Today’s question is when was I not a feminist??
1968, Women were throwing symbols of oppression in a barrel to be burned. Items included lipstick, shoes, and other items.
While Clyde went from one dr. appointment to another today, I read chapter 2 of my textbook from my class which is technically called, “Womens Gendered Sexuality Studies.” What I learned today has completely torn the foundations of what I thought I knew about my world completely apart. I remember as a young teenager, I said something, I don’t remember what now, my dad’s reaction at the time was to invite me to burn my bra along with those other women out there. The implication, given by tone of voice, and sarcasm rather than respect, or even a little encouragement that Peggy was indeed using her noodle, and trying to think things through and see that life was fair for girls. My dad embarrassed me is what he did. I wasn’t old enough yet to appreciate what burning a bra meant. I wasn’t really old enough to understand anything except that my father did not approve of my thoughts. And yet, it seems, since that was his reaction, I may have been on to something. My guess is that I was a feminist in the making, and what dad succeeded in doing was slowing that process down, if not shutting it down completely for years. I spent a lot of years looking down my nose on feminism. I have learned today, and at my age now, it comes as no big surprise that feminism today at least is not just about women and women’s rights. If it is stigmatized it is an issue that feminism will take up. If it is discriminated against, feminism will fight the fight. IF it does not allow for the “participation of parity” then women are going to point that out and seek justice. Feminism is humanism as seen through a womans’ eyes. Feminism is the fight for social justice in every form!
I won’t argue about it, I don’t know enough about it. But, I read tonight just why the the capitalist system is not working. It does not allow for 100% participation in society for so many people — it normalizes discrimination, and the stigmatization of conditions such as disability. It encourages so many wrongs and supports so few rights. It is killing true democracy and turning somethings that were right with the world hundreds of years ago upside down and on its head. It turns out that all those young people might be right, socialism when applied correctly may be far more supportive and just than capitalism has ever been. If you don’t believe me read your history books and be sure to start reading before 1500!
I’m thinking I’m going to loose a few more friends. And a few more friends will shake their heads and pity me for my poor misbegotten ideas. Just remember friends you never thought I was stupid before, why start now? We’ve been fed a line of crap for generations now about what is right, wrong, fair, and just. It’s time to rethink things and formulate a new game plan.
Bra burning is dead my friends. In fact, It never really existed. It is a myth. (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-45303069). And while Gloria Steinem is very much alive — the women’s movement is so much bigger, smarter, and caring than many of us had ever imagined.
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One last thought for today. What does the right wing men and capitalism have in common? It is the 1%. To support capitalism is to tear down justice for all the common work-a-day people. The idea is to put the profits in their pockets. Their message in the bottle is, “to hell with you….and you… and you….” They have mastered capitalism and use it to manipulate us all into believing that we are independent and that working for wages is what keeps us that way. There is no such thing as true independence in this world. We are all interdependent on each other. Someone has to build our roads, so we can drive back and forth to the grocery store, Without farmers we’d all need a farm and we’d be eking out our living simply feeding ourselves. Think about the millions of miles of pipeline underneath our cities and rural areas transporting water and sewage to and fro. Someone lays that pipe, fixes the pipe, unclogs the pipe, etc. There is no part of our life that is 100% independent of any other human being.
Capitalism has taught you to believe you are 100% independent. It has created a myth, a gigantic monster myth. It allows us all to to look down on those who can not work (as in the disabled), including women who may still choose to stay home caring for and rearing children. There is no value in motherhood, because working with children is not work.
And this, is the tip of the iceberg of what is wrong about capitalism.
