I have a lot to say on this topic. First of all, I want to point out, in case it's been overlooked, the irony that everyone who liked this or commented on this is a woman, IJS. Soooo, I totally understand where you're coming from with this but, I'm hoping you will also consider that statements like this are actually part of the problem. Why is it that women are so easily moved against one another? Well, theories abound but, consider this, we have been conditioned, since we were children, to regard other women, not as friends, mentors, confidants and comrades, but rather as rivals and even enemies. Why is that? How about a little strategy commonly known as Divide and Conquer (something to think about). Anyway, back to -since we were little. I grew up watching Disney movies, like most of us, and most of the kids today (and no doubt future generations to follow), but have you ever considered that none of those movies, aimed at little girls, depict any positive female relationships? Where are all the mothers? Why are the sisters evil-steps, and other female characters jealous and cruel with bad intentions? Ariel in The Little Mermaid has no mother but a gaggle of sisters. Still none of them are even remotely close to her or concerned for her. Instead, her best friends are Flounder and Sebastian. Belle - no mother, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White both victims of evil and conniving, jealous women who have absolutely no reason to dislike these girls and Cinderella tormented and abused by 3 other women. Really? What's all that about? And if those examples aren't enough we can always consult the Bible wherein we learn that a woman was the downfall of humanity. There's also Jezebel, Bathsheba, Delilah, Dinah and Lot's wife to remind us all that women are the problem. I'm not down. This is probably a post more suited to a blog but it's a subject very dear to my heart. I was raised by a single mother. I was raised in this patriarchal society that perpetuates misogyny and at one point in my life I bought all that crap about women, but if it's true about them, then it's true about me because I am a woman. I'm sorry but eff that B.S. My closest friends and the most reliable, kindest, most generous people in my life are and have always been other women. The problem isn't other women, because to some women "we" are those other women and I don't think any one of us would say, yeah, I'm a two faced bitch who's out to steal someone else's boyfriend or husband because I want what I want. Reality is that people, men and women, can and will be petty, and dishonest and cowardly and manipulative but, just like every bad boyfriend you ever had, they'll turn it around and tell you, "It's you, you're the problem". Don't believe them.
Now this doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of how deep and insidious the problem of misogyny is in our society and it doesn't really do justice to how much I have to say on this subject. I will revisit it, frequently. It does however give me something to take a stand on, and I feel like I've needed something to take a stand on recently. Lately I've felt myself, my voice, cowering under the weight of my anxiety and I don't want that to happen. There are too many things I need to say. I'm always a feminist. I'm always going to combat misogyny where I see it and I needed to remind myself that me thinking this is not enough. I actually need to put it out there. I can't make a difference if I never do anything different, and neither can anyone else.
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