Man Men and the question of feminism

In honor of Mad Men season 2 released on DVD this week, Jezebel has put together 15 feminist moments in Mad Men. They range from women actively taking control of their lives to men exerting privilege over women in both domestic and public spheres. Regardless of if you've seen the show, it's worth checking out.

The implicit and explicit logic behind this list is that the show is, indeed, feminist. Mad Men's creator, Matt Weiner, believes his show is feminist "exactly because of its painfully accurate portrayal of the treatment of women in the workplace in the early 1960s."

I'll put this point up for discussion - in a show that frequently depicts vastly unfeminist actions - blatant sexual harassment, patronizing attitudes by male characters towards female characters regardless of relationship (boss/secretary, husband/wife) - can we consider it feminist? Does the stark portrayal of this world expose the sexism of the times and put it in absurd contrast to the inherent sexism of today?

Or does it fail, unable to make that leap and just remains to reinforce patriarchy in a work enviornment?

To be or not to be a feminist...

It amazes me how willingly some people shirk the label "feminist." It's even more amazing the answers some people give for doing so. I have talked to people recently who clearly hold feminist ideas, yet they refuse the label and don't even recognize their own ideas as feminist in nature. Lindsay has covered a similar topic before.

One of the most striking patterns is that people feel that they can't be a feminist if they don't engage in some sort of activism. But what constitutes activism? Even if it's making choices to reject sexism in your own life, that's a form of activism in my book. But a lot of people I have spoken to seem to disagree.

What about you, readers? Have you ever had a similar experience, with someone who clearly holds feminist views rejecting the label for a reason you couldn't understand? What do you feel constitutes feminist activism?

My feminist awakening and the Global Gag Rule

Word has it that President-Elect Obama plans to rescind the Global Gag Rule as soon as he takes office, which is awesome. I'm particularly glad to hear this, and hope it happens immediately. Women all over the world are hurting because of the Gag Rule, and they don't need one more day of conservative politics on their bodies.

I have a special affinity for the issue of the Gag Rule, one that's wrapped up in my feminist-coming-of-age story.

Growing up, my parents weren't particularly outspoken regarding politics; I knew my parents voted Republican but I never really knew why and didn't really care. In my high school civics class, I took a survey on various political positions and was a little surprised to see my viewpoints were decidedly liberal and I was closely aligned with the Democratic party - although now I think I was just surprised because I assumed I'd have Republican leanings as opposed to being surprised based on policies.

When I went off to college, I became more politically aware, but not active. Aware, but on a distant level where it was all theoretical. One day, my friend invited me to an informational meeting about the March for Women's Lives in 2004. I went and signed up, but it was all so ... abstract. I didn't quite realize exactly what was at stake and how large of a march it was until we got there and literally, my world changed.

We took a 30 hour bus ride from St. Paul, MN to Washington D.C. My friend and I couldn't afford a hotel room, so we contacted students at Georgetown and we ended up staying at another student's house on their floor with other marchers. They were radical lesbians and really fun, given that we were awkward college freshman from the midwest... Also my first introduction to The L Word was a poster in their bathroom, but my love for The L Word is another story.

The March was amazing and life changing and still to this day, when I found out my current roommate was also at the March, we hugged. Never before had I been surrounded by so many people passionate about what they believed in, and fighting for sovereignty of their own bodies. I was afraid to tell my parents that I was going to the March, believing that their politics and religion would disapprove and they'd be disappointed in me. I waited until I was on the bus to tell them I was going (not that I thought they'd stop me... just that I put it off as long as possible), but my expectations and fears were unfounded. Instead of disappointment, my mom was proud of what I was doing (although she thought staying with strangers in DC was a little sketchy) and the experience opened up discussions on my family's history between my mom, sister and I. Looking back, I only wish they could have been there with me, but I'm sure there will be many opportunities in the future.

After a virus attacked my computer junior year of college, I lost a bunch of my photos. They might be on discs somewhere, but I'm not holding out hope for those. This blurry picture-of-a-pictures might be the only picture I have of my roommates and I at the March for Women's Lives. I didn't have a sweatshirt and I was kinda cold.

After returning from the trip, I ditched my paper topic for my Model United Nations class and instead opted to write on the Global Gag Rule and its impact in Africa. Here's my closing paragraphs from my paper (be kind... I was 18 when I wrote this):

The most obvious solution is to revoke the Global Gag Rule immediately, restoring funding to cut programs like the International Planned Parenthood Foundation and allowing other NGOs to speak freely on reproductive health choices. The Global Gag Rule doesn’t affect the level of abortions because it doesn’t affect the occurrence of unwanted pregnancies. It only forces clinics that offer education on family planning and reproductive health to discontinue services, and in drastic cases but not uncommon, to close. The Gag Rule “causes more unwanted pregnancies, more unsafe abortions, and arguably, more deaths” (The Global Gag Rule: Putting Politics Before Public Health, 2004). The Global Gag Rule is one flounced by pro-life politicians, but in all reality is as anti-life as possible. This rule demeans women and puts the personal choice of reproductive health into the hands of male politicians on a different continent, thousands of miles away.

While many NGOs are cutting back on reproductive health services in order to keep US funding, several have denied US backing in order to continue informing women, men and couples on contraceptives, family planning and safe abortions. Supporting these programs is the best way to directly help and influence the reproductive freedom of people in other countries.

The likelihood of the Gag Rule being revoked before November 2004 is incredibly slim, considering the current state of affairs. Hopefully in January 2005 the new president will attend to this matter, but until then there’s still things that can be done. Contacting your state representatives and voicing your opinion is an option that applies to all issues concerning citizens, and works well in this situation as well. Raising public awareness of Bush’s war against women not only increases your commitment to seeing change, but also impassions other individuals who feel strongly about it as well. The influence of the Internet is a major force in politics these days, as seen in the rise and fall of Howard Dean. There are groups that you can get in contact with, and if none suit your specific needs, create a group. Most importantly, all citizens need to go out and vote in the presidential election. If you don’t vote, then you don’t have a right to complain about the state of affairs. Being a concerned citizen involves taking an active part in shaping and molding how the future of the United States looks.

In President Bush’s State of the Union address, he singled out Africa as a primary place for receiving HIV/AIDS education and drugs. Sadly, Africa is also the place where the global gag rule devastatingly impacts the hardest, causing hundreds of people to die from being denied the basic human right of family planning and access to education and information. The level of unintended pregnancy is lowest in countries with greatest access to effective methods of contraception and where women play a major role in family decision-making (Family Planning: A Human Right). In an effort to influence the entire world and push one faction’s ideals, the United States has managed to alienate itself and anger many people, domestic and foreign alike. The current status quo is unacceptable, and the statistics are overwhelmingly tragic. The Mexico City Policy needs to be revoked as soon as possible, in order to free the world from this gag rule implemented by conservatives whose idea of sex education is no education. Women and children are dying from the effects of this “pro-life” policy, and that must be stopped immediately.

It's a little odd to read something I wrote five years ago, but the opinions I expressed there haven't changed. I might cringe at some of the phrases and bright-eyed optimism, but since I wrote that, things have gotten worse. The Bush administration has cast a eight-year shadow over the world, slashing funding for groups that even discuss women's health, all in the name of religious and moral absolutes.

For the past eight years the Global Gag Rule has stood as a reminder of my feminist awakening and my ever present awareness that as a privileged nation, the United States isn't doing enough for our sisters suffering in this world. To finally see it written out of law will be a good day indeed.

Well, you ARE such a feminist. Get over it.

I heard this in my French class yesterday:

Girl: (mumble mumble mumble) 'Cause I'm such a feminist, right? Haha!

To be fair, I didn't hear the context in which the comment was said, or know much about the girl's personal history. However, as a lover of sarcasm and verbal ironies, I can tell when someone says something they don't mean. Tone of voice is everything here, and the word "feminist" was just dripping with disdain.

We had just finished small group discussions about the movie Apres-Vous about a man who saves the life of someone trying to commit suicide and while trying to set him back up with his girlfriend (who dumped the suicidal man), falls for her himself. It's not a particularly remarkable film in itself - the women are simplistically one-dimensional and the film doesn't even pass the "two women talking" aspect of the Bechdel Test. The main female character complains that she doesn't like being alone aka not dating anyone.

There is a scene where the two men each climb up to the woman's balcony and look in, wanting to go in and woo her, hands poised on the door handle. It's set up humorously, but I'm not sure what's so damn funny about stalking someone. Not to mention the multiple references to the woman's ex-boyfriend (after the suicidal man) encouraging the woman to drink so she'll be easier to get into bed, after she dumps him for cheating on her. The whole plot revolves around the main character trying to get the suicidal man and the woman back together, even though the woman calls the man overly-emotional and someone she doesn't want to date. The woman's desires and thoughts have no bearing in the plot of the film; she has no agency - it just matters to get her hooked up with one of the men.

All in all, a run-of-the-mill bad comedy with misogynist overtones; at least I know now the French can make just as shitty movies as we can here in America.

So when the girl said, "'Cause I'm such a feminist, right? Haha!" I'm guessing it wasn't because she was pissed about the balcony stalking or drugged rape or all-around negative female portrayal, but that someone said the word "feminism" and she jumped to the bra-burning angry dyke stereotype.

Here's what I have to say to that: Do you like being able to go to school? Are you for equal pay for equal work, regardless of gender? How about your best friend from Mexico (someone she mentions in class), do you want her to make 53 cents to every dollar a white man makes? Are you comfortable with handing your bodily sovereignty over to a politician who cares more about making sure you have no say over the activities of your uterus than about you? Do you like being able to afford birth control of any kind? How about having access to birth control in general? Will you concede all decisions about sexual activity to a future spouse? Do you like having the choice to get married at all?

Well then, let me break the bad news: YOU'RE A FEMINIST.

I know, it's kinda shocking, but it's true. Don't worry, your leg hair and armpit hair aren't going to grow out instantly and you'll still be attracted to whoever you want to be. But it's ok. You can call yourself a feminist and we won't think any less of you. Seriously. It's ok to be a feminist. Some might even say it's good to be one. You'll have better sex and relationships.

So... yeah. You ARE such a feminist. Congratulations!

My feminism, my life

Cross-posted at The Feminist Underground.

As far as my definition of feminism goes, it's been really hard to come up with. When I first began calling myself a feminist during my first term at college (Fall 2007), my boyfriend had a really hard time understanding. We had several difficult discussions in which he asked me to explain what feminism was so he could better understand where I was coming from. I finally got through to him by explaining that feminism, for me, was a general understanding that women suffer many inequalities that do not exist for men because of the society that we live in which has been structured in many ways to favor men. I then explained that the way in which I practice feminism is by recognizing those instances in which people, the government, the media, etc. treat women unjustly and I call them out for it because no change will come if people are so used to sexism that they don't even notice it. I feel as if true equality cannot come about if our society does not first recognize that their are inequalities and decide how to address them. That is all feminism is about - equality. And true equality certainly isn't going to come about if we merely put a band-aid on the problem of sexism and pretend its all better. As a feminist, I try to dig out the problems in our society and bring them to the surface so they can be properly addressed.

Some of the ways I practice feminism in my life:

This post is a little illustration of how I practice feminism in my daily life by recognizing misogyny in everyday media, like the music that I constantly listen to. I realized, while writing this post, that although some of the songs by this band (Nickelback) clearly were offensive and sexist, others were less so. I had a difficult time critiquing them because I like their music, which hurts me as a feminist because I know it's not always respectful.

I also try to fight misogyny in the media by refusing to purchase "women's" magazines which I feel are damaging to women's self-esteem and confidence. My action project for my first gender and women's studies class involved this idea.

I also call out other media, like television shows or websites, that are sexist (here and here). When I do that, I get a lot of negative responses, like people think I am acting superior to them because they like those shows. Even when I try to explain why I won't watch certain shows, people often choose to ignore me out of spite for my supposed superiority complex. That has led to a lot of conflict in myself - Can a feminist like some misogynist media and really call him/herself a feminist? I have decided that that is indeed possible, as long as one does not passively accept the misogyny and is able to identify and recognize it.

I also practice feminism on a slightly less-than-daily basis when I am in school by doing a feminist radio hour during which my co-host and I talk about feminism and try to get casual radio listeners involved in discussing the sexism that exists around us everyday. This has been a really empowering experience for me so far because I have had numerous fellow students tell me that they listened to our radio show and they were enlightened about many of the problems that still exist in our society when it comes to gender equality. The same can be said about blogging, which is a big way in which I practice feminism in my life.