Gender

[earwicga]

"Gender originated as a feminist concern; men were the norm and women considered "the gendered sex." Rather than attacking the binary, feminism emphasized redistributing power more equitably between the two sides."
Riki Wilchins

Discuss.

Stopping inequality is more urgent than exploring gender boundaries.

Feminists emphasize acknowledging misogyny for what it is, and the ways it oppresses women. THis is the path to liberation.

We have a long way to go...

"Equality" is a term bandied around a lot by governments and corporations. "Equal rights" these days are often used by men to oppress women in some way. (Prime example: a woman who is forced to pay half the rent out of her maternity leave)

I think that feminism is naturally about the redistribution of power - attacking the gender binary would be a pretty slow and clunky way of obtaining eg equal employment rights etc for women.
I do think a side effect of the fight for equality is more thought about all issues relating to gender.(But as I typed that I did think - yes,and it is all coming from women...anyone got any good links to men thinking about the nature of masculinity?)

Exploring gender boundaries is a part of feminism as gender boundaries are enforced so rigidly to force women into a defined and often submissive role.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvZee1gh3N4

This is a (long) video of Robert Jensen talking to a men's group. A lot of it is about pornography but he also talks, and finishes on the topic of what it means to be a man in a misogynistic society.

I agree on what he says (but will try not to reiterate). It is the role of 'man' that needs to be challenged - men are the problematic group. Women cannot challenge the binary entirely because we are a disadvantaged group and need to identify as a group in order to change society.

He has similar arguments about race - it is white identity that needs to be examined and changed, not black identity. His concepts have led to a big change in how I perceive myself as a white person and as a consequence how I behave.

Pogleswood - yes! F-Word piece about book by John Stoltenberg

Thanks,MillyR and SSM.
Every time I come on MN at the moment I find something else I want to read,or another topic I want to follow up on - all the other things I should be doing are a little neglected at the moment!