stomping on the rights of women.

[blunt_trauma]

a lot of threads are being started about legislation in 'merica and it reminds me of something i once read 'bout the takeover of religious extremists in the middle east, how it always starts with the oppression of women. it's something that we associated with the muslim world but i've heard that in israel there are worrying signs too, with schoolgirls being abused for their uniforms not being modest enough and soldiers boycotting ceremonies where women might sing.

i always felt quite immune from this sort of stuff, being western and white and atheist, but the creeping of the craziness into mainstream american politics makes me question my own security.

squishing women is always the first step. it's the top of the slippery slope. even if you're not a women it should be concerning, no?

 

[Farrah]

a lot of threads are being started about legislation in 'merica and it reminds me of something i once read 'bout the takeover of religious extremists in the middle east, how it always starts with the oppression of women. it's something that we associated with the muslim world but i've heard that in israel there are worrying signs too, with schoolgirls being abused for their uniforms not being modest enough and soldiers boycotting ceremonies where women might sing.

i always felt quite immune from this sort of stuff, being western and white and atheist, but the creeping of the craziness into mainstream american politics makes me question my own security.

squishing women is always the first step. it's the top of the slippery slope. even if you're not a women it should be concerning, no?

Someone here just mentioned that it's been like this in America for ages, but it really does seem to be very prevalent right now. I think the Republican Hearing on Contraception was very telling...not one woman there to represent an issue of women's health. I feel like something scary is afoot here.

 

[blunt_trauma]

I feel like something scary is afoot here.

yeah... at the risk of being labelled a hysterical woman, i believe it's all getting a bit sinister.

 

[Freija]

a lot of threads are being started about legislation in 'merica and it reminds me of something i once read 'bout the takeover of religious extremists in the middle east, how it always starts with the oppression of women. it's something that we associated with the muslim world but i've heard that in israel there are worrying signs too, with schoolgirls being abused for their uniforms not being modest enough and soldiers boycotting ceremonies where women might sing.

i always felt quite immune from this sort of stuff, being western and white and atheist, but the creeping of the craziness into mainstream american politics makes me question my own security.

squishing women is always the first step.?

+1

PS. you forgot the big F-word option.... you know the scary F-word...

 

[Farrah]

yeah... at the risk of being labelled a hysterical woman, i believe it's all getting a bit sinister.

I hear ya on the labeling thing, but I do feel like it's a time to be hyper-aware. What's the general feeling among women in your neck of the woods? Have you had similar conversations with friends?

 

[Fuckette]

"A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction."

 

[bg23]

i think stomping on women's rights is something that's a little bit ingrained in a lot of men. not because they want to be sexist asshats but because it's been that way for such a long time that unlearning that behaviour takes a lot. that glass ceiling exists. there are a few individuals who see beyond it and strive to be better than society teaches them, but it's rare.

the other day boyfriend made a crack about Hilary clinton looking like a dog, so therefore he didn't blame clinton for cheating on her. also, he didn't want her to be president because she was too ugly. the fuck? boyfriend has always respected women, and this just came out of nowhere. but to me that's symptomatic of a social conditioning where intrinsically some men deep down still really believe that women have a certain place and that's where they belong, even if on the face of it they say all the right things and "support women's rights".

 

[unregistered]

 

[blunt_trauma]

I hear ya on the labeling thing, but I do feel like it's a time to be hyper-aware. What's the general feeling among women in your neck of the woods? Have you had similar conversations with friends?

here, unless you follow world news, it's not something people know about. the brit media is keeping well out of it.
weirdly, my not having a tv to watch brit news and my spending too much time on lit has made me more aware of world news. i get what people are talking about rather than what the media shows.
there's no worrying signs here as far as i can tell though.

i think stomping on women's rights is something that's a little bit ingrained in a lot of men. not because they want to be sexist asshats but because it's been that way for such a long time that unlearning that behaviour takes a lot. that glass ceiling exists. there are a few individuals who see beyond it and strive to be better than society teaches them, but it's rare.

the other day boyfriend made a crack about Hilary clinton looking like a dog, so therefore he didn't blame clinton for cheating on her. also, he didn't want her to be president because she was too ugly. the fuck? boyfriend has always respected women, and this just came out of nowhere. but to me that's symptomatic of a social conditioning where intrinsically some men deep down still really believe that women have a certain place and that's where they belong, even if on the face of it they say all the right things and "support women's rights".

matriarchal societies are so damn few, i suspect there's something innate that makes men want to dominate women. not saying that makes them shitheads, just saying it's possible and it's seen in other primate societies.

but, yeah, the subtle & subconscious sexism is like the subtle and subconscious racism. it's hard to wipe out if we don't acknowledge it's there.

 

[bg23]

seriously it was fucking out of character. i'm a feminist, if nothing else it was stupid for him to say that in front of me.

 

[TexasWife25]

I think a big problem with the recent bills is that most of them seem to be hidden under a banner of "pro life". Plus for the longest time, they simply werent being talked about. Everyone now knows all about Virgina and the forced vaginal probe, but PA passed the same bill before Virgina and it wasnt news at all.

 

[bg23]

matriarchal societies are so damn few, i suspect there's something innate that makes men want to dominate women. not saying that makes them shitheads, just saying it's possible and it's seen in other primate societies.

but, yeah, the subtle & subconscious sexism is like the subtle and subconscious racism. it's hard to wipe out if we don't acknowledge it's there.

yeah, i don't think all men are shitheads or even that they're inherently shitheads. i think the way our society works teaches people to behave in certain ways though, and the reverse is definitely true in terms of women's attitudes to men, too. but there is a trend of patriarchy, and i think that says something about how cultures operate.

 

[phrodeau]

I'm going with the "women need burqarising" option, with the added requirement of shoe mirrors.

 

[Farrah]

What scares me the most, I think, is that it feels like a time of wait-and-see. These men are already in office...it's nerve-wracking to wonder about which bills are going to pass and under what guise. In this era of social media, I feel like I should be bombarding my representatives' FB pages with "Don't you fucking dare." But will it really help? Will anything? Maybe we should stage a protest. Would they take a bunch of women from an erotica site seriously?

 

[SkAoUt]

but, yeah, the subtle & subconscious sexism is like the subtle and subconscious racism. it's hard to wipe out if we don't acknowledge it's there.

Nigh on impossible.

 

[TexasWife25]

What scares me the most, I think, is that it feels like a time of wait-and-see. These men are already in office...it's nerve-wracking to wonder about which bills are going to pass and under what guise. In this era of social media, I feel like I should be bombarding my representatives' FB pages with "Don't you fucking dare." But will it really help? Will anything? Maybe we should stage a protest. Would they take a bunch of women from an erotica site seriously?

http://www.buzzfeed.com/rosiegray/the-best-facebook-comments-from-the-kansas-abortio

 

[Farrah]

http://www.buzzfeed.com/rosiegray/the-best-facebook-comments-from-the-kansas-abortio

Nice. Those women are pissed. And snarky. And intelligent. The governor must hate them.

 

[Lorilei]

http://www.buzzfeed.com/rosiegray/the-best-facebook-comments-from-the-kansas-abortio

That's fabulous.

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

May 24, 2011 Rick Perry signed the Texas sonogram bill into law.

The law requires doctors to perform a sonogram and make the image of the fetus and the fetal heart beat available
to the woman before performing an abortion.

The law does not specify if it is a transvaginal probe or not. It is understood that if you refuse the transvaginal probe,
you are not allowed to get an abortion.

March 3, 2012

Under a new law that took effect three weeks ago with the strong backing of Gov. Rick Perry, she first must typically
endure an ultrasound probe inserted into her vagina.

New York Times
Sunday Review
Op Ed

 

[blunt_trauma]

*shudder*

 

[Very_Bad_Man]

The GOP has taken a giant step backwards. It is not just women's rights under attack by the GOP it is freedom to worship as we please. Like many religious nutjobs they have turned scripture upside down to fit their own agenda. Christians say that Christianity is under attack by atheists. I disagree. I think the true attack is from within by those who have perverted scripture to conform to the stick they have up their own asses.

Islam is much the same way. I think you can liken the Extremist to the time of Europe Inquisition.

In both religions God is not the bad guy. Men use God as an excuse to commit atrocities. If God does exist and though I am unsure my heart hope he does just so those that corrupt Gods message to do evil burn for eternity.

I got side tracked but I agree with you that women rights as well as peoples freedoms are under attack world wide. God is getting a black eye but his words are not the culprit. It is the evil of man.

 

[Liar]

I think a big problem with the recent bills is that most of them seem to be hidden under a banner of "pro life". Plus for the longest time, they simply werent being talked about. Everyone now knows all about Virgina and the forced vaginal probe, but PA passed the same bill before Virgina and it wasnt news at all.

Not only "pro life", but "pro freedom" and even "pro women" guises are used. It's wedge issue macnination 101. Politics at it's most cynical.

 

[Angellica1612]

The GOP has taken a giant step backwards. It is not just women's rights under attack by the GOP it is freedom to worship as we please. Like many religious nutjobs they have turned scripture upside down to fit their own agenda. Christians say that Christianity is under attack by atheists. I disagree. I think the true attack is from within by those who have perverted scripture to conform to the stick they have up their own asses.

Islam is much the same way. I think you can liken the Extremist to the time of Europe Inquisition.

In both religions God is not the bad guy. Men use God as an excuse to commit atrocities. If God does exist and though I am unsure my heart hope he does just so those that corrupt Gods message to do evil burn for eternity.

I got side tracked but I agree with you that women rights as well as peoples freedoms are under attack world wide. God is getting a black eye but his words are not the culprit. It is the evil of man.

Very well said.

 

[Byron In Exile]

i suspect there's something innate that makes men want to dominate women.

Perhaps there's something in women that makes them want men to dominate them.

 

[blunt_trauma]

Perhaps there's something in women that makes them want men to dominate them.

perhaps.