Letters to the Editor
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MEN are the biggest victims of violence
Men only bring this up when they want to discredit feminism. They don't try to change things at other times because they want to keep their privilege.
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even if your attribution of motive is accurate
it doesn't provide any evidence that the statement false or irrelevant
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Ms. Valenti. You are genius!!!!
All you that don't agree with Ms. Valenti are only mysoginist people (even if you don't believe this, because you are deluded). When I see people that don't agree with Ms. Valenti, I only see the need for feminism and the need for an intelligent woman like Ms. Valenti. I can't wait for buying this book.
The more the arguments Ms. Valenti are discussed, the more I see anger and mysoginism and the more I know Ms. Valenti is right.
For example, when she say that every woman has a "rape schedule" because she locks cars in an intersection (or stuff like this). Well, I am a man (I think this qualifies my argument because I am a mysoginist pig) and I do everything Ms. Valenti does to keep myself safe in a big city. Now, thanks to Ms. Valenti, I know that I live in a "rape schedule" and the world is a big prison for me. Ms. Valenti, you are genius!!!
Seriously. Feminism has good points (like differences of wages). But the problem is that many women accept nonsense and crap only because it is said by women who label themselves as "feminists".
Ms. Valenti is one of these. Her argument is flawed (not only the "rape schedule" argumente) but saying this can be considered as mysoginist. So let's say that is a smart women and everything she says is right (how can a feminist be wrong?).
This discredits feminism because you mix the jewels (other feminist authors) with the shit (Ms. Valenti, and other women like her). So it's not amazing that many young women think that feminism is shit, because you make no distinction.
I didn't know that I wis aware of the dangers of a big city. Of course, everything she says
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How does flashing your boobs at Mardi Gras get slipped into the rape schedule?
This article seems to be painting an unnecessarily dim picture of the world where womens primary concern is not being raped, and all things in their schedule are necessarily peripheral to that concern. O.K., so how does flashing your boobs at Mardi Gras get squeezed into a womens rape schedule? How does appearing on "girls gone wild" get accommodated by the rape schedule?
Professional feminists have driven young women nuts, and as a result, their primary feeling toward feminists is rebellion. The "prison" that women are in is not of someone else's making, it is of their own making.
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Emily...
"I can understand that men feel attacked by feminism at times, but men often ARE the sole beneficiaries of benefits that rightfully belong to both genders."
Men are also often the recipients of burdens that perhaps should rightfully be shared by both genders. This fact is never addressed by feminism. It can't be, because, as I have previously stated, the notion that engendered power is stacked in men's favor is integral to feminism itself.
I can't say that I feel victimized by feminism, but I do think that I, as a male, have gender related concerns of my own that feminism cannot and will not address.
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Re: Rape Schedules & Feministing
Jessica is NOT saying that women should get a free pass. Think about it, though: when do men worry about going to a bar by themselves? When do men worry about leaving the library on a safe campus late at night? We shouldn't live in a world that keeps women constantly on the defensive.
It's one thing to be aware of one's surroundings and another entirely to change the course of your life because of fear of rape or attack. When women are attacked, they are told that they should be hyper vigilent and this doesn't happen to nice girls. I sat on a mock jury for a law firm that was presenting a case. One guy said that nice women don't leave the house at 7 am (when it's light out), because it's "too early" in the morning. My comment that I often leave for WORK at 7 am was ignored. Apparently, nice women who care about their safety only work 9-5. Someone once told me that I should never take public transportation alone after dark, even when it gets dark at 4:30 pm in the winter and I leave work at 5. Women are NOT bound to live in the house and only go outside with escorts or to walk with their parasols to the General Store, lest they be raped, attacked, and then criticised for exposing themselves.
A man would throw a fit if told to live under the restrictions that women handle every day. Pointing this out doesn't make us man-haters; it means that we think that women ought to live in a world in which they don't run their lives around fear. The men in our lives shouldn't be worried about us leaving for work at 7 am, shouldn't have to worry that every woman looks at him as a potential rapist, and shouldn't have to go out of thei way to ensure the safety of their female friends. Funny how feminist principles are good for both women and men.
As for Feministing: the comment policy is VERY open. Jessica has never ONCE criticised or moderated me, even though I'm pro-life (a position that most feminists really disagree with).
She's not Samhita, so don't throw any complaints about Samhita onto Jessica. Co-bloggers aren't part of the Borg, don't share a mind, and aren't in charge of each other's actions. Part of personal responsibility is that all of your actions are your own doing; contrariwise, you aren't responsible for someone else.
Finally, Jessica is not the feminists of the late 19th century, the 1960s, nor does she represent every modern feminist or embrace their ideals. Sure, you can say that her ideas are old and tired, but until you point to a specific passage in her book or on Feministing, you're just throwing the usual (inapplicable, tired, recycled) complaints about feminism at Jessica.