Something about feminism.

*This blog contains possible triggers. Please be forewarned.

I think we're in a sad state of affairs when a blog like this has to be written, especially in 2013, but alas, here we are. Mibba's no stranger to this, whether it be in-fighting about Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" or slut-shaming. I decided I'd throw in my two cents and deal with whatever comes my way because of it.

Now, to get it out of the way, yes I find Robin Thicke's song offensive and I don't care if a woman has sex with 596 people because it's none of my business. Moving on.

I'm going to throw out a few articles I feel are important and explain why. Some will be less extreme than others, but I think they all help prove the point I'm trying to make. All links are in bold.

The Sexist World of Sports Marketing
Even if you're not a sports fan, if you're a woman and this doesn't offend you in the slightest, I guess you're a better person than me. This sort of attitude runs rampant in the sports world. Women aren't "real" fans; all they care about are the cute players. We constantly have to prove our knowledge, and even if we list every baseball stat since 1908, we're dismissed and disqualified. Women can't possibly know as much about sports as men do, and that's the bottom line. I work in the sports department of a newspaper and I can't tell you how many coaches/players/etc. refuse to talk to me because I'm not Patrick or Anthony or Josh. They will flat out refuse to do interviews with me and then they'll call about complain that my editor sent a woman to do a man's job. I have never met these coaches and players, therefore I've never done anything to offend them other than be born a female. How is that fair or even remotely acceptable?

Anonymous Plans Revenge on Missouri Town After Boy Gets Away With Rape, Victim’s House is Burned Down and Family Forced to Move
I don't even know where to begin with this one other than to say it's the embodiment of rape culture. A popular football player raped a 13-year-old girl, admitted to doing so on tape, and law enforcement wound up dropping the case for "lack of evidence." Did I mention the rapist's grandfather was a member of the Missouri House of Representatives? Because there's that, too. These quotes from the sheriff are my favorite part (emphasis my own; original source for quotes can be found here):

“White is angry about the social media slurry surrounding the case – but his criticism is directed at the Colemans. The alleged victims were “harpooning the case,” he said, taking a case with seven witnesses to a case with 200 witnesses, which muddied the waters. White agrees with Rice’s decision to dismiss the case.

“What really fell apart were the victims and the victims’ families. They’re the ones that actually, absolutely destroyed this case,” White said. “All on their own, all by themselves.”

“At least the suspects were smart enough to keep their mouths shut after it all happened.”

Let's blame a 13-year-old girl for getting raped. She absolutely, undeniably, undoubtedly wanted this to happen to her. She wanted to be left on her front lawn with 2-4 inch gashes inside her vagina. What teenager wouldn't want that?

Frat Bro Writes The Rapiest Email Ever: "Luring Your Rapebait"
Do I really need to explain this one? Some *ahem* wrote an email essentially explaining how to rape a girl at a frat party, because if you can't convince a sober, coherent woman to have consensual sex with you, the next logical step is to get her wasted and then rape her. Because duh.

The Case Against Female Self-Esteem
I'm still trying to convince myself this one is satire, because there's no other way to explain this. No one in their right mind could possibly write this, but then again maybe that's the whole point. It doesn't matter your gender or sexuality or race, if this idiotic blog post doesn't send you into a fit of rage, I have no words. None.

This person (who identifies as an anti-feminist and rightist, so whoop there it is) has also written gems such as Women Should Have to Pass a Cooking Class Before Graduating from College and Why Fat Girls Don't Deserve to be Loved.

I will give $1 billion to whomever can explain to me how these things are okay and acceptable. No, it isn't "just his opinion," so don't give me that. Having an opinion doesn't mean it's harmless or right.

I won't link to anything else; I think I've proved my point. Now on to my two cents.

I don't think there's anything more frustrating than women being perpetrators of this. Has everyone read that article/piece about why you never call a woman crazy? It isn't the exact one I was looking for, but I think this sums it up quite well (and it's written from a male's perspective) — On Labeling Women “Crazy”. Well, that's how I feel when I see women putting other women down.

Whether you'd label yourself a feminist or not, you have to at least realize that this is a straight white man's world we're living in. They control everything, and they tell us how we're supposed to view people who are not other straight while males. Women are crazy, too sensitive, easily offended, etc., to say nothing about people of different races and sexual orientations.

How can you dismiss one woman's plight just because you don't personally agree with it? How can you generalize all women and say they're *insert misogynistic example here* and think it's acceptable? I don't understand. Women are trained to see other women as a threat, an enemy, something we simply cannot coexist with in nature. Why?

Now, please don't take this blog as some anti-male rant. That isn't at all what I'm saying. I'm trying to explain why I believe feminism matters and to express my frustration over this perpetual woman vs. woman we seem to be fighting.
October 15th, 2013 at 02:30am