Re: Feminism, Kate, and Sex-Positive Feminism

[fox@panix.com (Lou Fox)]

Douglas Alan (nessus@mit.edu) wrote:

: Instead of reiterating anyone, I'll tell you how feel.  Much of the
: rhetoric of Feminists makes me cringe.  This does *not* come from some
: impression gleened from the mainstream press.  This comes from
: listening to Feminists speak.  I am a Humanist and believe in equal
: rights for everyone.  I have worked for Mass Choice to protect the
: abortion rights of women.  If anyone should be sympathetic to the
: concerns of Feminists, it should be me.  But this is not the case.
: Why?  If Feminist want to achieve their goals then they should want to
: work on an agenda that a very large number of people can agree with.
: On the other hand, they have squandered their political coins on
: alienating many people who could have been strong allies.  Attacking
: the First Amendment, for example, is something that is sure to drive
: away many potential supporters.

Doug, I'm sure I'm not going to change your mind, and vice-versa, but one 
last 
go. feminism does has tons of platforms that could be accessable to the 
majority of U.S citizens. A few are child-care issues,pro-choice issues, 
breast-cancer awareness and pay equality. These don't get any play, 
however, because they aren't *sexy*. People won't watch a show with a NOW 
rep. talking about NOW's stand on maternity and paternity leave. They 
will watch a show pitting radical lesbians against "normal" people 
talking about pornography or what have you. The only feminists that are 
shown on t.v. are the one's that fit the media stereotypes. Just like the 
only Black leaders, the only conservative leaders, so on and so forth. I 
can understand if some of what some feminists say makes you cringe. Some 
of what some feminists say makes me cringe. feminists don't have to agree 
on everything; there are many different groups with their own take on the 
idea of feminism and that's part of what makes it great. I am a pro-sex 
feminist. I'm also pro-choice, socialist, bisexual and a Kate Bush fan. 
these are all aspects of my personality, just as there are aspects of 
feminism, which makes it more complex and interesting.
Just because some feminists make you cringe doesn't mean you should give 
up on the movement as a whole. A lot of democrats make me cringe, but I 
vote for their ticket. Feminism has made wondeful strides in the past and 
can continue to if intelligent people want to learn about it and further 
the cause. 
I don't think you're friends are wrong; I'm sure there are others that 
feel like they do. However, in my experience, they are in the minority 
and I wouldn't want their problems with feminism to keep you from 
investigating it with an open mind. 

Jennifer