tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5827968588643415787.post7822932128215252043..comments2024-03-27T06:58:00.659-05:00Comments on Balancing Jane: Oxfam: Our Food and Women's RightsMichellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07801229525416203656noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5827968588643415787.post-70892830859492775532013-04-26T07:40:25.037-05:002013-04-26T07:40:25.037-05:00I realize that someone who came onto my blog , rea...I realize that someone who came onto my blog , read one old post and immediately started calling me a "bigot" for supporting fair treatment for food workers is probably not going to listen to any arguments I make, but I like to get my morning started strong, so I'm going to make one anyway. <br /><br />Wow. What, exactly, am I supposed to feel shame about? I watched this video, and the (very few) things that I agree with, I don't do. Extrapolating one feminist perspective with all feminist perspectives is ridiculous, for one. Secondly, this woman saying that if she were a man on a battlefield, she would "appreciate being objectified" is the end of it for me. Guess what? You don't get to decide if other people appreciate being objectified. The objectified people get to make that call for themselves. <br /><br />I don't in any way see men as "disposable." In fact, I have argued in several places on this very blog that men must be treated more fairly if gender equality in general (and feminism in particular) is going to work. I've talked about equally shared parenting and the rights of men to be seen as capable and able caregivers. I've talked about stay-at-home dads and the need for their choices to be seen as valid as a woman's choice to do the same (and for both choices to be seen as culturally valuable). <br /><br />The video discusses a "women and children first" mentality that exists solely to point out how weak women are, not to demean men. Women aren't let on the lifeboats first because they are seen as more valuable to men in society. They are allowed on the lifeboats first because a pervasive culture of masculinity tells men that's what "real men" do. It's not feminism that creates that unfair dynamic (and I agree, it is unfair); it's the patriarchy. It's not feminism who says men must be tough and not show emotion (another unfair cultural norm); it's the patriarchy. It's not feminism that says men are all rapists waiting for their opportunity so women need to make sure they protect themselves from them (a horrible and insulting characterization of men); it's the patriarchy. <br /><br />Here's some links (including some from this blog) on why feminism isn't just about helping women, it's about ending patriarchal standards that are unfair to everyone: <br /><br /><a href="http://everydayfeminism.com/2012/08/why-men-need-feminism-3/" rel="nofollow"><br /><br /><a href="http://www.balancingjane.com/2013/03/what-does-rape-culture-teach-us-about.html" rel="nofollow"><br /><br /><a href="http://www.balancingjane.com/2012/02/rambling-feminism-parenting-equality.html" rel="nofollow"><br /><br /><a href="http://www.policymic.com/articles/24681/why-men-need-feminism" rel="nofollow"></a></a></a></a>Michelle (Balancing Jane)http://www.balancingjane.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5827968588643415787.post-4750449375427941402013-04-26T06:24:19.549-05:002013-04-26T06:24:19.549-05:00I definitely care how companies treat men. (And ha...I definitely care how companies treat men. (And have written about it when they do it poorly--such as the Huggies dad campaign). In this case, it's a statistical fact that most of the people doing this type of work are women. I do not see equality and fair treatment as zero-sum games.Michelle (Balancing Jane)http://www.balancingjane.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5827968588643415787.post-78608928773880664902013-04-26T00:20:54.137-05:002013-04-26T00:20:54.137-05:00Don't you feel any shame?
Look at this U-tube...Don't you feel any shame?<br /><br />Look at this U-tube video<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp8tToFv-bA<br /><br /><br /><br />and then see if you can look at your face in the mirrorIan Wilsonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5827968588643415787.post-49403335402797882982013-04-26T00:15:35.438-05:002013-04-26T00:15:35.438-05:00Another anti-male bigot who sees men as a sub-spec...Another anti-male bigot who sees men as a sub-species touting OXFAM, an organization that treats men as being something below pond-scum. Have you or OXFAM ever asked UniLever about its policy on men. <br /><br />Oh that's right, you and OXFAM think that women are the chosen ones and men are some how less than human!Ian Wilsonnoreply@blogger.com