This month I chose the successful Ann Arbor city council bid
of Human Rights Party member Kathy Kozachenko for my historical event. I chose her because of her hard work, what
she stood for, and the significance of her political campaign and win in Ann
Arbor Michigan’s city council elections.
She is significant because she was the first openly gay/lesbian
candidate who ran and then won political office. Granted there were other politicians who were
openly gay/lesbian, but they came out only during their term in office.
Details
Kozachenko was a part of the Human Rights Party; however, what
is the Human Rights Party? I must admit,
even though I have my minor in Political Science I am new to this party. I suppose the fact that it is no longer a
party on the American political stage when it declined in influence prior to
the 1980’s. Prior to its disappearance
members either merged with socialist parties or some left to go to the
Democratic Party.
The Human Rights Party was organized by party founder Zolton
Ferency. The ratification of the 26th
Amendment most likely was the cause of its tremendous growth as a result of 18
year olds getting the right to vote. The
HRP attracted the youthful. The HRP advocated
for the immediate withdrawal of all US forces away from foreign soil and the
end to ROTC and military draft programs and policies. They were ardent defenders of LGBT members
and affiliates and actively opposed laws that went against prostitution. They opposed state ran prisons and advocated
for day and health care reform.
As was described above, because of the passage of the 26th
Amendment their popularity increased and their primary support came from
college students and low-income earners and laborers. The HRP held heavy influence in the state of
Michigan, primarily in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti.
In Ann Arbor one of their major pushes was to defeat the city’s “five
dollar pot law,” which was a city fine given to people who were caught with
possession of two ounces or less of marijuana.
Rather than return the pot law back to what the state was willing to do
to violators, the HRP pushed for greater leniency with permanent decriminalization
of pot. Ypsilanti would soon follow Ann
Arbor in terms of marijuana leniency laws.
When the late 1970s came about the HRP began to wane in
power. In Ypsilanti it changed its name
to the Democratic Socialist Caucus, but this party declined and ceased to exist
the following decade during the late 1980s as the Cold War drew to a
close. In Ann Arbor with the rise of
power and tug of war over control the Democrats and Republicans pushed the HRP
out of control of the city council. As
student activism declined throughout the entire nation, the HRP suffered loses
of political office, power, and influence.
City Council
Candidate Statements
The following points and arguments I felt were the strongest
from one of Kathy Kozachenko’s candidate statements during the city’s
election.
Kozachenko sets a heavy emphasis on city wide rent control
by providing incentives to property owners that rent out their properties to
tenants. She explained she would
advocate lower rents, a ceiling to be placed on the profits landlords could
make from a building, and the incentive would be to use rent on maintenance and
improvements. She was concerned with
landlord-city corruption in terms of rent prices. Kozachenko wished to subvert any potential
corruption that may make the lives of the people with rent process that are too
high.
She also addressed the possible fate of the $5 marijuana law
in Ann Arbor. Her concern with
criminalization of marijuana possession is similar to the concerns of people today;
the laws are set to single young people and African Americans out, and set
harsher punishments against them for breaking the law. On this note, she expresses dissatisfaction
with the police in general by exclaiming, “More police do not mean less crime,
it means more harassment.”
In my last post addressing the idea about whether or not Ms. Pac-Man is an icon of feminism. I first discovered this idea from Huffington which you can find a link to in my previous posting on my blog. As I did a bit of researching for other material addressing the same idea whether or not Ms. Pac-Man is a feminist icon I discover "Feminist Frequency" online produced and created by Anita Sarkeesian (rockin last name) who tackles gender norms as is represented by media tools such as comics, toys, video games, books, videos, and etc.
As I watched her video addressing whether or not Ms. Pac-Man is a feminist icon, I was impressed by the amount of work and topical arguments she addresses revolving around gender and feminism. In fact I liked her work so much that her page on Youtube is the very first channel I pushed the "subscribe" button for.
For the video she created to tackle whether or not Ms. Pac-Man is a feminist icon she brought up a curious and fascinating term: "Ms. Male Character," which she used to describe what Ms. Pac-Man is. Lets read the definition of Ms. Male Character:
Definition
"A female version of an already established or default male character. Ms. Male Characters are defined primarily by their relationship to their male counterparts via their visual properties, their narrative connection or occasionally through promotional materials."
Example
In this case: Ms. Pac-Man.
Thank You
Sarkeesian. I love your work please continue.
Websites
The following websites are about Anita Sarkeesian's work for "Feminist Frequency."
Stevens proposes the argument that Ms. Pac-Man is indeed a feminist icon. Now I am personally mixed in response to the proposal and information entailed with this argument. Stevens uses a video found on Youtube as the primary bulk of his argument. Watch the video below:
Argument Against
Even after watching this video I am not too sure as to the argument. As you watched in the video there are feminists that believe that even the name of the video game character does not best represent a true feminist icon. They believe Ms. Pac-Man is no different than calling a woman, if she were my wife, Ms. Scott Goertzen (my name). This could be interpreted as male ownership of his female counterpart.
In the comments section of this Huffington Post article a commentator named Genevieve made the argument that perhaps Ms. Pac-Man may not be much of a feminist icon. Genevieve explained she would have been convinced by the argument above if she had not watched another Youtube video proposing a contradictory argument. Watch that video below:
The video is titled: "Ms. Male Character - Tropes vs Women in Video Games."
Thank you Genevieve for posting another viewpoint on Huffington Post. I liked this video, very enlightening and makes for a really valid and good argument.
Conclusion
I will not propose here on the conclusion some profound statement in relation to the question whether or not Ms. Pac-Man is a feminist icon. I will say however, that I agree with the last video on feministfrequency that women need to stop being considered as an after thought in video games. Women are strong intelligent beings that must not be represented by poor stereotypical characters in video games or anything for that matter. We must get beyond stereotypes and embrace a stronger future for humanity where women are considered as an "equal thought" rather than an "after thought." That is all.
I would like to personally thank Huffington Post, writer Nick Stevens, and the creators of the video found on feministfrequency on Youtube for teaching me new stuff.
“Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women, and the Rest of Us.”
Kate Bornstein
Part
Quote
Summary
Opinion
Why:
This tremendous work is quite relevant to feminism. It is relevant because Bornstein tackles many
issues relating to global prejudice toward women and femininity in general,
especially in her written stage play: Hidden:
A Gender. She tackles questions about
gender many dare not attempt; like is it important to be one gender or the
other. In Hidden: A Gender she talks about the global impression that women
should not educate themselves, that knowledge is anti-feminine. Bornstein rejects ideas like this. This is a MUST read for anyone looking for a
deeper knowledge of what it means to gender and what it means to not
gender.
It is an embarrassing thing for a man like me to only
discover a work as fine as this in relation to gender issues through a recommendation
from a professor of Women’s and Gender Studies from Minnesota State University
Mankato. It is embarrassing because I am
a man that has literally worn a skirt every day for the past five years almost
without fail. I have always found soft
pretty things more pleasant to touch than say for example pants. I like skirts because wearing them literally
makes me feel at ease and calm. I
suppose it is the beautiful soft flowy fabric that makers use to create their
skirts that makes me love them as much as I do.
Many women love to wear pants because it makes them safe, secure, calm,
and comfortable. Likewise to this I love
to wear skirts.
I found Bornstein’s finely written work informative and she
genuinely helped me to understand who I am as a man and as a man who literally
wants to be a woman. In all seriousness
one of the reasons why I would love to be a woman more than a man is how
gorgeous women look in curvaceous sweetheart neckline gowns. Gowns are literally my absolute favorite
human creation. To me, I argue, nothing
is more gorgeous on the entire planet.
Gowns are amazing. Even though I
would do anything to be a woman in a gorgeous gown, I also am forced to admit
being a woman on this planet would be tremendously hard with all of the prejudice
against them.
Again, this is a MUST read for anyone attempting to build a
greater understanding of gender and what it means.
The following parts of the book will contain a direct quote
that was influential to me, then a brief summary, and finally my opinion. At the end will be my concluding thoughts.
Part 1
Quote:“People are starting to ask me about
fashion. I love that! Maybe they think the doctor sewed in some
fashion sense during my genital conversion surgery.”
Summary:
Bornstein addresses the stereotype that has been given to
females and that is to be a great judge of fashion and style. She uses the analogy of fashion and style to
give illustration to her own life and that of her significant other. She argues that fashion and identity are important
that they are intertwined and are not independent from one another. The need to belong to a group filled with
people with similar identities is important, the sense and yearning to belong
is a major driving force in our culture today.
Bornstein admits she neither feels male nor female nor because her
female lover is going through her sex change as well Bornstein feels neither
straight nor gay.
My Opinion:
In relation to the strong human need to belong to a group of
people who are similar, I agree with Bornstein.
I agree with her because my own yearning to belong to people like me is
strong. I am a man who is more in love
with femininity and feminine things like skirts and high heels who lives in a
conservative place like Utah, so it is extremely hard to find people who are like
me. I personally have only run into one
other man like me in Utah and that is it.
Granted, I am up for the possibility that I have ran into other men like
me considering most men dare not to tell the world they love wearing skirts
more than pants. I am currently wearing
a skirt even as I type this literature summary on my Blog. A skirt I find adorable, soft, flowy, in
other word tremendously comfortable.
Part 2
Quote:“It’s
important to gender and sex separated as, respectively, system and
function. Since function is easier to
pin down than system, sex is a simpler starting place than gender.”
Summary: Ever since Bornstein was little she always
felt that she was neither a boy nor a girl.
Because of this life was hard for Bornstein, she found it hard to be
herself. It was hard because she
constantly felt that she needed to hide herself for the rest of the world
because of who she was, neither male nor female. Gender and sex = System and function
respectively. Bornstein argues that
function is easier to pin down than system, because sex is simpler than
gender. Bornstein’s definition of “cross
dresser: “A common misconception is that male cross-dressers are both gay and
prostitutes, whereas the truth of the matter is that most cross-dressers that
I’ve met hold down more mainstream jobs, careers, or professions, are married,
and are practicing heterosexuals.”
Bornstein also explains how, a few months after her surgery
that she did not know how to respond to men thinking that she is
attractive. She explained that she did
not go through the rituals of how to react to it prior to surgery. Ms. Bornstein talked about her relationship
with lesbianism. She says occasionally
she runs into groups of lesbians who reject her lesbianism because they argue
that she is not really a woman. She
explains that she is not a man either.
She asks, What is a man? And What is a woman? She explains a lot of people who are asked
these questions still have been unable to answer her.
My Opinion: I felt the same way as Bornstein while in
junior high school. I felt the way she
did in relation to her feeling and need to hide away from others, especially in
hiding the real her. It was in junior
high school where I developed a deep love of feminine things. I began putting pictures of women wearing
tremendously beautiful things from magazines and internet print outs, and I
would hang them in my closet. My Mom
thought her son was just doing what all boys did when they hit puberty, to hang
beautiful women in their closet as a way to somehow compensate for hitting
puberty. However, I hung those pictures
up because I seriously could not stop looking at the tremendously beautiful
skirts, dresses, gowns, and heels the models were wearing.
In school or amongst my peers I could not understand why my
male friends would always be staring at the boobs of our female peers. I could not understand because it was not
their boobs I could not stop staring at, it was their skirts and beautiful
things they were wearing. I remember in
great detail one of my peers, Todd. Todd
would always talk about the boobs of one of our fellow students, Haley. See, while Todd was looking at her boobs, I
was looking at her skirt and wondered why I could not wear one where she and
the other females in my class could wear pants.
Because I was too terrified to tell anyone, especially my parents and
family, my desire to wear skirts was kept hidden even up into my mid-20s. I told my parents when the three of us could
get together that I love to wear skirts and that my hidden greatest desire is
to be a woman. My father reacted negatively;
he asked me if I was gay. My father was
also my bishop (I have since formally left my religion through letter of
resignation, this experience being one of the reasons I left religion, but not
the most major reason), he literally had his secretary schedule a meeting with
me. I obliged. While in the meeting in his church office he
wanted to talk about my “dressing up issue.”
My dad was never accepting of the real me. When he found out I was going to get my PhD
in Women’s and Gender Studies so I can help fight for a better future for women
and members of the LGBT, he responded immediately by suggesting I go into the
military. I simply rolled my eyes and
interrupted him saying this as a way to “re-masculinize” me. With mixed feelings and emotions my parents
and I no longer talk. There were too
many disagreements between them and me.
Part 3
Quote:“I was
obsessed, and like most obsessed people, I was the last one to know it. The culture itself is obsessed with gender –
and true to form, the culture as a whole will be the last to find out how
obsessed it really has been.”
Summary: Bornstein explicates the vicious circle that
exists in transgenderism. I decided to
place this in my literature to show the many divides that exist in the
transgender community.
Post – operative
transsexuals (those transsexuals who’ve had genital surgery and live fully
in the role of another gender) look down on:
Pre – operative
transsexuals (those who are living full or part time in another gender, but
who’ve not yet had their genital surgery) who in turn look down on:
Transgenders
(people living in another gender identity, but who have little or no intention
of having genital surgery) who can’t abide:
She – Males (a
she – male friend of mine described herself as “tits, big hair, lots of make –
up, and a dick.”) who snub the:
Drag Queens (gay
men who on occasion dress in varying parodies of women) who laugh about the:
Out Transvestites
(usually heterosexual men who dress as they think women dress, and who are out
in the open about doing that) who pity the:
Closet Cases
(transvestites who hide their cross – dressing) who mock the post – op
transsexuals.
My Opinion: At the end of this subsection Bornstein
states that transsexuals should come out and tell people who they are to avoid
deception. I can see her objective in
this but I personally am mixed with this statement. Ellen Degeneres recently said: “Do we have to know who’s gay and who’s
straight? Can’t we just love everybody
and judge them by the car they drive?”
Granted she was being silly about the car element but she was being
serious about the rest. I agree more
with Degneres in this respect than with Bornstein. Transsexuals and homosexuals should not feel
obligated to wear a scarlet letter on their chest, or a Star of David as a
requirement to be who they would like to be.
Prejudicial human beings are the ones who should be obligated to cast
out paranoia, superstition, and their prejudicial natures and judge someone on
their deeds and not on who the person is.
No one should feel that they must tell all the world who they are. They should feel free to live their life
without feeling that they must knock on every door in their neighborhood and
tell people that they are gay or transsexual like a registered sex
offender. People need to learn to
embrace acceptance, and redirect their attention to more worthy pursuits to
combat like global starvation. Bornstein
was sincere with her statement, but I do not agree. But it would be a mistake not to admire her
for her determination and fight for equal rights for the transgender
community.
Part 4
Quote:“’Male
Privilege’ is assuming one has the right to occupy any space of person by whatever
means, with or without permission. It’s
a sense of entitlement that’s unique to those who have been raised male in most
cultures – it’s notably absent in most girls and women. Male privilege is not something that’s given
to men in this culture; it’s something that men take. It’s not that women don’t have the ability to
have and wield this privilege; some do.
It’s that in most cases, this privilege is withheld from them culturally
and emotionally. Male privilege is woven
into all levels of the culture, from unearned higher wages to more
opportunities in the workplace, from higher quality, less expensive clothing to
better bathroom facilities. Male
privilege extends into sexual harassment, rape, and war. Combine male privilege with capitalism (which
rewards gree and acquisition) and the mass media (which, owned by capitalists,
highlights only the rewards of acquisition and makes invisible its penalties),
and you have a juggernaut that needs stopping by any means. Male privilege is not the exclusive province
of men; there are some few women who have a degree of this horrifying
personality trait. Male privilege is, in
a word, violence.”
Summary: The major part of part 4 was Bornstein
proposing 15 distinct questions she asked on how to overcome gender inequality
and how to understand gender in general terms.
I chose just a few to go over. In
question 6, “How do People Become Gendered?”
She tackles this question by confirming that gender is not based on
informed consent that society makes us the gender it sees us being. Gender is a cult that must not be abandoned
for any reason. If you abandon the cult
of gender then you make yourself open to ridicule and to be censured. Bornstein further asserts that gender is too
serious and one cannot be humorous when it comes to gender.
In question 7 Bornstein says identity and gender are one in
the same. For example, race, jobs,
relationships, the food we eat, entertainment, and etc. These all represent
identities and genders. For example
eating salads has somehow oddly become a feminine thing, just like romance
movies are a feminine thing, while men are the ones to watch war movies. Regrettably prejudice against the transgender
community is a world-wide issue. As the
nation of India becomes more and more westernized the cultural group called the
Hijra (primarily males who live their lives as females), is being wiped out and
do not have a favorable standing in Indian culture as it once did long
ago.
My Opinion: As a man who prefers to wearing skirts as
opposed to pants, question 8 popped out at me, “What is a Transsexual?” People often do the things the opposite sex
does for comfort. I am literally at my
most comforted when I am with my skirts.
I love them more than anything.
Part 5
Quote:“I’ve
come to see gender as a divisive social construct, and the gendered body as a
somewhat dubious accomplishment.”
Summary: To begin to lead into the next chapter in
which Bornstein lets us in on her stage play “Hidden: A Gender,” she talks
about the importance of the stage for members of the LGBT community, in her
case transgender people. Bornstein says
this of the theater, “Sex and gender outlaws have needed allies. An empowering theater is a strong partner: A
space in which people can work together for a common goal of freedom.” She also addresses the tragedy that the
theater is still homophobic and as a result she is afraid the queer will stay
to themselves and refuse to organize for a common goal and cause.
My Opinion: The theater has always been a place where
members of the LGBT can thrive. Often
they are able to be themselves in disguise on stage, whether it is someone who
is gay portraying someone who is gay, or a man playing a woman when he truly wants
to be a woman. I first learned of the
importance of the stage for people of the LGBT community when I read
“Crossdressing, Sex, and Gender.” One of
the people in the book that stood out to me the most was William J. Dalton who
in between 1891 and 1941 portrayed a woman on stage. During stages throughout humanities history,
the prejudicial have made it hard for members of the LGBT by passing laws that
are rigid and often violently enforced to prevent members of the LGBT to be
themselves. Members of the LGBT used the
theater to legally be themselves.
Part 6
The full play:
Quote:…”The
boys and girls in marketing have come up with the ultimate marketing
strategy. We’re not going to sell you
any products tonight, no, we’re going to sell you gender. And you want to buy it. You want to buy gender because you want to
relieve the nagging feeling that you’re not quite a man, you’re not quite a
woman.” Doc Grinder, “Hidden, A Gender.”
Summary: Part 6 is all about Kate Bornstein’s
playwright: “Hidden: A Gender.” The play
is all about exploring ones sexuality and illustrates ones struggle with their
questions revolving around gender. The
majority of the show is based upon Bornstein’s own research into old fashioned
travelling shows where people who are different from all others are put on
display and modern talk shows. Quite a
large portion of the stage play is focused around a talk show hosted by
character Doc Grinder. He has the
characters who are struggling to find their gender play a game called, “What’s
My Gender?” The object of the game is to
find out what gender you are through a series of questions with Doc Grinder
giving the character a pill at the end.
The pill is called “Gender Defender” with a pink or blue pill for woman
or man. Herman, a character, undergoes
the game and reveals to Doc Grinder he is a woman. There is a side story involving a character
called Herculine.
Herculine does not want to follow the cultural trend as to
what it means to be a woman. She wants
to live her life as men do, reading, writing, and educating herself. The plays antagonists tell Herculine that too
much knowledge is unwomanly and she should stay away from doing things like
that. As a result of her delving in the
world of men she explains her uterus is beginning to disappear and a penis is
growing in its place; she is going from a lower life form to a much higher one. Herculine points out the condition of women
in the world, they are virtual slaves that their duty is to serve and nurture
men. She does not want to live this kind
of life.
At the end of the play it is pointed out that gender is not
the issue but rather it is the battlefield, gender is the playground. Doc Grinder explains transgender people are
neither woman nor man. He ends the show
by inviting his guests to buy the pink or blue bottle.
My Opinion: Doc Grinder is an interesting character. I argue Doc Grinder’s character is a metaphor
to the pressure everyone experiences in their lives to live one or the other
gender, either it is male or female. His
attitude to his guests is an antagonistic one.
He has a mocking tone toward anyone who questions their sexuality. At one point he gets annoyed with being
interrupted by a female guest and tells her that interrupting him is not
womanly. He also threatens to have the
courts intervene and decide for themselves what gender is. I liked Doc Grinder’s character the most
because he is literally how we all feel everyday = Men to be without feeling and
woman to be meek and submissive. We are
told by society we must fill one of those roles, we are not allowed to cross
over to the other one. For Doc Grinder,
we must take either the blue or pink pill, there is not a pill that is both
pink and blue much like Disney’s Princess Aurora’s gown at the end of “Sleeping
Beauty.” Even the fairies in the movie fought
for what color the Princess’s gown was.
Part 7
Quote:“I look
for where gender is, and I go someplace else.”
Summary: To conclude her work Bornstein brings a few
issues to bear upon the reader. For
example she asks the reader why the world cares so much as to who she is; she
does not understand these people as to why they are so obsessed with gender,
male or female. She says, “I look for
where gender is, and I go someplace else.”
She feels the world makes so many irrational demands on each gender that
being male or female is not worth the trouble; as a result she asks herself
what she is then since she refuses to be either male or female. Bornstein expresses appreciation and love for
those who live their lives as women, but is not under the illusion she herself
is one.
She discusses the prejudicial nature of men in general,
especially when female to males are considered.
She declares more and more of the transgender are refusing to take upon
themselves the phallus or are removing theirs.
The symbol of the phallus has been one of a misuse of power. Regrettably men generally are taught not to
talk about their feelings and as such female to male transgender learn also not
to talk about their feelings. She
addresses the concern that biological men use their power to attempt to silence
female to male transgender, but, explains this is changing.
Bornstein laments the existence of the 2 gender system. She argues this system enables male violence
upon women. She says the solution to
ending oppression to women must be a global one.
My Opinion:After reading this work I too have become
increasingly concerned for the treatment of women that the 2 gender system
brings. The 2 gender system has been
inconsistent and poisonous to members of both genders for thousands of
years. Men are taught they are not
allowed to talk about their feelings or to do feminine things because of
society’s horrific belief that women are inferior to men. I tend to accept the opinions, arguments, and
discussions from people like Kate Bornstein because she has experienced life as
both stereotypical genders. She has a
unique insight over most people. I
firmly agree with her the fight to end oppression for women must be a
global. I am with her in the hope one
day women will be treated respectfully and as a result men will not be in fear
of doing something feminine because women will no longer be looked down
upon.
Concluding African American History month with remembering
one of the greatest women in Blues music history.
During the Roaring Twenties, Bessie Smith was one of the
leaders in Blues music with hit songs like “Downhearted Blues,” and “St. Louis
Blues,” which she recorded with world legend Louis Armstrong (playing the
cornet). Downhearted Blues sold roughly
750,000 copies. This was an impressive
amount in 1920s standards for record sells.
These record sells made Smith the highest selling African American artist
of her time. Her talents impressed both
African Americans and Caucasian Americans; she was highly popular in the south. Her only film appearance was in 1929 called, “St.
Louis Blues.”
Youtube Clips
"Downhearted Blues."
“St. Louis Blues.”
With Louis Armstrong on cornet.
Film: “St. Louis Blues,” Part 1
Film: “St. Louis Blues,” Part 2
Lyrics to “Downhearted Blues.”
“Gee, but it's hard to love someone
When that someone don't love you
I'm so disgusted, heartbroken, too
I've got those down
hearted blues
Once I was crazy 'bout a man
He mistreated me all the time
The next man I get has got
To promise to be mine,
all mine
Trouble, trouble, I've had it all my days
Trouble, trouble, I've had it all my days
It seems that
trouble's going to follow me to my grave
I ain't never loved but three men in my life
I ain't never loved but three men in my life
My Father, my brother
and the man that wrecked my life
It may be a week, it may be a month or two
It may be a week, it may be a month or two
But the day you quit
me honey, it's coming home to you
I got the world in a jug, the stopper's in
my hand
I got the world in a jug, the stopper's in
my hand
I'm going to hold it
until you didn't come under my command”
John Stuart
Mill was best known for his radical philosophy on the rights of the individual,
work on the tyranny of the majority, and women’s rights. He was also known for his thoughts on
political economy and his social activism.
Important Works
The following list is in no way complete. Mill was constantly writing, these works are
some of his most major projects and accomplishments.
“Tyranny of the
Majority”
“Social Liberty”
“The Negro Question”
– An argument with Thomas Carlyle on the question of slavery
“Utilitarianism”
“On Liberty”
“The Subjection of
Women”
“The Subjection of Women.”
(1869)
Chapter 1
“Men do not want solely the
obedience of women, they want their sentiments. All men, except the most
brutish, desire to have, in the woman most nearly connected with them, not a
forced slave but a willing one, not a slave merely, but a favourite. They have
therefore put everything in practice to enslave their minds. The masters of all
other slaves rely, for maintaining obedience, on fear; either fear of
themselves, or religious fears.”
Mill begins
his argument by stating one of the major hindrances to human development and
progress is the subordination of one person to another. In order to overcome this dilemma is of
course the opposite of subordination, and that is equality. In the first few pages of chapter one, Mill
points out three factors in the hindrance that he spoke on previously that of
power, religion, and government.
Granted, power is abused in many forms other than just religion and
government, but in the case of women, husband’s abuse so called power as
well.
In the case
of religion, religion has been oppressing women and suppressing their rights
for quite some time now. Mill reminds us
that religion exercises the power to send thousands to their deaths in wars and
through sacrificing, it takes away from people at the prime of their lives and
forces them to live in poverty, fasting, and prayer shut up in convents. Religion has the power to force husbands to
give up their wives. Mill defines
religion as an instrument of conflict and it has little power to stop wars and
prevent others from being cruel to one another, especially in this case against
women. Mill does not forget to include
governments in this case either. He
defines government, in particular in this case kings, as an instrument that is
supposed to stop the conflict that religion is unable to stop itself, but says
that kings are unable to do this either.
Kings are unable to put a stop to conflict because of greed and the
thirst for more power and control as in the case of religion and its
inability. Mill hypothesizes that in
order to put an end to the chaotic tug of war of power is to establish complete
equality; equality in power, rights, and free national institutions.
Mill
attacks those that believe in the power of force and superiority. Speaking on the case of women, Mill ties
slavery of the southern United States into the argument. Slave owners in the United States believed
that the African slave was given to them by heaven and earth. Slave owners argued that slaves were
incapable of freedom and should not get it.
At the same time Mill argues that this same belief by slave owners also
is applied to the brave and strong when they think it is their station in life
to have power, authority, and master status over the weak of the species. As a result of these tied in subjects Mill
states this is the reason to women being subjected by men. Men believe that women should not have their
freedom because they do not need it; men adopt a “master” status when it comes
to women.
Women have
had a consistent method to fight against their oppression and that is through
writing. Their works have culminated in
them fighting for suffrage through petitioning parliament. Mill explains that freedom is often not
obtained all at once, but through time.
Initial complaints are seldom about power itself, but rather about oppression
in general.
Mill
disagrees with the opposite way in which children are raised. Females are raised to think they must do
everything in opposite to their male counterparts; largely they are taught how
to submit to the authority and superiority of males. Depending on how women present their level of
submission increases their sexual appeal to men. Women, Mill theorizes,
increase in sexual attraction when they are meek, submissive, and give up their
freedom to men.
With the
amount of power men have over women; women’s rights and safety decline. As a result of this power, governments make
laws defining this power and enforce these laws over women so they dare not
challenge the power of their male masters and overseers. Even in the case of extreme mistreatment and
abuse, women will seldom dare to escape the clutches of their male master. Government laws over women are established so
as to dissuade any idea of collective rebellion.
Mill warns
the progressing society of complacency, though women are gaining equality, this
does not mean that women have achieved complete equality. Equality should be a constant endeavor and
objective by those that seek its establishment in society. He further warns men of their ignorance of
history and error in thought when they claim they know the thoughts of women
simply because of amatory relations. Because
men have a sexual encounter with a woman therefore they must know exactly how
women think, Mill rejects this thinking error.
This is the case because subordination and affection will not allow for
perfect understanding of women for men.
If men want to understand women better than they do then they must
improve the treatment of women with total equality; oppression and
subordination must be cast out.
Men are
disgusted with women and their increasing literary skills because their only
vocation should be that of wife and mother.
If women refuse to get married than it is necessary to compel them to
with laws and force. Laws and force come
from men, government, and religion. In
the case of religion and government, they are both ran by men, essentially men
use those two institutions to further their own interests and make up rules,
commandments, and laws to force women into marital servitude.
Chapter 2
“Absolute fiends are as rare
as angels, perhaps rarer: ferocious savages, with occasional touches of humanity,
are however very frequent.”
Mill
continues in chapter 2 his discussion on marriage by talking about men and
religion being a compelling factor for women in the marriage relationship. For more desirable women, men and religion
will compel her into marriage with the only escape being life in a
convent. The church does little to
nothing to curb forced marriages. They
do ask for a direct yes from the bride, but the bride is forced to be there
nonetheless.
After the
bride enters marriage she is expected to be entirely obedient to her husband
without question. Mill argues this
arrangement is worse than the relationship a slave has with their master. The slave his often not attached to the
master all day, the slave often is able to live a short life other than to
purely be a slave to a master. He is
able to come home and have a family on his own.
A woman on the other hand is forced to be at her husband’s side at all
times. She becomes his
entertainment. Her treatment is poor by
her husband master. He is able to do all
manner of vile things to her through force.
At times, if he so chooses, she is raped by him and treated no better
than an animal. She is not allowed to
have property. All of her possessions at
the time of marriage are forcefully surrendered to him, after marriage she will
no longer have possessions of her own, all things will belong to her husband.
In relation
to children that the husband and wife had together, they do not belong to her
only to him. He alone has the power of
life and death over his children, his final word over them is law, and she has
no control over them. If she chooses to
leave her husband master she will lose her children for good and will not be
allowed to see them. Often the husband
has the power to compel her to return, in particular through force. A man is protected by law to essentially do
whatever he wants to and with his wife excepting murder, though there have been
many cases where the husband is not found out or convicted.
The place
for women is in the home and as a result society will not tolerate a woman who
over steps her bounds in this respect.
Accordingly, she is taught from a very impressionable and young age that
her only business is to helping her husband further title, helping her son gain
societal advantage and prominence, and she will be charged with raising her
daughters to think as she thinks, that she is answerable to men. As a result of the husband to wife
relationship, Mill asks the question, if there is a disagreement between the
two whose decision is the outcome? Of
course Mill argues that the man’s decision and position in the argument prevails.
In his
conclusion of chapter 2 which is largely dedicated to the institution of
marriage, Mill urges those who engage in marriage to let it be a marriage of
equality rather than of obedience. It is
justifiable to state that Mill’s vision of marriage is a social construct based
on love, equality, on respect and all sincerity.
Chapter 3
“Even if every woman were a wife, and if every wife
ought to be a slave, all the more would these slaves stand in need of legal
protection: and we know what legal protection the slaves have, where the laws
are made by their masters.”
Mill begins
by stating a generality that men cannot tolerate the idea of living with an
equal. Mill combats this idea by drawing
in many historical examples where women were successful in male dominated spheres
in particular in ruling.
…
Deborah:
She became famous for her peoples belief in her prophetic skills. She is the only female judge mentioned in the
Bible for her talents at military command.
The Jewish Virtual Libraryargues that Deborah is perhaps the Bible’s
greatest female example.
In roughly 600 years later we still remember her name. Her name was immortalized by her actions and through
literally the tens of thousands written on just her by many authors, especially
by the more famous of authors like Shakespeare, Twain, and Voltaire just to
name a few. At just 16 years of age,
Joan of Arc claims to have been called by God to deliver France from her enemy,
England. Her actions, bravery, and
defiance to rigid gender norms literally changed the course to the 100 Years
War with England. She was eventually was
captured and sold to the English where she was put in prison and tortured. As a result of her not denouncing
communication with God and heaven, she was burned at the stake. She was canonized in 1920 by the Catholic
Church. Her inspiration is far reaching
even into the current time.
Queen Elizabeth was known as the Virgin Queen for her
refusal to marry and allow a man to control her possessions, life, and her
country. She was an independent and
strong woman. She was highly
intelligent, she was fluent in 6 languages and she had a sharp political mind,
something she no doubt gained for herself and inherited from her father King
Henry VIII and mother Queen Anne Boleyn.
Her long and enduring reign is considered one of the greatest in England’s
history. Her reign was one fraught with
uncertainties and her throne was always under threat by internal and external
enemies; enemies that she crushed with political strategy, military might, and
loyal aids. Arts in England also
flourished; she personally attended the first ever showing of Shakespeare’s “A
Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Her reign
lasted for 45 years.
Young Victoria was crowned the Queen of England at the age
of 18. Queen Victoria ruled England at
the height of empire. At her death it
was said the sun never set on the English empire. She ruled a vast empire that progressed
industrially and economically.
Unfortunately, much like Deborah, Joan of Arc, and Queen Elizabeth I,
Queen Victoria’s life was also fraught with dangers as she endured at least 7
attempts on her life. Through hard work,
and enduring the death of her close husband, she showed the country that she
was up to the challenge of exerting influence throughout the realm. With the rise of Constitutional Monarchy she
still worked hard to let the voice of the monarch be heard. She was the first English monarch to travel
by train. Her reign of 64 years was the
longest in Britain’s history.
…
Granted he
just slightly touched on them more information was added for each great woman
in history individually to give more justice to their accomplishments and to
their names. The women above are just some
women that Mill briefs touches on in this great work.
Mill uses
these examples to prove women are just as capable as men in succeeding in political
life, which disproves the myth that women are no capable of ruling or being involved
in politics. He explains women are self-educated
and learn independently as they are often forced to do as a result of
discrimination in education.
Mill also addresses
the pitiful myth that men are more intelligent than women because of their
smaller brain. Mill states this belief
is often credited to women being physically smaller; as a result women must be
less intelligent than men, for men are larger.
Mill draws larger men into the argument and states because these men are
larger than they must be more intelligent than all other men, and likely so is
an elephant vastly more intelligent than that of a man because elephants vastly
outweighs human men. Essentially, Mill
sees this argument as tremendously absurd.
Fortunately for the future development, women are beginning to test the
waters of science, art, and philosophy.
No doubt, Mill is proud of the fact that many women are getting involved
in those fields.
Mill
explains women are behind in many things because often marriage and family
duties take her away from doing more and learning more; she is at the disposal
of everybody. Finally, Mill urges men to
get involved in the struggle for women’s equality, to fight to improve life for
women.
Chapter 4
“If there is anything vitally important to the
happiness of human beings, it is that they should relish their habitual
pursuit.”
Mill tackles male privilege by
addressing that boys are brought up to believe they are superior in every way of
their female opposites. They are born to
a privileged lifestyle compared to females, a privileged lifestyle gained
purely upon the sex they were born as.
Kings are drawn into this analysis.
Kings, by being born a King, think themselves superior in every way to
all of his subjects, just as nobles do to theirs, and men to their wives. Mill points out a better sense of superiority
not found in birth but by hard work and personal achievement.
Towards the
final chapter of this work, Mill, explains the benefits of equality.
Current
Event: The Treatment of Women in
Afghanistan
Explanation
Today’s
current event on “Feminist Musings” is the continued deteriorating treatment of
women in the nation of Afghanistan.
Today I included two articles, one from NBC, and one from
Aljazeera. Both of these sites and news
articles talk about how the conditions of life for women in Afghanistan are
getting worse and violence is increasing.
As
I did a little background research into the current condition I found that
conditions for women have not always been as bad as the two articles explained. I admit not knowing this because I simply
just did/do not know a lot about the history of Afghanistan. In my research I discovered that life and
conditions for women were similar to many countries in the West. They wore western style of clothing, went to
school, and had good jobs like doctors and politicians. This life style existed prior to US CIA
intervention that ultimately led to Taliban rule where they rigidly enforced
Islamic extremism especially upon women.
Women,
after the rise of power of the Taliban, are now forced to wear clothing head to
toe, were fired from their jobs, are not allowed to get an education or hold
political office, and many are raped, severely beaten, and murdered. I decided to place this information on my
Blog to illustrate that the fight for women’s rights must be a global struggle;
women in Afghanistan must know that they are not alone in their struggle. The world must show the women of Afghanistan
that it collectively desires to free them from oppression. Meaning ALL human beings are connected, we are
one species not many, we must look after each other. We all must unite to work against extreme
treatment of women the world over. The
terrible treatment of women in Afghanistan must not be tolerated and MUST be stopped.
Afghan women in
the 1970s before the CIA-led intervention
A member of the
Taliban's religious police beating an Afghan woman in Kabul on August 26, 2001.
KABUL – Women’s rights in Afghanistan have regressed in the
past year, increasing worry about what the future holds, according to a Human
Rights Watch report released Thursday.
As the country faces a large-scale troop withdrawal by the
end of 2014, the organization expressed concern that, “with international
interest in Afghanistan rapidly waning, opponents of women’s rights seized the
opportunity to begin rolling back the progress made since the end of Taliban
rule.”
The comprehensive global report outlines actions it says
Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s government has taken to specifically undermine
rights for women and girls.
Among those actions was a parliamentary attempt to appeal the
groundbreaking law on the “Elimination of Violence Against Women,” which was
passed by presidential decree in 2009.
Although the law remains valid, its enforcement is weak, the
report states. A brief debate on the law “heralded, and perhaps triggered, subsequent
attacks and setbacks within the government during the year,” said the Human
Rights Watch report.
Another setback was the reduction of parliamentary seats
reserved for women from 25 percent to 20 percent, triggering concern that
female representation may even wane further in years to come.
Also, the Ministry of Justice — with parliamentary approval
— revised the criminal code, adding a provision that bans family member
testimony in criminal cases. This, the report argues, “makes it extremely difficult
to prosecute domestic violence and child and forced marriage.”
During 2013 there was also an uptick in violence against
high-profile women in positions of authority. Targeted assassinations included
the shooting of a member of parliament, Roh Gul, as she was traveling through
Ghazni province with her family in August. She survived the attack but her
8-year-old daughter and driver were killed.
Meanwhile, world-renowned author Sushmita Banerjee was also
found murdered in September. Her dramatic memoirs about marrying an Afghan man
and escaping the Taliban were turned into a Bollywood movie, “Escape From the
Taliban,” before she moved back to Afghanistan.
And the highest ranking police officer in Helmand Province,
Lt. Nigar, who was known by just one name, was killed just months after her
predecessor’s assassination.
Beyond attacks on women’s rights, the report outlines other
general examples of “declining respect for human rights” across the country.
“Impunity for abuses was the norm for government security
forces and other armed groups,” it states, which raises concerns about the
“fairness of the upcoming presidential election.”
Afghanistan’s human rights situation has regressed in key
areas during 2013, increasing uncertainty about the country’s future, Human
Rights Watch has said.
The 2014 deadline for the withdrawal of international armed
forces and continued debate over the presence of US troops beyond 2014 have
negatively affected the Afghan government's policies on human rights, HRW
reported.
An extensive world report by HRW found that the Afghan
government under President Hamid Karzai had made a series of decisions in 2013
that undermined human rights, particularly those of women and girls.
"There was continued instability and declining respect
for human rights in the country over the past year. This was reflected in
attacks on women’s rights," the report said.
"Impunity for abuses was the norm for government
security forces and other armed groups."
Taliban fighters continued their campaign of targeted
assassinations of government officials, including women, during the year and
high ranking women in the security forces also became targets.
“Afghan women are all too aware that international donors
are walking away from Afghanistan,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human
Rights Watch. “Unfortunately, those who want to curtail women’s rights realise
this too.”
Political setbacks also came to the fore in 2013 as
parliament reduced the number of seats set aside for women on the country's 34
provincial councils.
In addition, the Ministry of Justice added a provision to
the criminal justice code banning testimony from family members, making it
difficult to prosecute for domestic abuse and in cases of child marriage or
other forms of forced marriage.
The report found that opponents of women’s rights took
advantage of waning international interest in Afghanistan to begin rolling back
the progress made since the end of Taliban rule in 2001.
It cited a May parliamentary debate on the groundbreaking
Law on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW Law), passed by
presidential decree in 2009.
The debate was halted after 15 minutes to block numerous
calls for the law’s repeal, during which many people spoke out against legal
protections for women and girls.
The law remains in place, but enforcement is weak.
Physical assaults
A string of physical assaults in 2013 against high-profile
women, including murders, highlighted the danger to activists and women in
public life.
On August 7, upper house parliamentarian Rooh Gul was shot
as she travelled by road through Ghazni province. While she survived her 8-year-old
daughter was killed.
Later in the year, on September 16, Lieutenant Nigara, the
highest ranking female police officer in Helmand province, was shot and killed
on her way to work less than three months after the July 3 assassination of her
predecessor, Islam Bibi.
“The severity of Afghanistan’s human rights crisis in 2013
demands urgent action by both the government and the country’s foreign donors,”
Adams said.
“The failure to make human rights a priority during the year
of a presidential election, and the backlash resulting from diminished
international attention and support, threaten much of the progress that has
been achieved.”
Videos:
A member of the Taliban's religious police beating an Afghan woman in Kabul on August 26, 2001.
Often I hear individuals attempting to refute the evidence of male privilege and some argue that it is a myth. I strongly believe more men should come out and admit and then fight to end male privilege. As a man, for the longest time, I felt that male privilege was a myth. But, as I did more and more research I began to be more convinced that male privilege is not a myth but an actual reality. I was raised to think male privilege was a myth, but as I continued in my under-graduate degree to be a History Educator I found evidence after evidence in primary and secondary source historical documents that men indeed have it better in society than women. Men continue to have a better and more privileged life than women. Am I saying that men do not have a hard life, absolutely not, life in general is very hard. For example, men in America have it hard in that if there is a major war they are most likely to be drafted. Life for men is hard, if you are one to think life for men is hard like I do, then how much harder is life for women. If both sexes have a hard life, and the male sex is more privileged purely because of biological birth, then imagine how much harder life is for women.
Then what is male privilege? I chose the following sources to help define male privilege. As with all of my posts on "Feminist Musings" I welcome constructive thoughts either for or against.
Definitions:
“’Male Privilege’ is assuming one has the right to occupy
any space of person by whatever means, with or without permission. It’s a sense of entitlement that’s unique to
those who have been raised male in most cultures – it’s notably absent in most
girls and women. Male privilege is not
something that’s given to men in this culture; it’s something that men
take. It’s not that women don’t have the
ability to have and wield this privilege; some do. It’s that in most cases, this privilege is
withheld from them culturally and emotionally.
Male privilege is woven into all levels of the culture, from unearned
higher wages to more opportunities in the workplace, from higher quality, less
expensive clothing to better bathroom facilities. Male privilege extends into sexual harassment,
rape, and war. Combine male privilege with
capitalism (which rewards gree and acquisition) and the mass media (which,
owned by capitalists, highlights only the rewards of acquisition and makes
invisible its penalties), and you have a juggernaut that needs stopping by any
means. Male privilege is not the
exclusive province of men; there are some few women who have a degree of this
horrifying personality trait. Male
privilege is, in a word, violence.”
Kate Bornstein, “Gender
Outlaw,” 1994
“Male privilege is a sociological term that refers quite
generally to any special rights or status granted to men in a society, on the
basis of their sex or gender, but usually denied to women.”
“Male privilege refers to the social theory which argues
that men have unearned social, economic, and political advantages or rights
that are granted to them solely on the basis of their sex, and which are
usually denied to women. A man's access to these benefits may also depend on
other characteristics such as race, sexual orientation and social class.”
“Male Privilege: Male privilege is a set of privileges that
are given to men as a class due to their institutional power in relation to
women as a class. While every man experiences privilege differently due to his
own individual position in the social hierarchy, every man, by virtue of being
read as male in society, benefits from male privilege. Some examples:
• I am far less likely to face sexual
harassment at work than my female co-workers are.
• My elected representatives are mostly
people of my own sex. The more prestigious and powerful the elected position, the more this is
true.
• If I have a wife or live-in girlfriend,
chances are we’ll divide up household
chores so that she does most of the labor, and in particular
the most repetitive and unrewarding tasks.”
