Moderators: delphyne, oneangrygirl, deedle, sam
No offence Army of Me, I just don't see your point. Even if a woman has money and enters the glamour industry - why isn't she a victim of patriarchal expectations? Whether it's for celebrity/money/accolades - it hardly makes a difference - it's based on what is the current currency of status leverage or gains, and those rules aren't made by women - they are made by patriarchal institutions.
CoolAunt wrote:Applying what I learned from that discussion to this one, I have empathy for the glamour workers. Like ArmyOfMe, however, I can't wrap my mind around the lack of accountability that's granted to every woman who...well, to every woman, it seems. No matter what she does or what career choice she makes (not all have much choice but some do), they are not to be held accountable, in this case because men decided that women's bodies are commodities.
Yet I didn't take work at the local topless clubs, I didn't take up any of the subtly stated offers I received from would-be sugar daddies...heck, I didn't even rob the safes or tills of any of the restaurants or stores that I worked for. I couldn't do those things, even if they wouldn't have made me ill (topless clubs, mistress offers), even if I'd known for sure that I wouldn't have been caught (safes and tills) because I held myself accountable for my actions.
Instead, I'm having difficulty understanding why no female glamour or sex worker is to ever be held accountable, not even those who truly did have choices and were aware of those choices. Nor are the glamour and sex workers who require or want more money than can be earned behind a cash register to be accountable.
Yet all hetero males, even those who aren't consumers of pornstitution, don't condone the use of pornstitution, and won't befriend the men who do use it, are to be held accountable for pornstitution if his reasons for not using pornstitution aren't the "right" reasons and he doesn't follow a list of "dos" and "don'ts" that apply to all other areas of his life.
No female porn worker has any bearing on the perpetuation of porn while even non-porn using men do.
Even more odd is that while women who are glamour and porn workers are not accountable for perpetuating the belief that women's bodies are for sale and are to be abused, I and other women at these boards have recently been informed that we are accountable for perpetuating those same lies because we continue to wear mascara and shave our legs. Use boobs to make money = not accountable. Use razor on legs = accountable. I doubt that my shaved arm pits have ever helped a man justify making his fantasy of rape a reality nor has it influenced a girl to work topless for a living. I can't say the same for the glamour girls and sex workers.
I have to be honest, I am somewhat disappointed that the men at genderberg do not participate in getting the word out a bit more though!!!
Please do not take this personally, but our world was different back then.
CoolAunt wrote:Please do not take this personally, but our world was different back then.
Calling me an old hag, are you?
TheArrantFeminist wrote:The sticky part is, that it IS still possible to succeed from a disadvantaged position. There are plenty of people who come from bad circumstances, but who fiercely struggle to keep pace with those around them, and eventually succeed.
However, this is very difficult, not possible for everyone...
...and certainly not as common as might be believed by the brainwashed capitalists still clinging to vestiges of the "American Dream" (there is a reason it is called a dream and not a reality).
Anyway, this same model can easily be extrapolated to the context of gender to explain why women perpetuate their own subjugation. Why? Because they are weak, fallible human beings like everyone else.
I believe that discouragement is a powerful thing, and can be potentially devastating for those not equipped with a superior stamina and coping ability.
Return to essays, articles, rants for public view
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 208 guests