>Do you honestly think that sexism doesn't exist? Or that it does but it
>is not a problem worth talking about? You have not stated this sentiment
>in so many words, but you do seem to be expressing it. Is this intended?
Wow, somebody who actually wants to know?
Amazing. Clearly-thought-out, to the point...Interesting...
Sexism exists.
Discrimination exists.
Racism exists.
I think most of us can agree to these 3 things. I've experienced
all of them first-hand. I think most of us have. It stinks. It really
does. You expect a rational person to act in a rational manner, regardless
of the situation. But these three things go over the line. So, we get pissed.
I've gotten pissed. I've been in love with women for as long as I
can remember existing, and thinking of someone not giving one of them a
chance to grow into what they want/are capable of makes me want to puke. I
don't know if I could live without women, so unlike myself they are, and I
treasure the hell out of that. But, we're different. We are. There's no
way I could grow up on a farm, with all women, in a family of 48 women, and
not see the differences. Yes, I played Barbies with my sister when I was
young, but I knew that when I played, I was having different thoughts than
my sister. I was expressing my "maleness". My brain works differently
then hers. We want different things. We feel different about just about
everything subjective. If we weren't different, we wouldn't be treated
differently, not only in the family, but in society as a whole because
there would be no basis for the separation. Weak men aren't treated as
"women" in a group of men, so it's not just the "physical strength" issue
that crops up in so many circles. There must be something that bonds these
groups of men together, beyond physical stamina, beyond having the same
physical bodies. There must be something. Shared experiences? Shared
feelings? I think maybe that's it.
I may hang out, nearly exclusively, with women. But I DO have
quite a few male friends. And when I am with these guys, I have this
immediate, low-level "grunt" link with these guys. And I know they feel it
too. With my female friends, my feelings are "cerebral", nothing is a
shared experience, just shared feelings about things. I have to find out
everything about a woman before I know if she and I connect on all
levels. Because I have to analyze her. With men, it's nearly
immediate. Not everything is shared, or whatever, but there's an immediate
"I know what you mean". We don't even really have to speak. Men of the
list, think of how many "pick-up" games of basketball you've played in your
life. It's an accepted mode, an accepted thing in your life because you're
used to the "group pack" mentality. These are your hunting pack
roots. Yes, men can learn to not be like this, but I believe we all feel
the need to express our maleness. Not macho, just male. I am sure that
women feel the same about other women. I doubt it's exclusive to one sex.
But we try to deny our sex. We try to take everything to this
ultimate "neuter" level, which cannot exist. An example is in the
Army. If you've seen G.I. Jane, this illustrates what I'm talking
about. "Gender Norming". Dropping standards for something to pass lesser
individuals not capable of doing the job. It's done for the football team
at your high school or college to let in the dumb jocks. It's done in the
army to let in weaker people. The rule used to be "If you can do the job,
do it." And this should be the rule everywhere. If you can carry a 70 lb
backpack and walk 10 miles a day and you're gay, or you're a woman, or
you're some other minority in the place you are? Load up! If you're a
weak man or woman who can't lift the pack, get the hell off the truck. If
you can do the job, do it. Who cares who you are. Isn't that what America
is all about? Choice? Forcing people to be something they do not
want/can't be is absolutely outrageous and ultimately, we'll find out how
many people we forced into positions of power who couldn't do the job. How
do you feel about having a firefighter who can't lift the fire hose? Makes
you a little nervous? Well, here in Massachusetts in the good ole US of A,
right down the street, this is the new law. "Gender Norming". If you
can't lift the hose, but can complete the mental parts of the job, AND
you're a woman, you're passed. If you're a man, SORRY, you fail. It's the
books and it's made it into a very slippery slope. Soon, you could see 3
ft 2 inch police who can't wrestle that knife away from the murderer and
400 lb jockeys. Can't do the job? No problem, because if we tell you that
we need someone who can actually do the job, we'll be in court in 5 minutes.
But still we force the neuter. We force the opportunity to drop
the standards and show how wonderfully noble we can be. THAT is what is
offensive. The fact that we give in is what makes me want to spit.
But we get people who take the opportunity to showboat, the show
how perfectly wonderful they are, and how nothing bad ever enters their
beautiful, wonderful head, except to throw stones and claim that their
lives and motives are too snowy-white to question. I'm not getting
involved in that discussion except to giggle as I read the emails. It's
just another pissing contest.
So, to sum up what the hell I'm saying is: we have to try to
understand each other first, rather than trying to change it immediately
without first understanding the reasoning behind the other's position
first. That's why a post like yours illustrates that people who want to
find out these things first, and try to prove how Political Correct they
can be another time, are great to have. You are becoming a rare
commodity. There are things that need to be questioned and the world won't
break just because you make a stand on your beliefs, that's how this world
was made. Because there's a difference between being PC and trying to just
follow what you feel is right. PC is a set of rules that society has
decided on to avoid prosecution, to avoid protest. But that doesn't mean
they are right at all.
I feel sexism exists, but I think we have to choose our battles,
and sometimes we just have to wonder if being a bastard and fighting before
we can figure out another way is just more than a little ignorant.
If someone has a pretty girl up on their screen when they do the
screen-shot, then they obviously think that is ok. Just another part of
their life and computer. Themes.org should have a rating or way of sorting
obviously, or have a disclaimer telling you that they really don't have the
time to sort through the themes, checking every pixel for stray nipples and
pubic hairs. But, is that their job? Do they make that claim or are we
lumping them into the "bad guys" column already? I believe that they should
be sorting and inspecting and putting anything resembling "naughty", even a
girl in a bikini, in different sections, based on the relative heat. But I
also believe that women/men in tiny outfits on the cover of magazines is
embarrassing in the context of me seeing them with my mother, but are they
wrong by nature? No. The human body is a gorgeous thing, even the male
body. So why be afraid of it? When it becomes a sexual connotation, the
waters become a little murky, and I don't know if I'm qualified to define
those lines at 6 in the morning on a Saturday.
Sorry for the disjointed nature of this rant, but I really have to go the
bathroom and wanted to finish before I ran away. And, if you finished this
post and are still angry, sorry, but I tried explaining. Have a good day.
Brendan
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
************
[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.linuxchix.org
