For Feisty Feminists

I mentioned in an earlier post that there is a movement called ‘masculism’ that “consists of social theories, political movements, and moral philosophies primarily based on the experiences of men.” (From Wikipedia).

First of all, what’s up with calling it ‘masculism’? That’s not even a word. To be a word, there would have to be something called a ‘mascule,’ which there is not. It’s very interesting that the beliefs I find offensive are often espoused by people that are complete idiots and have only a dim understanding of the English language.

‘Masculists’ (and yes, I will continue to put these terms in quotes, as they are not real words) also have a very tenuous grasp on basic logic. For example, they believe that violence against women is frowned upon by society but violence against men is encouraged; that legislation such as VAWA (the Violence Against Women Act) is discriminatory against men, even though, in the words of Twisty Faster, “violence against women is a fucking global humanitarian crisis, yo”; that the tendency of advocates to believe women when they say they have been abused means that men don’t receive fair trials; that higher auto insurance rates for men constitutes discrimination (that argument is my personal favorite); and a whole bunch of other asinine crap that anyone with the power of observation and more than 3 firing synapses could deduce is nothing more than asinine crap.

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In my continuing quest to take the ‘law’ out of law school, I signed up for an independent study. This independent study is completely policy-based: it focuses on Seattle’s 10-year plan to end homelessness. Those of you who know me in real life know how passionately I feel about homelessness and housing, and that I believe homeless people are both actively and passively discriminated against. Also, housing is not just what you get for being a good middle-class worker bee - it’s a human right.

This plan is, from what I can tell, a complete crock. I think it’s mostly for people who want ‘Member, King County Committee to End Homelessness’ on their resume - you know, so they can look all concerned about social justice and shit.

The 2006 Progress Report highlights some of my misgivings. The contents of the report mostly fall into two categories: 1. reassurances that the committee is doing important stuff and achieving many goals! But that’s pretty much all they can say about it, they can’t give you specifics. 2. Touching Stories about someone who used to be homeless.

It’s hard to explain exactly why the Touching Stories about people who used to be homeless stick in my craw. I think it’s great that Sheila, or Joe, or whoever, has housing now. It’s just that when you tell 10 of those stories, you are not showing that you have ended homelessness or changed anything systemic. In fact, I would argue that you are actually doing a disservice to homeless people who are still homeless - after all, if Jana could get housing, why can’t Eddie? It reeks of the pull yourself up by your own bootstraps, god helps those who help themselves mentality. Also, many of the stories feature subjects who are part of a group - such as veterans, chronic alcoholics, domestic violence victims, or teenagers - who are eligible for special assistance that is not available to everyone. (’Everyone’ meaning those who aren’t part of the nobly suffering ‘good’ homeless crowd that has a societally approved excuse for homelessness, and don’t think they aren’t getting the shit end of the stick as well.)

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Once the party died down at FFF headquarters, I realized we have a blog to run! After cleaning the margarita salt out of my hair and unearthing my shoes from the giant pile of nuts that had spilled from our man-shaped pinata (rest in peace, Gordy) I sat down to get to work and fill the pages with the same sublime thoughts that fill my mind.

I know my thoughts will be fascinating to everyone who comes to this page - i.e., my parents and the friends I make look at it. First of all, can I pull off clogs? Also, what is Christian Bale like in person? What did that footage in ‘Grizzly Man’ that Werner Herzog did not play sound like? Where’s my burrito?

Mostly though, my thoughts turned to Masculinism. There is a definition of masculinism you will find on urban dictionary or Wikipedia that is basically a men’s rights movement, and it is inexplicably called ‘masculism’ at times. It’s a bunch of asinine crap - but kind of hilarious in its ridiculousness.

The other definition of masculinism - a definition that is useful for something other than my own amusement at MRA’s stupidity - is thinking and acting in a way that does not necessarily discriminate solely based on physical gender, but privileges and rewards those who behave in ways that are traditionally thought of as masculine (note that I am not saying that there are characteristics that are naturally masculine or feminine, but that our society thinks of traits in that way). I first recognized this phenomenon while I was living in a cooperative that housed 14 people. Often in meetings, the people who could most forcefully make their points while appealing to logic and reason were greatly respected, whereas those who showed any emotion or based their decisions on how they felt were looked down on. These behaviors crossed gender lines, yet it is still an issue of sexism because it denigrates traditionally feminine behaviors, communication styles, and modes of thinking.

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The much ballyhooed “group blog with the overarching theme of feminism, but exploring many other topics” has been successfully founded. If you haven’t heard the ballyhoo, it’s probably because you are not one of the bloggers’ roommates. Right now at FFF Headquarters, we are celebrating in the traditional feminist manner - a pitcher of margaritas and a man-shaped pinata filled with nuts. We use it to channel our festering rage against everyone with xy chromosomes - and their nuts.

If you didn’t know that the pinata part is sarcasm, you are either 1. unaware of the man-hating stereotypes of feminists it is meant to mock, or 2. unable to pick up on sarcasm in many situations. If 2 is the case, I apologize, it must be hard for you to cope in this modern world. It might be difficult for you to cope in this blog.

We will be updating soon with more information about our goals with this blog, and substantive posts! Hopefully it will last a few months before we lose all interest. Six months, to be exact, because that’s how long we had to pre-pay for the hosting.

Cheers - and cupcakes for all!