<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <html> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1"> <title></title> </head> <body> What exactly does it mean to be "empowered"? Idle minds want to know.... Joanna ravi wrote: <blockquote type="cite" cite="mid451936A6.8080004@exitleft.org"> <pre wrap=""><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.alternet.org/rights/41903/">http://www.alternet.org/rights/41903/</a> </pre> <blockquote type="cite"> <pre wrap="">[...] According to ifeminism, "freedom and choice do not threaten women. Government and orthodoxy do." Functioning within a libertarian, post second-wave politic, ifeminists propose that women are both intelligent and empowered enough to know what is right for them. They believe that telling women what is or is not best for them by enacting legislation against pornography is "paternalistic" to women who choose to work in the sex-industry, and affirmative action only "embeds gender privilege" for women in the law. So then what's wrong with ifeminism? Plenty. As feminists, we all want equality. But according to ifeminism, "equality" is synonymous with equal treatment under the existing legal, economic and social systems. In other words, rather than opposing the status quo, ifeminism operates within it. While other feminists view the law as inherently unjust and in need of reconstruction, ifeminists have absolutely no desire to prosecute pimps, legislate against sexual harassment, or otherwise compromise and challenge the default male standard. [...] </pre> </blockquote> <pre wrap=""> --ravi </pre> </blockquote> </body> </html>