"And let's put one lie to rest for all time: the lie that men are oppressed, too, by sexism--the lie that there can be such a thing as 'men's liberation groups.' Oppression is something that one group of people commits against another group specifically because of a 'threatening' characteristic shared by the latter group--skin color or sex or age, etc. The oppressors are indeed ****** UP by being masters (racism hurts whites, sexual stereotypes are harmful to men) but those masters are not OPPRESSED. Any master has the alternative of divesting himself of sexism or racism--the oppressed have no alternative--for they have no power--but to fight. In the long run, Women's Liberation will of course free men--but in the short run it's going to COST men a lot of privilege, which no one gives up willingly or easily. Sexism is NOT the fault of women--kill your fathers, not your mothers. Source - Robin Morgan, Goodbye to All That, pg 245."
2007-08-11 09:09:33 · 13 answers · asked by Deirdre O 7 in Social Science ➔ Gender Studies
Kind of an Audre Lorde, thing--the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house. Well, I have to say that the overall impression I get from this is that women are helpless, and I honestly don't think women want to be perpetuating that particular stereotype. I also don't like the last line (as mentioned by others). There are so many generalizations here, that I find it really difficult to swallow any of it. The notion that there can be no men's liberation groups bothers me--men oppress men, some women oppress men, and if these men form groups to feel empowered, what's the issue? There is no way I buy into the Stanley Fish school of thought which suggests that only whites can be racists--which is also what Morgan is implying. I would have to say that this argument has more negatives than positives, and it perpetuates stereotypes feminists have been trying to eliminate. IMHO.
2007-08-11 18:00:00 · answer #1 · answered by teeleecee 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Hmmm. It's an interesting point that she has. I do think, though, that gender stereotyping does a lot of harm to men. Heh, is it possible to oppress yourself? Because, while women do definitely have to deal with a lot that most men can't even seem to comprehend, men are hurt more by sexism than white people are hurt by racism. The expectations put on men to "act like a man" are often just as heavy as the burdens placed on women with femininity. It's easy to brush those off, but I've seen a few too many sensitive, intelligent young men who were completely f#cked up because they grew up in uber-macho rural areas.
This is not to say that men's burden is anything at all like ours, and sexism is _not_ women's fault. I just don't want to downplay what many of them deal with. She's totally right about them having to give up a lot of privilege, which is why I think there's so much backlash out there.
Oh, yeah, and I almost forgot: why are we supposed to be killing anyone? I really hope that was just hyperbole.
2007-08-11 11:10:58 · answer #2 · answered by random6x7 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Not exactly "militant"; but I do speak out against feminism in real life, especially when the subject is being brought up during a discussion. I also take the time to inform and educate others about the dangers of the feminist movement.
2016-05-19 23:30:12 · answer #3 · answered by lily 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think that men are indeed affected by oppression... but the oppressor is not one gender...it is both. It is society. I believe the same holds true for female oppression. If we really want to get to the root of the problem, we have to look at how we raise our children. We have to teach them to value and respect both genders. We have to extinguish the behavior that oppresses others. We have to do this as a collective...but we can start one family, one person, at a time. Sexism is the fault of a society that permits and encourages it. It's a problem that affects us all, and the solution lies with changing society's views and actions. It's a truly formidable task, but one that is worthy of the effort.
2007-08-11 15:49:53 · answer #4 · answered by It's Ms. Fusion if you're Nasty! 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
I think racism doesn't hurt the dominant race group as much as sexism.
but sexism does hurt both sexes. Guys get ridiculed too for doing "girl" stuff which is why maybe masculinity is emphasized so much for the guys, like if they aren't good as sports they aren't as macho as the athletes.
2007-08-11 19:02:17 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
The last line - ''kill your fathers, not your mothers.'' - is very misandrist.
I also have to disagree with what she says ''men cannot be oppressed''. Right... just like a person *can't* possible hate themselves, just like a person *can't* possibly kill themselves. A person CAN hate themselves, a person CAN kill themselves, a person can love someone so much they oppress themselves (in a sense which would be doing everything) for that person. If you had a daughter/son, wouldn't you do everything for them, including sacrificing your life so they may live? That's what the men were doing for their women.
''The oppressors [men] are ****** UP'' - another way to say men are evil.
Also very racist. Whites suffer from racism and so do Blacks.
She's not the type of woman any REAL feminist should be proud of due to her extreme misandry and blatant racism.
2007-08-11 09:18:35 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 8⤊ 3⤋
The lady probably did not grow up in a very balanced family life. But she is probably writing books for others who share a common background. Real men and real women do not spend their time being angry, mean, vindictive, and engaging in other forms of counter productive behavior. If you want a model of what to be, Start with something as simple as the boy scout or girl scout law. If you live this way, you will know what love is, and you will have it in your life.
2007-08-11 09:49:27 · answer #7 · answered by Bibs 7 · 4⤊ 2⤋
These reactions imply that it's time to rehabilitate Valerie Solanos and her hilarious Society for Cutting Up Men! Where's your sense of humour?
Of course it's just as funny as Larry Flynn's front page of "Hustler" - a women being processed through a meat grinder?
2007-08-11 21:17:55 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 2⤋
I've said it before- certain people act like viruses. Certain concepts tend to affect the minds of people who can in turn damage society and their own families.
Feminism in itself is not one of these concepts. Garbage ideologies peddled by a woman like Morgan, however, fits right in with them.
2007-08-11 19:05:25 · answer #9 · answered by Robinson0120 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
She also said: "I feel that 'man-hating' is an honorable and viable political act, that the oppressed have a right to class-hatred against the class that is oppressing them."
She also held demonstrations to try to free Valerie Solanas, who attempted to murder Andy Warhol. For anyone who doesn't know who Valerie Solanas is, here is a copy of her manifesto: http://gos.sbc.edu/s/solanas.html . Valerie Solanas was worse than Andrea Dworkin and set up a Feminist Organization that believed in the annihilation of men(S.C.U.M.--Society for Cutting Up Men)
She also helped to create W.I.T.C.H. ---Women's International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell---http://www.jofreeman.com/photos/witch.html
Considering she was the editor of Ms. Magazine, it seems that they would try to hide all of this, of course you can't find anything on her, on the magazine's website. I doubt Ms. Magazine and the feminists who love the magazine really care... she also became editor-of-chief of the magazine(they promote man-haters from within.)
Is feminism about man-hating or not? Can't fence-walk here. Have to make a choice one way or the other. Or is claiming that feminism is not about man-hating a way to get new recruits?
Definitely old-school stuff that feminists have tried to cover up.
2007-08-11 10:14:36 · answer #10 · answered by Nep 6 · 5⤊ 2⤋