Monday, January 23, 2012

Blog Discussion Summary #1

So at this point or really last night by midnight, Discussion Leaders will post a summary of the threads that they moderated. You are working in teams of 3-4 so each of you will respond to about 4-6. You will make comments on those blogs and then individually post a summary of your blogs @ midnight the day before the discussion. Since this is a practice run at the discussion assignments I gave you a little longer on the blog posts and am a little late on the summary. I will comment on your blogs individually as well to provide feedback.

Based on my readings of this thread, I found a few key themes:

1.) Feminism May Indeed Be For Everyone...according to hooks' definition.
It was pretty much unanimous that we all agreed with hooks definition of feminism. Many people commented that based on this definition they would consider themselves to be a feminist or supportive of feminist beliefs. I think this discussion really highlights the importance of bell hooks' theorizing and writing. She makes theory and philosophy accessible! I wish more thinkers (I'm talking to you Judith Butler!) would adapt this style. It's so much easier to identify your own values and beliefs in a piece of writing that is succinct, captivating, and spot on without using all of that scholarly jargon.

2.) Debunking the Feminist Mystique
I admit that in my youth and prior to reading this text, I too fell into the trap of the feminine mystique. What I mean by that is the belief that feminists were radical man haters who were hell bent on ridding the world of men, never shaving, and sitting around braiding their hair in drum circles. I also believe that to truly be a feminist I could not be attracted to men or identify as straight. I look back on this falsehood not with shame, but honestly with a sigh of relief that I have overcome those fears. I was able to work past all of those stereotypes and media mythologizing to be able to understand what this whole feminism thing is about. It's not a person per say, but a movement to make the world a better places for all gender identities and expressions.

Reading your blogs, I think it's fair to say that many of you were coming to terms with these issues as well. When asked if you were a feminist, why or why not, the majority of you responded in the area of maybe, moderately, or the I'm not a feminist, but I support the movement. This left me wondering why it was so hard to use the label feminist. I did not come out as a feminist until last spring. I think I was out in high school, but had put it away in college. I didn't want to be attributed to the negative stereotypes that went along with feminism (it really wouldn't make for great date conversation) so I used the "I'm not a feminist but..." discourse. And honestly I think that's fine because....

3.) Language: The Binary that Binds
The trouble I've had with definitively saying, "yes I'm a feminist" is the very term itself. Feminist implies feminine, which then implies female. It's this faulty logic that Judith Butler's all about with queer theory. We need to break ourselves of binary thinking to be able to adequately express ourselves linguistically. This binary way that we have shaped our language in terms of sex, gender, and sexuality limits our ability to be able to reach out and unite movements across binary categories. Would more people be willing to identify with the movement if it was labeled something else? Or do we have to change the ideology surrounding the label to make a difference? Why do men have a hard time identifying or feeling welcome in the feminist movement?

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