I was originally going to just post about the website RainyMood.com where you can listen to the sound of rain. It's a great relaxation method, and honestly I just love the sound of rain. (check it out!)
But while I was looking up other's blogs to catch up- because I'm really bad at that- I looked on my last blog and started thinking about probably one of the touchiest subjects that I- and many others don't enjoy talking about.
Showing posts with label feminism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label feminism. Show all posts
Friday, August 10, 2012
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Conflicted vs. Accepted
I've posted before about the binary gender system that's instilled in us in most cultures and nations of our world. How people have to split things as male and female, how males can only do some things and females should only do others.
I've ranted about how people shouldn't be limiting themselves to that stereotype and limiting others. I firmly believe that ideas of femininity and masculinity are completely arbitrary in what they are and that we as humans decided at some point that this is a girl thing and that is a guy thing. And for some reason if someone or a group of people don't follow that same arbitrary thinking there is something wrong with them.
It also leads to my own personal issues of labelling myself beyond the word gay or even queer. To be honest I rather not use either and just say that I'm me. Because in the end when it comes to sexual attraction or romantic attraction or hell a platonic friendly likability it all depends on a person's qualities not body parts they have or how many X's or Y's they were born with.
Isn't it possible that everyone is pansexual- AKA open to everything and just so happens that the qualities you're attracted to can categorize and limit you to the labels that society for some reason persists on using?
It's not that I haven't found a label that pertains to me, but I rather not continue the mainstream and follow society's commands that I must label myself because for some reason other people cannot take the fact that I am just me and not just a number you can shove under a generalized identity.
At the same time it's conflicting for me when I think about breaking out of the gender binary system when it comes to those going through transitions. After all people often group transgenders, transexuals and intersexed individuals under one thing when they're very different.
After all to be transgender is defined as an individual who does not identify with the gender label they were born with- however do not go through a physical transition to match the gender they do see themselves as. Transexuals are those that do go through physical transition and intersexed are those who were born with reproductive parts of both male and female.
It's confusing because while I firmly believe that those transgendered should do whatever makes them happy whether that be using a different pronoun or taking hormone therapy, I've noticed that a good amount of them freeing themselves from one gender stereotype only to put themselves in the other. There is a very firm one to one transition that happens, and most transgenders and transexuals abide by these mostly because of a long period of being seen as the gender they are not. It probably stems from the fact that they are so eager to want others to see them as the gender they actually are that they go along with society's views of the stereotypes.
While I'm very glad that trans rights are becoming a bigger priority in recent years, it's also unfortunate that they're just another group that emphasizes the "importance" that the gender binary system holds in out current society. I'd like to see more people talking about the intersexed because they often have to face with a lot of internal and external conflict because while their gender may match their sex there is not actual name for them other than intersex- despite the large spectrum of variations that could occur.
It is hypocritical for me to say that it's unfortunate these intersex people cannot label themselves, but the only way for attention and concern to be brought up for others is for a name to be given to everything. Humans like to categorize things, they like label things. There have been names that were created but they never caught on or really stuck around. More than often people simply use their own pronoun and insist on an other option when asked about their gender or sex.
It's great that some individuals have such a firm grip on their self-identity, but it's a long road to get to that point. To be able to question a part of yourself that the rest of society sees as a basic foundation to be human, is the path to getting to know yourself better. It was mentioned in a documentary I watched but the speaker had been correct that this questioning "makes you stronger as a person".
Our current society as it is, isn't ready for anything as radical as the degeneration of the gender binary system. And honestly I don't think it ever will be. Some stereotypes may fade but others will rise in their place. The very idea and recognition that there is a gender binary takes a blunt pointing out to and isn't offered until much high education and that is only if you take the right courses.
It isn't only evolution that takes years to occur but so does a cultural change to the basic foundations of human identity. Hell, in the amount of time it would take for it to occur, the human brain may degenerate enough that we can't even do deeper thinking.
What I had wanted to mention was how despite my agreement that the gender binary is rubbish, I still manage to be supportive of the LGBT community and especially the trans one. And at the same time I fight with the thought of giving myself a label just so it would be easier for others and myself. It's so much easier after all to say and think that I'm attracted to femininity (especially since femininity is completely arbitrary) than simply being open to everything that may enter my life.
I've ranted about how people shouldn't be limiting themselves to that stereotype and limiting others. I firmly believe that ideas of femininity and masculinity are completely arbitrary in what they are and that we as humans decided at some point that this is a girl thing and that is a guy thing. And for some reason if someone or a group of people don't follow that same arbitrary thinking there is something wrong with them.
It also leads to my own personal issues of labelling myself beyond the word gay or even queer. To be honest I rather not use either and just say that I'm me. Because in the end when it comes to sexual attraction or romantic attraction or hell a platonic friendly likability it all depends on a person's qualities not body parts they have or how many X's or Y's they were born with.
Isn't it possible that everyone is pansexual- AKA open to everything and just so happens that the qualities you're attracted to can categorize and limit you to the labels that society for some reason persists on using?
It's not that I haven't found a label that pertains to me, but I rather not continue the mainstream and follow society's commands that I must label myself because for some reason other people cannot take the fact that I am just me and not just a number you can shove under a generalized identity.
At the same time it's conflicting for me when I think about breaking out of the gender binary system when it comes to those going through transitions. After all people often group transgenders, transexuals and intersexed individuals under one thing when they're very different.
After all to be transgender is defined as an individual who does not identify with the gender label they were born with- however do not go through a physical transition to match the gender they do see themselves as. Transexuals are those that do go through physical transition and intersexed are those who were born with reproductive parts of both male and female.
It's confusing because while I firmly believe that those transgendered should do whatever makes them happy whether that be using a different pronoun or taking hormone therapy, I've noticed that a good amount of them freeing themselves from one gender stereotype only to put themselves in the other. There is a very firm one to one transition that happens, and most transgenders and transexuals abide by these mostly because of a long period of being seen as the gender they are not. It probably stems from the fact that they are so eager to want others to see them as the gender they actually are that they go along with society's views of the stereotypes.
While I'm very glad that trans rights are becoming a bigger priority in recent years, it's also unfortunate that they're just another group that emphasizes the "importance" that the gender binary system holds in out current society. I'd like to see more people talking about the intersexed because they often have to face with a lot of internal and external conflict because while their gender may match their sex there is not actual name for them other than intersex- despite the large spectrum of variations that could occur.
It is hypocritical for me to say that it's unfortunate these intersex people cannot label themselves, but the only way for attention and concern to be brought up for others is for a name to be given to everything. Humans like to categorize things, they like label things. There have been names that were created but they never caught on or really stuck around. More than often people simply use their own pronoun and insist on an other option when asked about their gender or sex.
It's great that some individuals have such a firm grip on their self-identity, but it's a long road to get to that point. To be able to question a part of yourself that the rest of society sees as a basic foundation to be human, is the path to getting to know yourself better. It was mentioned in a documentary I watched but the speaker had been correct that this questioning "makes you stronger as a person".
Our current society as it is, isn't ready for anything as radical as the degeneration of the gender binary system. And honestly I don't think it ever will be. Some stereotypes may fade but others will rise in their place. The very idea and recognition that there is a gender binary takes a blunt pointing out to and isn't offered until much high education and that is only if you take the right courses.
It isn't only evolution that takes years to occur but so does a cultural change to the basic foundations of human identity. Hell, in the amount of time it would take for it to occur, the human brain may degenerate enough that we can't even do deeper thinking.
What I had wanted to mention was how despite my agreement that the gender binary is rubbish, I still manage to be supportive of the LGBT community and especially the trans one. And at the same time I fight with the thought of giving myself a label just so it would be easier for others and myself. It's so much easier after all to say and think that I'm attracted to femininity (especially since femininity is completely arbitrary) than simply being open to everything that may enter my life.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Friday, February 3, 2012
Just read these.
In Toronto a U of T student was given to advice from a cop on how to prevent rape.
-"Don't dress like a slut"
In Waterloo for the student elections posters were plastered over the posters of female candidates.
-"THE TRUTH. The brightest woman this Earth ever created was Marie Curie, the mother of the nuclear bomb. You tell me if the plan of women leading men is still a good idea."
-"Don't dress like a slut"
In Waterloo for the student elections posters were plastered over the posters of female candidates.
-"THE TRUTH. The brightest woman this Earth ever created was Marie Curie, the mother of the nuclear bomb. You tell me if the plan of women leading men is still a good idea."
Monday, January 30, 2012
Discrimination vs. Discriminating
I'm sure people can tell that I try to be as open minded as possible about things and I like to think I try my best now to be accepting and as non-prejudice as possible. This could possibly be because I'm a member of a large variety of groups who are stereotyped, and hated.
I identify as female, I'm Chinese and I'm pretty gay. (I'm getting better at saying that word now see?)
I mean the most discrimination I face from day to day is because I'm female. But that's mostly from my family- which is kinda sad actually but anyways. I didn't really realize it until my prof mentioned it in my women studies class last week how completely divided the groups of the oppressed were. I mean in the end we're all fighting for the rights to live in society as who we are. And our suppressors are mostly of the same origin as well.
I don't want to sound accusatory when I say the adult white males of society. But honestly that's really where most suppressors originate from. I'm not turning in the typical feminist when I say patriarchy- I'm saying it because it's the freakin' truth. Our society runs on the societal cultural norms created by European- white- patriarchal society. And the only reason this idea has become such an issue that mostly receives snorts and eye rolls is because those white male suppressors who hold most of the powerful positions in societal make it seems eye-rolling necessary. It makes it seem completely ridiculous and is a notion that should be regarded with only exasperation. It's what they want, and they succeed every day.
Anyways, with oppressed populations of the people divided and in various cases against each other it's no wonder it takes such a longer time for things to be changed and dealt with. As the saying goes divide and conquer, and in the case of all the different kind of human rights in the world we need to be united in order for things to change quicker and for the better.
I get it though. Just because you're gay doesn't mean you're not sexist, or racist and the same can be definitely said about the others. But if you think about it for people like me in which you're a member of more than just one oppressed group, it's kind of puzzling why one earth you're fighting for rights for only one aspect of who you are.
On one hand you're fighting for equal rights in the workplace for men and women, the next you're doing it again for non-Caucasians and then you're doing it again and again. It's the same with various areas that people fight for equity and equality for. It happened with interracial marriage and now it's happening with same-sex marriage. I mean even if it were reversed and same-sex marriage was accepted and interracial wasn't things would be no different if you were in an interracial same--sex relationship.
Doesn't it just make so much more sense if people were to put aside their differences and strive for a goal they all want? Just because you may not be included in a certain group of people doesn't mean you shouldn't care about them. They're still people and they still have rights, freedoms and feelings. Isn't that enough to grant them the equal rights that everyone wants?
I identify as female, I'm Chinese and I'm pretty gay. (I'm getting better at saying that word now see?)
I mean the most discrimination I face from day to day is because I'm female. But that's mostly from my family- which is kinda sad actually but anyways. I didn't really realize it until my prof mentioned it in my women studies class last week how completely divided the groups of the oppressed were. I mean in the end we're all fighting for the rights to live in society as who we are. And our suppressors are mostly of the same origin as well.
I don't want to sound accusatory when I say the adult white males of society. But honestly that's really where most suppressors originate from. I'm not turning in the typical feminist when I say patriarchy- I'm saying it because it's the freakin' truth. Our society runs on the societal cultural norms created by European- white- patriarchal society. And the only reason this idea has become such an issue that mostly receives snorts and eye rolls is because those white male suppressors who hold most of the powerful positions in societal make it seems eye-rolling necessary. It makes it seem completely ridiculous and is a notion that should be regarded with only exasperation. It's what they want, and they succeed every day.
Anyways, with oppressed populations of the people divided and in various cases against each other it's no wonder it takes such a longer time for things to be changed and dealt with. As the saying goes divide and conquer, and in the case of all the different kind of human rights in the world we need to be united in order for things to change quicker and for the better.
I get it though. Just because you're gay doesn't mean you're not sexist, or racist and the same can be definitely said about the others. But if you think about it for people like me in which you're a member of more than just one oppressed group, it's kind of puzzling why one earth you're fighting for rights for only one aspect of who you are.
On one hand you're fighting for equal rights in the workplace for men and women, the next you're doing it again for non-Caucasians and then you're doing it again and again. It's the same with various areas that people fight for equity and equality for. It happened with interracial marriage and now it's happening with same-sex marriage. I mean even if it were reversed and same-sex marriage was accepted and interracial wasn't things would be no different if you were in an interracial same--sex relationship.
Doesn't it just make so much more sense if people were to put aside their differences and strive for a goal they all want? Just because you may not be included in a certain group of people doesn't mean you shouldn't care about them. They're still people and they still have rights, freedoms and feelings. Isn't that enough to grant them the equal rights that everyone wants?
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Rumours and Lies vs Truths and Reality
Here's a shocker.
I'm a feminist.
Bam.
Here's another shocker.
The majority of people who say they're not a feminist are.
Gasp.
The sad thing is, is that society has let anti-feminist propaganda give women's movements and feminism a bad connotation. Which if you think makes no sense since if you ask so many people would agree that they support women's equality politically, economically and socially. And yet they go along with the stereotypes anti-feminists- AKA organizations who don't support women's rights at all- have spread.
One of the things people bring up about feminism is that without it women wouldn't be able to vote. True, but there are so many other things. Thanks to feminist movements women have gained so many things that we take for granted now.
-access to contraceptives
-the right to work outside the home
-equal pay for equal work (sort of)
-the right to refuse sex, even with their partner
-able to receive a higher education
-access to safe and legal abortion
-able to participate in sports
-able to hold a political office
-able to choose any career of interest
-freedom from sexual harassment in the workplace
-able to enter legal and financial transactions (AKA have your own credit score, get loans etc.)
-able to study issues about women's lives and experiences
And thats only the beginning. Still, despite all our progress and people's belief that the women's movement is over and isn't needed anymore it's completely untrue. 80% of these people are men unsurprisingly but over 60^ of women believe this too.
Unfortunately women still make 72 cents for every dollar a man makes. Are still subjected to career stereotypes and expectations. Are expected to not only have a successful career but to also deal with housework at the same time. Women have gained the right to do as much as a man, but they have not yet gained the right to do as little as a man. Shocker there right?
I don't want to clutter this post with everything from my lecture and my text. But the entire time I thought I was just being traditional - AKA anything pertaining my parent's ideals or wishes. I'm complying and submitting myself to the oppressing force of society telling women to be passive. While this entire time I've thought I've grown into a person not entirely along with my parent's wants- I've realized I haven't strayed and come into myself as much as I had thought.
It's...strange to realize you encompass so many desired qualities of a female from a time in which women were oppressed, sexually harassed and used.
I'm not saying I hate myself now or anything. But it would be nice sometimes to be y'know less emotional, less sensitive, more aggressive, less passive and more outspoken about my values and my beliefs. And as much as I try and want to be a person who contributes to the movement of women or of the lgbt community or whatever, it's really very hard.
Especially when one of your largest opponents is your family.
But this post isn't so much about me and my family situation. I just thought I'd like to alleviate some of those rumours, stereotypes and lies about being a feminist. The 5 most common myths of about being a feminist are as follows.
1.we are an angry group who are whiny and exaggerate discrimination
2. we hate all men or want to be men
3. we're all lesbians
4. we reject motherhood
5. the woman's movement draws away from other social and economic problems
Despite my example of being a sexually fluid female who has a like/irritated relationship with the male gender I don't hate them- and despite my personal situation no I don't want to be a man, I identify with the female gender so there. Again, shocker. I've wanted to be a mother since I was like 10, and despite my angry seemingly biased opinions the discrimination women face are serious problems that aren't talked about only in woman studies. Once again, shocker. And as selfish as humans are feminists have contributed to a number of other social movements other than the woman's movement and in some cases have spearheaded other ones one of the most prominent being the anti-slave movement that occur ed years ago.
So there. I'm done and I'm going to sleep now and I hope ya'll realize being a feminist isn't bad at all. Hell I'm proud to be one and I don't see why I wouldn't be.
I'm a feminist.
Bam.
Here's another shocker.
The majority of people who say they're not a feminist are.
Gasp.
The sad thing is, is that society has let anti-feminist propaganda give women's movements and feminism a bad connotation. Which if you think makes no sense since if you ask so many people would agree that they support women's equality politically, economically and socially. And yet they go along with the stereotypes anti-feminists- AKA organizations who don't support women's rights at all- have spread.
One of the things people bring up about feminism is that without it women wouldn't be able to vote. True, but there are so many other things. Thanks to feminist movements women have gained so many things that we take for granted now.
-access to contraceptives
-the right to work outside the home
-equal pay for equal work (sort of)
-the right to refuse sex, even with their partner
-able to receive a higher education
-access to safe and legal abortion
-able to participate in sports
-able to hold a political office
-able to choose any career of interest
-freedom from sexual harassment in the workplace
-able to enter legal and financial transactions (AKA have your own credit score, get loans etc.)
-able to study issues about women's lives and experiences
And thats only the beginning. Still, despite all our progress and people's belief that the women's movement is over and isn't needed anymore it's completely untrue. 80% of these people are men unsurprisingly but over 60^ of women believe this too.
Unfortunately women still make 72 cents for every dollar a man makes. Are still subjected to career stereotypes and expectations. Are expected to not only have a successful career but to also deal with housework at the same time. Women have gained the right to do as much as a man, but they have not yet gained the right to do as little as a man. Shocker there right?
I don't want to clutter this post with everything from my lecture and my text. But the entire time I thought I was just being traditional - AKA anything pertaining my parent's ideals or wishes. I'm complying and submitting myself to the oppressing force of society telling women to be passive. While this entire time I've thought I've grown into a person not entirely along with my parent's wants- I've realized I haven't strayed and come into myself as much as I had thought.
It's...strange to realize you encompass so many desired qualities of a female from a time in which women were oppressed, sexually harassed and used.
I'm not saying I hate myself now or anything. But it would be nice sometimes to be y'know less emotional, less sensitive, more aggressive, less passive and more outspoken about my values and my beliefs. And as much as I try and want to be a person who contributes to the movement of women or of the lgbt community or whatever, it's really very hard.
Especially when one of your largest opponents is your family.
But this post isn't so much about me and my family situation. I just thought I'd like to alleviate some of those rumours, stereotypes and lies about being a feminist. The 5 most common myths of about being a feminist are as follows.
1.we are an angry group who are whiny and exaggerate discrimination
2. we hate all men or want to be men
3. we're all lesbians
4. we reject motherhood
5. the woman's movement draws away from other social and economic problems
Despite my example of being a sexually fluid female who has a like/irritated relationship with the male gender I don't hate them- and despite my personal situation no I don't want to be a man, I identify with the female gender so there. Again, shocker. I've wanted to be a mother since I was like 10, and despite my angry seemingly biased opinions the discrimination women face are serious problems that aren't talked about only in woman studies. Once again, shocker. And as selfish as humans are feminists have contributed to a number of other social movements other than the woman's movement and in some cases have spearheaded other ones one of the most prominent being the anti-slave movement that occur ed years ago.
So there. I'm done and I'm going to sleep now and I hope ya'll realize being a feminist isn't bad at all. Hell I'm proud to be one and I don't see why I wouldn't be.
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