Take the What Western Feminist quiz and notice that, when I took it, only 11% wound answering questions in a way that would suggest a non-foundationlist conception of sex/gender. Not the best indicator of attitudes toward pornography and what kind of clothing to wear, but one.
http://blog.pulpculture.org/2005/12/20/feminist-quiz/
the notion that anyone, especially a man who considers himself a feminist (and I consider him one, too) would make the claim that Hustler is a misogynist rag, while not also contextualizing that claim to understand that almost every rag/media outlet/whatever in this country carries misogynistic images of men and distorted oppressive images of men, people of color, etc etc. is exactly why this view is not a common way of thinking on the left.
I'd do a Bitch Poll but I've got other things to do. I someone want to write it up, though, I'll host it and try to get people to take it. I think you'll find that acceptance of pornography or tolerance of it and sex work is not anywhere near a dominant position on the left, let alone among feminists.
if I or anyone else here can't point out to a fellow feminist that s/he's making claims that are unsupported, simply because you want to call it a gang up, we are in deep doo doo. Chip can hold this same view. He just needs to have a better argument -- and stop telling other feminists that they aren't feminists be/c they don't agree with him.
At 03:36 PM 12/20/2005, Carrol Cox wrote:
>Chip Berlet wrote:
> >
> > For the Record:
> >
> > I do not support censorship.
> > I do not support "protecting" women from pornography.
> > I do not think there is an established link between pornography and
> > crime.
> > I do not think viewing erotic images hurts people.
> > I do not think reading erotic text hurts people.
> >
> > I think Hustler reflects a male supremacist viewpoint.
> >
> >[clip]
> > think that writers who write for Hustler are making a mistake because
> > they are giving an imprimatur to a male suppremacist organ (you should
> > pardon the pun).
> >
> > I think this is bad politics. I think this is not a wise way to build a
> > progressive coalition. I will not write for Hustler. I urge other
> > writers to not write for Hustler. [clip]
>
>And immediately after
>
>Gar Lipow wrote:
> >
> > On 12/20/05, Chip Berlet <c.berlet at publiceye.org> wrote:
> > <snip>
> > > To clarify the Hustler issue, I seek gender equality and fairness and do
> > > not think Hustler reflects such a system. While I do not support
> > > shutting down Hustler, or even expending much energy protesting it, I
> > > think that writers who write for Hustler are making a mistake because
> > > they are giving an imprimatur to a male suppremacist organ (you should
> > > pardon the pun).
> > >
> > <snip>
> >
> > And that is what you have not supported. In what sense is Hustler a
> > male supremacist organ in a way that the NY Times is not?
>
>Gar could not conceivably write this (placing the burden of proof on
>Chip) except for the fact that pro-pornography has long been established
>as THE PARTY LINE, THE ACCEPTED DOGMA on the left, and anyone who even
>remotely questions that dogma is immeidately ganged up on.
>
>Carrol
>___________________________________
>http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
"Scream-of-consciousness prose, peppered with sociological observations, political ruminations, and in-yore-face colloquial assaults."
-- Dennis Perrin, redstateson.blogspot.com
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