critiques from a godless liberal:

  1. We have the NSA spying on everybody, but we can't run a online store for health insurance?  Stop spying on Americans and reform the NSA to make the online world more secure and safe. Pardon Manning and Snowden and stand for liberty.
  2. Drones are providing a real, deadly, boogieman to the very folks we need on our side to stop terrorists.  Stop dropping bombs on wedding party caravans.  Murdering a whole family to get a top terrorist is immoral.
Neither of the above two things are good for you politically (right, middle, or left) nor are they good for anyone in real life.  This "Because Safety" is authoritarian argument would be endorsed by Goebbels.