[lbo-talk] feminism and the failure[s] of capitalism

[andie nachgeborenen]

More anecdotal evidence. Some years ago, when I was
teaching at Kalamazoo College, a first-rate if
underrated little liberal arts school in Michigan, I
recalla  discussion with some young women students,
then aged 18-20, very progressive, but extremely
reluctant to be called "feminist." They believed
everything that feminists believe, but imagined
feminists to be unattractive lesbians with short hair
and no makeup or bras or perfume who hate men. (They
were all very attractive young ladies who liked to
dress and either had or were pursuing young men.) They
didn't know what to call themselves. "Equalists," one
suggested. I gently urged them to consider whether, if
the term were to catch on, male suprematists wouldn't
try to give that term bad connotations too. jks

--- Eubulides <paraconsistent at comcast.net> wrote:
> What women want
> 
> Equal pay for equal work is a noble demand, so why
> does feminism seem so
> embarrassing these days?
> 
> Zoe Williams
> Tuesday July 1, 2003
> The Guardian
> 
> The Equal Opportunities Commission publishes a new
> report tomorrow. It has
> rather a broad reach, but its main points are that
> women earn less than
> men and, furthermore, undertake the lioness's share
> of domestic chores -
> not because we are forced to, but because we choose
> to. It's only natural;
> having cash in our pockets ruins the line of most
> quality garments and,
> besides, why do you think we have smaller feet? So
> we can get closer to
> the sink (oh, the old ones are always the best -
> I'll tell you why dogs
> are better than girlfriends in a minute*).
> 
> If this doesn't sound terribly equal, nor, for that
> matter, loaded with
> exciting opportunity, don't blame the commission.
> All it did was assign
> the survey, which was undertaken by the Future
> Foundation, and contains a
> wonderfully mysterious quote from a Young Southern
> Woman: "Every time I
> think of feminism, I just get this really awful
> feeling." And that's all
> there is to explain the absurd claim that women
> "choose" lower pay for the
> same work - to complain about it would be feminism,
> which is kind of icky.
> 

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