February 2012
37 posts
fromtheemic asked: How does one check their privilege? In respect to being a white, western woman, I'm interested in learning about how to be a better feminist. Can you give me a few pointers? Thanks.
imjohnquincyadams asked: In my catholic school we had an assembly about abortions. Among the speaker's many unintelligent arguments for being pro-life, one stuck with me. She said "Liberals want to argue that it's the woman's choice because it's her body. But it's not her body. It's God's." I was appalled. Just thought I'd share this
lasalasdelosmuertos asked: i'm not sure if you're the right person to ask this, but i can't think of anyone better qualified. why do we call straight trans* people queer? doesn't queer mean "not-straight"/only have to do with sexuality, rather than gender identity? or is it just like anybody who's not straight & cis? sometimes the intersection of sexuality and gender identity confuses...
gayrus asked: to that person that's misunderstanding feminism: movements can change. slut shaming used to be considered "feminism", but obviously, that's no longer the case. i understand where their misinterpretation came from but it's not hard to do a little research. also it's kinda illogical for any feminist to be against equal rights for ANY person. it would just be...
randy-butternubs asked: As a trans person, I disagree with the person who said sex was physical and gender was mental. Especially the between the legs part, which is cissexist and inaccurate anyway due to many factors. I'm tired of people insisting on this offensive phrasing. It's fine if some people feel that way about themselves but it is by no means universal. I identify as male, so my sex is male. This is...
craezie asked: No, it's not "whatever you want," uncannily-d-land is 100% wrong and should be called out on it.
earthbirth asked: I'm sticking with the definition as it's said. All I'm saying is, we take a look at the LGBT, the other racial backgrounds, ethnicities, identifications and whatever else you want to put in there (i say identifications not just for gender sake, but for that of otherkin, which I don't truly relate to but I do support- same reason I didn't say "human equality"...
thereisroomforhope asked: May I ask your opinion on "Don't hit girls" because in my personal opinion it's don't hit people weaker than you. But as of late. It's become this big thing over where I live. One girl said something that sounded pretty sexist to me. "Guys shouldn't hit girls because they are weaker than them and they should be able to control them." I was not okay with...
scarymerry asked: Please don't confuse gender with sex. Sex is whether someone is physically male or female. Gender is what a person identifies as. You could say that sex is between the legs, whereas gender is what's in someone's head.
sherlockstilinski asked: Today when I told someone about the wage gap they said "but if males get payed more, why would anyone hire a male?" I think people just don't understand it well.
earthbirth asked: Follow up to your response to Beerinabox's question. Feminism, as defined just about anywhere, is the equality of (strictly) the female sex to male rights. At no point does it say that transsexuals deserve equal rights- another thing that I think. There wouldn't be any reason to call it "feminism" with a specific focus on females (specifically focusing it like that doesn't...
westofawhitehouse asked: Given that uncannily-d-land seems to buy into the flawed concept that feminism can become misandry (or that misandry exists as a social force at all), I'm somewhat skeptical of the feminist claim.
debluevoid asked: Men aren't oppressed?
beerinabox asked: The issue I have with feminism is this: it preaches equal rights for a single gender. Doesn't that seem a bit flawed when you look at the different types of people and situations? Shouldn't it be 'equal rights for everyone'? Restricting it to the female gender seems a little exclusive.
earthbirth asked: Now hold the phone. Somebody went and sicced a couple of idiots that don't read into things on me. I said it was frowned upon- CRITICAL feminism specifically. I did not at any point say that I personally frowned upon it. I support it, for chrissakes. And am hardly an "Ignorant assclown". My only problem is when feminism turns instead into misandrism and that turns into aimless...
tombtrash asked: Frowned upon?? Feminism has been fighting for human rights- that's what feminism is, fighting for gender equality and human rights. It's only "frowned upon" because people are ignorant and don't educate themselves- they just believe what they're told. Women have been sub-human since the beginning, we've had to do nothing but fight for our rights and wages and...
kittensandscience asked: The better question would be why WOULDN'T you associate such an awesome animal with such an awesome thing as feminism?
earthbirth asked: Why would you associate a freakin' awesome animal with something so frowned upon?
submitted by dropemdroppo
Calling other women sluts/bitches/whores/etc. is not being a feminist. Your irony is disgusting, we are all fighting together.
sentimental-carp asked: This is a bit late, but regarding Irene: personally, the only way I can redeem her portrayal in that episode is to say that she didn't really fall in love with Sherlock. Instead, she saw someone who is/was unfamiliar with differentiating sexual and emotional attraction, and played upon that to make him believe she was in love with him. So yes, he does rescue her at the end, but was that...
lostbetweendreamsandfears asked: So I guess I'm a little late for the whole Irene discussion, but I just want to point out that I find almost ALL of Moffat's writing sexist,and it's even worse in Doctor Who. His female characters are either almost completely helpless or "hot chicks with guns", and they always rely on men to save them or/and have their whole life built around a man. (+)
schmavery asked: one of the issues I'd seen talked about re: Irene Adler was the treatment of her sexuality, The writers seemed to play on the offensive stereotype of "lesbians just haven't found the right man yet" with regards to Irene's relationship with Sherlock. Though I am straight myself, when queer-identified people said that it felt like a form of erasure for them, I was inclined...
tastybismuth-deactivated2012082 asked: Just to address an important point - in A Scandal in Bohemia (the book the ep is based on), Irene won. She beats Sherlock, goes on her merry way, and he's left standing there both perplexed and deeply impressed. Her emotions being her downfall, Sherlock having to go and save her, that is 100% Moffat's own writing. Still plenty of sexism in the text around her, but that doesn't give...
This is a bit disjointed and not exactly that good, as I’m just about to step out of the door, but I feel I have to add to this pile of Irene talk by saying that no, Irene as a character was not necessarily misogynistically put together: she was a independent, resourceful woman, who was confident in her sexuality and comfortable using it to her advantage. What the writers did to her, though,...
lets-kill-all-the-children asked: Re: Irene's downfall were her emotions. Yes, from an objective POV it just seems like more "females are super emotional" stereotyping, but you have to remember the characters were written in 1887, when these were still upheld. The writers really do have an obligation to stick to the character's descriptions or they'd be torn to shreds by Doyle fans. Sherlock's...
thanks to all for submitting those analyses of...
Hi! My name’s Eve, and I’m a pretty big fan of Sherlock, and I really don’t think Irene Adler was written in a misogynistic way. I actually wrote two rants on it, here and here: feel free to formulate your own opinions, but I thought it might be nice to see the character from the POV of someone who’s looked extensively into the character. Have a nice day! :)
I also...
re: Irene Adler
I think a few people missed the point of Irene’s oversexed-ness: it was an act. She was an information broker who used the methods that got her results. And those methods were not necessarily sexual in all cases; dominatrix work does not always involve sex. She was a con woman playing very specifically with Sherlock and attacking him in the one area where he was woefully under-qualified...
sailorbaby asked: I had to jump in re: Sherlock and Irene Adler. My problem with Irene's character is that her emotions (and, implied, women's emotions) are her downfall, while Watson's emotions make him brave, courageous, and bring out the best in Sherlock. I don't have a problem with Irene's prominent sexuality- I had a problem with her perpetuating the stereotypical...
lets-kill-all-the-children asked: I'm not sure whether I agree that Irene was mysoginistically written. I agree, there was much gratuitous nudity and innuendo, but idk even though all many people will take away from it will be "oh damn she's hot", I kind of love that she's super powerful in so many ways. However, she does end up being a bit of a damsel in distress which isn't so cool. That said, I...
alienanthropologist-deactivated asked: I get the asker's point about wanting female characters to show no interest in sex. But the idea of empowerment comes with being in control of your own body, which is easiest to show by showing that a character can have sex just because she wants to and there's nothing wrong with that. I also don't think that it's strictly a women's issue. I'd like to see ANY movie or...
crayolagoddess asked: I hate seeing all the "empowered" women on TV being so ridiculously sexualized, too. Being an asexual young lady in my early teens, I wish I could find more female characters that were tough and didn't really care about sex. It disappoints me that, despite how kickass characters like Inara from Firefly and Irene from Sherlock can be, I don't actually have lady heroes to...
brucestopherpikewood asked: I have a question/concern about fellow females in my writing for film & tv program (I got to film school): They say that women should use their sexuality to their advantage to get ahead. My brain exploded at these comments, and I tried to remind them that women SHOULDN'T have to do that and that's why we're trying to make real female characters and not continue with the reused...
psychobiobrilliant asked: I'd just like to say that I really enjoy this blog. We do Equity at my school and one of the themes this year is sexism, I'm in a class that is covering the female side of it. I'll likely refer to this blog a few times when we talk about women's rights. Thanks for providing such an awesome resource for this!
leadmeouttothefloor asked: I think with people saying "respect everyone's opinion" that's sort of bullshit. Why would you respect regression? Why would you respect someone who wants to make you feel like less of a person?
kill-natalie asked: I'm very much for women's rights and equalities but I don't align myself with the current wave of feminism because I disagree with the feminist methodology of attaining equality. I'd just like to say that it's probably healthy for you (and everyone, really) to read, watch, etc. people who disagree with you without the intent to try and convert them to your way of thinking....
unhappy-walrus asked: You are my hero. Thank you so much, Sometimes it feels like I'm fighting alone, but I know that's not the case when I see blogs like this.
