Feminists

And that paragraph is:

But at the end of the day - I know in THIS group I can share the personal in the political from the perspective of a woman who has to compete EVERY SINGLE DAY in the good old boys club and that I can get support for Equal Pay For Women . . . Not lesbian, straight, latina, Korean, bi-racial, caucasian, etc. etc. wome - but WOMEN. And if that is not one's allegiance - i.e. identifying inequities and trying to discuss how we can make even the tiniest of personal changes to give EVERY woman a fair shake regardess of race, religion, sexuality, socio-economic status - then I'd say one is not here to discuss feminist issues.

Here's what I don't get in the "allegiance wars," I'll call them.

WHY!!??!!????

What is there to choose allegiance over or about? That's the mystery to me. How divisive is that? There should be nothing to choose allegiance over in any regard, for any of these groups. In the feminism I know and embrace, there IS no choosing necessary: all is for all, and even the benefits to women don't come at the expense of men (though loss of male privilege is often seen as very expensive, but it's an unearned reward and therefore an unfair benefit and immoral if it serves to keep women oppressed.)

And the same goes for the other groups. THERE SHOULD BE NO CHOOSING ALLEGIANCES REQUIRED -- or desired. Anyone who sees the need -- or advantage -- of pitting groups against one another or choosing among them is operating from a seriously flawed set of operating principles. My oppression as a white middle class female is just as important as yours if you're black female, just as important as yours if you're a black male. Your oppression as a gay male of whatever color is just as important -- and intrinsically tied to -- my oppression. There is no group you can name whose oppression is MORE IMPORTANT than mine, or LESS IMPORTANT than mine because it is ALL OF ONE PIECE, even if there are different manifestations of it.

The feminism I know and embrace understands that, embraces that, teaches that. WHAT KIND OF FEMINISM DOESN'T???? I can't tell you how many times I carried those round purple N.O.W. signs against racism, in favor of gay rights, pro-choice... it's all of a piece, people and IMO the feminism I know and embrace, with its healthy dose of Marxist analysis, holds the key to unlocking the oppression for ALL the world's oppressed peoples, no matter what their color, shape, gender, sexual orientation or affinity, etc.

I would suggest that anyone feeling a need for "choosing" either do some heavy duty inner reflection on what is the split they are feeling internally in order to do some persona l haling, and/or do or seek some analysis about feminism and how they can rise above the apparent dichotomy they are feeling or sensing to see the unity, or a way to achieve unity in their goals and aspirations without having to "choose" allegiances, if that makes any sense.