July 2012
6 posts
1904
The Tallest Man On Earth
“1904” - The Tallest Man On Earth
“As a feminist, I cannot simultaneously believe that “the personal is political” and that a white American terrorist murderer has “no political motive”. Everything we are and do is informed by our politics, while would mass murder be any different? the disdain for human life necessary to execute the crime IS political. The insistance that a white man acted in a vacuum causes me severe cognitive dissonance. How can he be devoid of politics when he is the by product of a system that upholds heteronormative, patriarchal, white supremacist values? That those values have become so ingrained and pervasive doesn’t mean that the killer has “no political motive”, it just means that those politics are so normalized to the point of being invisible.”
—Flavia Dzodan (Red Light Politics)
Where Was I
Rosie Thomas
“Where Was I” - Rosie Thomas
“Dudebros: When you’re a proud member of a class that has been dominant for millennia, and occasionally you find yourself not on top, that’s not oppression–that’s backfiring. It’s a side effect. No system is perfect. When you create and enforce a system of gender roles in which “real men” are strong, fearless, stoic, and violent; and “real women” are delicate, emotional, compassionate, and nurturing; you will occasionally find yourself held to those same standards. When you establish combat and money-earning as “men’s work” and childrearing and caregiving as “women’s work,” you will occasionally find yourself stuffed into an assigned role. Even when they aren’t your standards or your preferred roles, per se–when you personally want to diverge from them and are being punished for it–it’s still your system, your patriarchy, and you’re still soaking in its benefits.”
—Caperton