Ask not what feminism can do for you, but rather what you can do for feminism
I guess my "Five Things Feminism Has Done For Me" post didn't fit the bill for a couple "progressive" bloggers who wanted to see differently.
I'm of the opinion that Stephen Harper is a generally moderate person: I'm gay, and he doesn't want me in jail, he doesn't run around telling people I'm going to Hell (which, let's face it, I am), and he's never tried to beat any of my brothers and sisters up - he's fine with civil unions, and people, if I can grow up being spat on at high school and end up in a civil union before 30, then we're living in a great country. I know, I know, it's more fun to hate the Leader of a party you didn't sign yourself to, but them's just the breaks. Stephen Harper does not hate women (if you ask me, he's one day going to call Rona Ambrose to congratulate her on becoming Canada's first elected female Prime Minister).
I was asked about feminism, not "women's rights", and I hold that core feminists have devalued motherhood and scorned and shamed stay-at-home moms rather than demanding motherhood itself be recognized as a priority profession for/in our society.
Status of Women isn't going to be abolished or hacked up - it never was in danger (although Nellie McClung accomplished more, without government funding, than it has). Stephen Harper is too wiley to give the Liberal Party a blank cheque to write "See, we told you so" on.
But I'm curious - what have these "progressives" done for feminism? I'm asking Cameron, and also Joanne, and just to add on to them, strictly out of idle curiosity to see what they say, I'm also going to ask Zac-a-roni (I just made that up - it's cute, no?) since he tagged Joanne, and will probably have something interesting to say (Zac was not unhappy with what I wrote, and probably never even saw it), Jeff Jedras since he tagged Zac, and Ted, since Jeff says he began the whole thing (both of whom also never even saw what I wrote).
I'll go first. Yes, me - the "closet Tory". It's gauche to pat yourself on the back, but it's a gauche kind of man's man writing this up for you. I'm a low income bracket type of a lad (mind you, I have no kids so far, either) but last year I gave, through Mercy Corps, at the urging of Nicolas Kristof, $500 to Mukhtaran Mai, towards the schools and hospitals she's dreaming of in Pakistan, to help raise the living standards and equality of women in that country. Tag, you're it: What's been your contribution to the cause you champion?
I'm dying to be put in my place again by Cameron.
I'm of the opinion that Stephen Harper is a generally moderate person: I'm gay, and he doesn't want me in jail, he doesn't run around telling people I'm going to Hell (which, let's face it, I am), and he's never tried to beat any of my brothers and sisters up - he's fine with civil unions, and people, if I can grow up being spat on at high school and end up in a civil union before 30, then we're living in a great country. I know, I know, it's more fun to hate the Leader of a party you didn't sign yourself to, but them's just the breaks. Stephen Harper does not hate women (if you ask me, he's one day going to call Rona Ambrose to congratulate her on becoming Canada's first elected female Prime Minister).
I was asked about feminism, not "women's rights", and I hold that core feminists have devalued motherhood and scorned and shamed stay-at-home moms rather than demanding motherhood itself be recognized as a priority profession for/in our society.
Status of Women isn't going to be abolished or hacked up - it never was in danger (although Nellie McClung accomplished more, without government funding, than it has). Stephen Harper is too wiley to give the Liberal Party a blank cheque to write "See, we told you so" on.
But I'm curious - what have these "progressives" done for feminism? I'm asking Cameron, and also Joanne, and just to add on to them, strictly out of idle curiosity to see what they say, I'm also going to ask Zac-a-roni (I just made that up - it's cute, no?) since he tagged Joanne, and will probably have something interesting to say (Zac was not unhappy with what I wrote, and probably never even saw it), Jeff Jedras since he tagged Zac, and Ted, since Jeff says he began the whole thing (both of whom also never even saw what I wrote).
I'll go first. Yes, me - the "closet Tory". It's gauche to pat yourself on the back, but it's a gauche kind of man's man writing this up for you. I'm a low income bracket type of a lad (mind you, I have no kids so far, either) but last year I gave, through Mercy Corps, at the urging of Nicolas Kristof, $500 to Mukhtaran Mai, towards the schools and hospitals she's dreaming of in Pakistan, to help raise the living standards and equality of women in that country. Tag, you're it: What's been your contribution to the cause you champion?
I'm dying to be put in my place again by Cameron.
posted by Jacques Beau Vert at 8:07 PM
23 Comments:
Well done! You put me to shame, I've got two foster children through World Vision (one girl, who otherwise might not have an education, so I guess that's something). I'm raising my daughter to "get" that if you "need a guy" to fix or do something around the house, "you let your fingers do the walking" and pay for the work being done rather than manipulate some poor sap and/or stay in a bad relationship.
YOU'RE ALL GOING TO HELL!!!!
=P kidding ya around
Okay seriously now. I can't say that I've done anything to champion the causes of women's rights or human rights in general. I would blame my youth, but that's not really an acceptable excuse.
Still, you have my respect for your efforts.
Jason, I had no problem with your original post. It's a personal opinion and it's good to get differing views from everyone.
You touched on one of the biggest problems with the game though. Its intention is the restore the funding to SWC, but it begins with the assumption that what people write about feminism is in some way a result of SWC. Most of the achievments of feminism, which in my estimation there are plenty, occured before Trudeau started SWC. The game itself is flawed, I guess.
Do you want me to re-post what I wrote or write a new one. Or I could write something else if you like?
Jason, I will post it either tongiht o tomorrow morning.
Zac, I'm just curious what we've all done for feminism rather than what it's done for us. If it's so important to us (and it is), then what have we all done to help it?
I agree with you that most achievements are pre-SoW, although it seems to my untrained eye that most achievements were pre-"feminism", as well. Gloria Steinem has done big work, but I think that Nellie McClung was more accomplished - against greater odds, too.
Candace, I love your advice to your daughter - that's an awesome view. And SO, don't worry - you'll get your chance.
Jason, it's an interesting idea and perhaps something that we should have done to begin with when the tag game began.
I'll put something up in the next few days. I'm just swamped right now with school work and leadership stuff. Plus, I'll need a bit to think it over, as it is a legitimate question that I've never pondered before.
BTW Jason, my mom also calls me zac-a-roni.
Your mom has good taste in nicknames.
Incidentally, while I'm not a big fan of SoW, I'd argue in favour of their budget being quadrupled to include Foreign Aid-type work on women's rights outside of Canada - that'd be really useful.
I would have answered the tag differently if it was, "Five Things Women's Rights Have Done For Me", by the way.
And I wonder how people would have responded to, "Five Things Status of Women Has Done For Me".
Jason, good post. One thing I find about a lot of "casual" feminists or these 5-point discussions is that barely anyone out there has looked at feminism the ideology and academic discipline -- and it's one of the most diverse, diffuse, and unhomogenous out there. That is, you have feminists arguing for equality on some ends, feminists arguing for more than that on other ends; feminists arguing that there is no difference between man and woman, and yet still other arguing that, pragmatically, socially or biologically, men and women are better at different things and that should be recognized. The list goes on. What does feminism mean to me? Who the hell knows. Pick a school!
c-lar - you got it, baby doll.
Did you miss the bit where I completely retracted my comments and apologized? Where I pointed out that I was just asking a question and that I was sorry?
Donations to LEAF at events in Toronto when I lived there, volunteer work with Breast Cancer Action Montreal when my mom was alive and active in it, raising a son (well see how that works out - he's little yet) who has been taught that there is bugger all that a man can do that a woman can't, countless verbal assaults where I've been derided as whipped, gay, both or just a radical asshole when I've spoken out in both the work place and in school about sexism.... when I worked as a journalist I always tried (if at all possible) to include female experts or interview subjects...
yeah, that's about it.
Is that "progressive" enough?
Ah, but would it be progressive enough for you? Progressive enough to not dismiss a person, I mean - to actually converse and discuss with them? Just curious is all!
Jason, I posted an answer to your question.
very clever and fun!
I've never done anything for feminism.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Thanks Chucker, I knew Cameron would love it, too.
You guys are just plotting to make Cameron angry?
Oh, Cameron's always angry already.
Yeah, that's me angry all the time.
And Jason, since I apologized, retracted completely and then reframed as a question, I'd guess that the only person who is angry all the time in this specific context would be you.
Oh, I'm not angry - I'm amused at your attempts to portray yourself as a feminist.
I was angry at the time - why wouldn't I be? You call into question my commitment to a cause I care more deeply about and commit more to than you could even pretend to. Of course your obnoxious dismissal of my thoughts made me angry.
But not any longer. Faggot.
I see.
Well you're going to have to fight with someone else, because you're imagining that I did that.
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