Tag: feminism

Utility With No Intrinsic Worth

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Laura Bassett’s article in the 10/18/16 Huffington Post (Donald Trump and His Supporters are Actually Making Women Sick) has filled me with sadness and rage. Bassett presents her experience with male attacks, as well as those of several other women. This is not my first experience of sadness and anger because of the way males treat females. It’s becoming an ongoing condition.

I’ve been lucky in that I’ve had only one SPODS [Slimy Piece of Diseased Shit] force itself on me. It happened at a reception ending a week-long university writing conference. Fortunately the SPODS (whom I barely knew) announced its intention. “Hey, Huey, give me a big wet one.” I was able to whip my head around to avoid the filth. I went into some kind of dead zone for a minute or two. When I came to, the reception was going on and the SPODS had left. No one said a word, including me.

Two years later the the attacker was again at the conference. I asked the organizer to put the filthy creep and me in different workshop groups, which was done. I dreaded the reception. Then I learned that it (I don’t extend human status to SPODS) was not going to attend. I don’t remember if I shouted Hallelujah, but I felt it. However, as he was leaving the last meeting he approached a group of women, me a member, to say goodbye. He said, “Huey,” and held out his hand. I actually shook it. I should have yelled, “Get away from me, you turd.”

A woman in a short story I wrote realizes she is angry at herself for having put up with a predatory harasser for as long as she has. The attacker also makes life miserable for her colleagues. She eventually shoots him. Dead. After spending time with my protagonist, I realized I was just as mad at myself as she was at herself. I had gone along with what the SPODS wanted when I shook its disgusting hand because I didn’t want to make a scene. How wonderfully womanly of me. Calling it out as a turd would have been the appropriate response.

I have come to believe one of the major problems, perhaps the major problem, in achieving equality is due to women not getting white-hot angry at ourselves for putting up with hate, aggression and violence from filth on feet. We females are supposed to be graciously accommodating at all times—even when we get beaten and raped. I guess we’re supposed to go happily into death if it’s a SPODS killing us. I don’t think I’m overstating. The way our alleged justice system treats so many rape victims, and women abused by partners supports my contention.

I have no memory of verbal or physical filth being forced on girls when my generation was growing up. If some budding SPODS had grabbed a body part or even said something dirty to us we would have slapped him and told him what we thought of him. Today girls put up with all the crap little pieces of shit want to dish out. What went wrong?

The second wave of feminism gave women the freedom to openly admit we are—among other things—sexual beings and can enjoy sex. SPODS think that gives them the right to use our bodies for their purposes. (See Ross Douthat’s NYTimes 8/13/16 Op Ed). We have become TTFs. [Things to Fuck] We, of course, are useful to males in other ways. I’ll let you count all those ways.

Note: I do not think all men are SPODS. However, the alleged good guys stand around idly twiddling their thumbs, thus tacitly cheering on those who violate us. Females are prey and every female knows she can’t expect a male to help her fight off her attackers. Unless she happens to be a relative of a thumb twiddler.

Accept it, women, we have utility, but no intrinsic worth. 

I’m sure many of you are objecting to much of what I’ve written. But how else explain female’s lot in life? How else explain a truly vile SPODS running for President of the most powerful nation in the world? Sexism is in us like a virus. Both sexes learn from birth that humans with penises are far superior to those not so endowed. Women’s support of the SPODS running for President makes me want to throw up. How can those females support a thing like that? I can only conclude they accept, even embrace, sub-human status.

At this time all I can do is write about woman-hating, calling out those who practice it. I’ve published a novel, In the Land of Two-Legged Women (Inanna Publications) in which a group of women take on the gender system of their world. I’m working on a new novel. It’s a story of women taking on another gender system—the one in our world.

Right now, other than my writing, I don’t know how to fight against female-hating unless it’s open warfare. Anyone can get guns in this country. Tasers are legal in the majority of states. Do we have to choose weapons?

What do you think? Please share ways of tearing apart a gender system that believes females aren’t worth respect and decent, fair treatment. Our girlish, womanly accommodating ways haven’t taken us very far century after century after century. In many ways we’re slipping back.

Remember, doing the same thing over and over and over without success is a mark of insanity. Let’s at least try to stop being insane.

One Month Recognition

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We’ve recently left Women’s History Month. Once again we can forget about women as full fledged humans.

When I was Director of the Women’s Center at Montclair State University in New Jersey I planned nothing for Women’s History Month because I considered doing so was adding to the insult. What self-respecting woman smilingly accepts being patted on the head? “Sir, Master, Mr. Wonderful, how fine of you to grant this little spell of appreciation.” It’s time to declare that one month of recognition isn’t going to grant forgiveness for expressions of contempt during the rest of the year. Forgiveness be damned. Has forgiveness made the lives of Women, as well as Blacks and Indians, any easier? NO. Anger, righteous indignation if you prefer, is what brought about positive change for those who are expected to accept their alleged sub-human existence.

If you think I’m going too far you haven’t been paying attention to Congress and Republican led states. The War on Women is real.

Item: Republican NO to the Lilly Ledbetter Equal Pay Act.

Item: Anti Abortion Choice. Even in the case of rape. Now there’s hate.

Item: Anti-contraception: A freaking presidential candidate was/is opposed to contraception. In the 21st Century! He and those in agreement are nothing but little tin horn creeps who want total control over half the population—women.

Item: Openly anti-woman. A Maine State Representative proclaimed if women could get abortions, men should be able to rape women. He apologized. Who cares? He spoke what he thinks and feels and is just too damn dumb to realize he’s nothing but a hate-filled flaming posterior orifice. Just how do abortion and rape equate? Who knows? Unfortunately people vote for the thinking-challenged, i.e., dumb as they come.

Item: Women are incubators. A Virginia State Senator labels pregnant women as hosts rather than mothers. Soon we’ll hear that women are nothing but incubators ala Greek drama “The man is the source of life …I give you proof that all I say is true. / The father can father forth without a mother” (Eumenides by Aeschylus) This from woman-hating Athena, the goddess for Phyllis Schlafly.

We’ve come quite a long way since the Second Wave of Feminism but the DOOFs (Dying Out Old Farts—which includes some women) are in a last ditch battle and we need to let them know they aren’t going to win. We’ve got to get the hate-filled and dumb-as-they-come out of public office.

Give time. Give money. Give words. Give whatever you can to get rid of them. It’s time to terminate One-Month-Out-of-Twelve Mentality and what is represents—contempt for women.

 

Final thought—Ask men if they would be willing to give up control of their bodies. Bet you won’t get a majority of them saying yes. Wouldn’t be surprised if you got none.

Heroines

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My heroines are: Clytemnestra, Gloria Steinem and Miss Piggy.

Now, why on earth would I choose Clytemnestra as a heroine? Adulteress? Murderess? Logic and guts, that’s why. If a man kills your husband and baby son, forces marriage on you, slits the throat of your daughter to get some wind to go off and destroy Troy and brings home a sex slave at the end of that ten year war, termination of the bastard sounds perfectly logical to me. There comes a time when enough is enough.

It took guts to do what Clytemnestra did, or was party to—evidence is sketchy. The men of ancient Greece could get away with murder, including infanticide and daughter-slaying but a woman getting rid of a piece of trash was not the done thing and Clytemnestra died for her “sins.” Murdered by her son and a remaining daughter, a witless little twit with a fixation on a father who’d have slit her throat if he needed to get up a wind to go off on another war. No heroine she, just a fine example of what fools females can be, which is another reason why Clytemnestra makes my heroine list. She ceased to be a damned fool.

I strongly suspect Gloria Steinem would not put Clytemnestra on her list of heroines. Feminism does not endorse physical violence on males (usually); but I admire Ms. Steinem for the same reasons as I do Clytemnestra. Logic says women are human beings. Logic says all humans should have the right to develop interests and skills and use them. Logic says men are not superior to women. Logic, however, is not readily understood by many and it takes guts to get up everyday and jump into a maelstrom of odium because you’re trying to break through ignorance. Sexism makes people silly and they get scared when the silliness is pointed out. Fear can lead to attack. It had to get damned draining to put up with people hurling invective at you day after day after day. Perhaps doubly draining if you carry the burden of the beautiful woman—the expectation that you are to be merely decorative—and sexy. Without being slutty of course. Wait—sluttiness currently seems to be in (talk about damned dumb), which reminds me of another reason I admire Steinem. It took guts to become a Playboy Bunny to do research for an article. Talk about draining, going to work everyday just to be a piece of meat.

On to my third heroine, the sui generis Miss Piggy, Princess of Insouciance. How can you not admire a female of such presence, panache, poise and—pushiness? She is one confident female who creates her world and expects others to live in it. Now some might suggest she has way too much self-absorption but I consider her a fine counter-balance to females possessed by too little regard for moi. It takes guts to be Miss Piggy but she’s not going to let you see that. She charges on, creating awe at her audacity.

You may ask about logic in Miss Piggy. When one possesses such style, wit and grace, does it really matter? Miss Piggy creates the logic of her life; and from time to time I find it damned relaxing and just plain fun to slip into her reality—where sexism is of no consequence. I think Clytemnestra and Gloria Steinem would be perfectly willing and happy to occasionally join me in Miss Piggy’s World.

 

Miss Piggy Wears the Hope Diamond