History of Feminism

Last edited Thu Apr 11, 2013, 01:24 PM - Edit history (1)

the difference between the left and the right is in how the boot should be positioned on our necks. (something like that anyway)

To one group, we're private property, to the other, public. Neither considers women full human beings because society as a whole doesn't consider women to be full human beings.

To see how endemic this is just consider rape, or revealing pictures.

In the context of rape, women are assumed to have given consent. We have to prove we said no. We have to prove we didn't want it. It is assumed that, as a default position, we wanted it. Public property.

In the context of revealing pictures, women are expected to take all the blame when such pictures are distributed. Whether they're given or stolen, the idea that they will/should be shared is taken as a given. It is assumed that women should simply accept the blame for even having been photographed that way, or taking such photographs. Contrast that with someone telling a secret. If I tell you a secret, and you tell someone else, does anyone else chide me for telling secrets? And tell me I could expect no different? No. All the blame and shame goes on the person who betrayed my confidence.

But when it comes to the idea of women's bodies, different rules come into play. Whether our physical selves, or simply images, the default setting is: public property. (And this also plays in the abortion 'debate' - our bodies are treated like a policy position. Our very healthcare is a chit to be debated, restricted, and bargained with.)