Is it really 'the feminist point'?

-
"Courts difficulties in framing workable standards to separate 'prurient' from other sexual interest, commercial exploitation from art or advertising, sexual speech from sexual conduct, and obscenity from great literature make the feminist point. [...] Commercial sex [pornography] resembles art because both exploit women's sexuality [...], pornography converges with more conventionally acceptable depictions and descriptions just as rape does with intercourse, because both are acts within the same power relation [male domination]"

Catharine MacKinnon, Toward a Feminist Theory of the State, Cambridge (Massachusetts), Harvard University Press, 1991: 203.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Have you ever heard of a ‘crazy ex-boyfriend’?

-
Image
Spoiler alert: don’t read if you intend to read/watch “The Girl on the Train” I just saw the film adaptation of the British bestseller “The Girl on the Train” and it made me see more clearly the utterly political aspect of the ‘crazy ex-girlfriend’ trope. The film shows an alcoholic woman who is gaslighted by her (former) husband into thinking that she is prone to angry and violent outbursts during her drinking blackouts. The manipulation not only makes her doubt her sanity, but leads her to think she killed another woman. Although I do not really care for the thriller and crime story aspect of the film, I found it interesting because it resonates with the white western misogynist and racist ideal of emotional restraint that hurts so many people (the ‘crazy ex-girlfriend’ trope, the ‘angry black woman’ trope, etc.). Emotions are political folks, and let’s pause for a second to thank second-wave feminists for pointing it out so clearly to us, despite all the shortcomings of t
Read more

The expectation that you will place yourself in a 'one down' position

-
"Deference - or the capacity to place oneself in a 'one down' position vis-à-vis others - is a characteristic demanded of all those in disadvantaged structural positions, including women, racial-ethnic minorities, and others in subordinate structural statuses. When deference is made a job requirement, members of structurally disadvantaged groups are likely to be overrepresented in such jobs or even be seen as better suited for the work than members of more advantaged groups." Amy S. Wharton (2009), "The Sociology of Emotional Labor", The Annual Review of Sociology, 36: 147-165.
Read more

Women attribute success to external factors, such as luck, men attribute their success to their own abilities

-
"Women who are career-oriented tend to have high self-esteem and self-confidence, and this factor is predictive of women's career achievements, especially in male-dominated occupations such as scientist or politician. Women generally tend to underestimate themselves, whereas men usually tend to overestimate their abilities and performance. This pattern is linked to women's tendency to attribute success to external factors, such as luck, whereas men attribute their success to their own abilities, (...). Women tend to attribute their failures to internal sources, such as lack of ability or effort, whereas men excuse failure by external factors, such as bad luck", Catherine Hakim (2000),  Work-Lifestyle Choices in the 21st Century,  Oxford, Oxford University Press: 186.
Read more