Kate sighting (I mean, hearing)

[ACAHILL@ccmail.sunysb.edu]

I was working peacefully at my computer yesterday when my housemate started
yelling that Kate was on TV.  Well, it was a bit of a false alarm, but
nevertheless an interesting one.  It was a spot by some shelter for runaways,
and the only sound was Kate's part of "Don't Give Up."  The video was of a
young woman curled up in a doorway; at first, because it was from quite far
away, my housemate thought it was Kate herself, but it wasn't.  Anyway, I
thought it was quite a good use of the song - has anyone else seen this (it was
on the Fox network, but perhaps it was a local, i.e., New York, thing)?

I have been trying really really hard not to jump into this whole feminism
thing, because I really don't think this is the proper place for it, but as
someone who does feminist theory for their profession, I have to make just a
couple of comments.  First of all, "reverse sexism" (like "reverse racism") is
not at all simple, for the very reason that there are existing power dynamics. 
So switching the gendered character of any given statement doesn't really tell
us that much.  Second - and this is a very general point - feminism, whatever
brand you ascribe to, is not *supposed* to be comfy, for men or women.  This is
an important point when the "they've gone too far" arguments come up.  Were we
to interrogate completely the ramifications of gender dynamics in our lives,
and our identities, we'd be shaken to our very cores.  Given that those gender
dynamics have been most detrimental to women (certainly men aren't spared
completely either), women have more incentive, perhaps, to undertake that
interrogation.  But let's beware of our own wariness!  And finally, it's very
interesting what "rights" are perceived to have been trampled on by feminism.
Someone, I forget who, claimed that his "right" to have Playboy available at
his corner newsstand had been "violated."  Geesh.  And they say that feminists
are sensitive...

Whoops.  One more thing.  Someone else - again, I can't remember - did call
someone else, a feminist woman whose views this person obviously disagreed with
a "bitch."  (The posting was very short, very curt.)  The use of such a
gendered insult in this context was not only inappropriate, but telling, as it
highlighted the degree to which gender really *wasn't* being addressed in much
of this discussion.  But if that term refers to a woman who analyzes our
gendered world in such a way which challenges men's position and privilege
(which are often veiled as some sort of natural rights), then count me happily
among those so called.

Ann Cahill
acahill@ccmail.sunysb.edu