So, this might be kind of awkward given my past writing and activism, but it’s time for me to come clean: I’ve decided to become a Men’s Rights Activist. I’ve realized that feminism’s biggest failure–much more important, in fact, than its historical disregard for women of color, poor women, and trans* people–is that it does …
Category Archive: feministy issues
MAN-HATING STUFF.
Mar 17 2013
More About Justice and Less About Revenge: On Reading the Steubenville Coverage Too Early in the Goddamn Day
[Content note: sexual assault] I don’t want to hear anything more about the “ruined futures” of Trent Mays and Ma’lik Richmond. The verdict did not ruin their futures. They ruined their futures, when they made the decision to rape someone. I don’t want to hear anything more about how you shouldn’t drink if you don’t want …
Mar 11 2013
Stop Hating On Female Condoms For No Real Reason
Every time I do this I feel like I’m a really lazy blogger who’s just going for the low-hanging fruit*, but I feel compelled to once again criticize a Jezebel article. Tracie Egan Morrissey, whose writing is usually quite good, has written a post called “Stop Trying to Make Female Condoms Happen.” The post is …
Mar 06 2013
Totally Unsolicited Advice For Feminist Guys
Jezebel has a pretty good piece up about feminist men and what “we” (by which I take it the author means feminist women) want from them. Some excerpts: [E]ven allegedly unfunny feminists acknowledge how extra-dry fighting sexism can be, and so we hope that when men join us, they, too can have a good, not …
Feb 06 2013
[guest post] We Need To Talk About Incest Survival
[Content note: incest, sexual assault, self-harm, eating disorders] Someone I know and respect asked me to publish this anonymous guest post. -M Mia Fontaine wrote an article in The Atlantic recently about the incest problem in America. Although we talk about sex scandals, stranger danger, and the abuses of the Catholic Church, as a society, …
Feb 01 2013
Feminism and Victimhood
What’s this I keep hearing about feminism promoting “victimhood”? Anti-feminists often suggest that feminism encourages women to “see themselves as victims,” that feminism is actually insulting to women because it suggests they need “special rights” in order to be able to compete with men. The concept of programs that encourage women to pursue STEM professions …
Jan 29 2013
Correlation Is Not Causation: The Marriage Edition
Steven Crowder–that guy who wrote an article on Fox News’ website gloating about his “perfect wedding” and sanctimoniously censuring people who have sex before marriage or *clutches pearls* drink at the wedding–is back. (Actually, he’s probably been back; I just haven’t been following his pearl-clutching screeds.) This time, Crowder, who presumably still has that newlywed …
Jan 26 2013
Feminism Is Not About Who Pays The Bill
So, I know that I’m really young and spent most of the feminist movement as a mere wish in my mother’s brain (well, hopefully). But I’m really confused about why an entire generation of men seems to have heard the message of feminism not as “Women want the same rights and opportunities as men” or …
Jan 08 2013
The Role of Feminist Criticism
In one of my recent pieces, I criticized a particular aspect of the love stories often found in popular books and movies. Whenever someone critiques pop culture–especially from a feminist perspective–it raises a lot of questions for many people. Questions such as: Does it really matter that this work is “problematic”? Can you even have …
Dec 30 2012
Writing A Better Love Story: On Pop Culture That Romanticizes Unhealthy Relationships
Imagine this story. You meet someone you really like and fall for them immediately. They’re attracted to you too and the sex is great. But you want something more serious and they drag their feet. They’re emotionally detached, they forget to call, they make you do all the work of moving the new relationship along. …
About the Author
Brute Reason Tumblr
- "But what if our lives could have meaning even if we cannot, or will not, think of ourselves as..."“But what if our lives could have meaning even if we cannot, or will not, think of ourselves as beautiful? What if I look in the mirror and see ugliness, and imperfection, and asymmetry, and I choose to value and love myself anyway, because I’m a valuable human being worth a whole lot more than my externality? This is not to say that those of us who do feel […]
- "I want my feminism to be a feminism of daydreaming. I want my feminism to believe in the..."“I want my feminism to be a feminism of daydreaming. I want my feminism to believe in the transformative power of imagining the impossible. I want my feminism to stop chasing this faux equality that puts us on the race to be better managers of exclusion and, instead, gives us the possibility of re-thinking a future where we no longer have underclasses within […]
- "When it comes to media pushing perfect people, if you’re not skeptical, you’re doing it..."“When it comes to media pushing perfect people, if you’re not skeptical, you’re doing it wrong. The only right way to do it is with deep, trigger-happy skepticism. It’s advertising — which means it’s supposed to make you want something. That alone makes it squirrelly as fuck. If you don’t train your brain to see that first and foremost, and to move cautiousl […]
- "It’s when you’re kickin’ it with your boys and you don’t speak up (or maybe even join in) when the..."“It’s when you’re kickin’ it with your boys and you don’t speak up (or maybe even join in) when the one dude is being called a “bitch” or a “pussy” because he didn’t hit on the girl you saw. It’s knowing street harassment is wrong but also knowing that you let your eyes linger way longer than was comfortable for her when she walked by you in those yoga pants […]
- "What may seem like ‘productive discussion’ or ‘lively debate’ feels like an attack on your identity..."“What may seem like ‘productive discussion’ or ‘lively debate’ feels like an attack on your identity and validity as a human being when it comes from a person in a position of power who is telling you how to react to something that upset you. When a disabled woman, for example, expresses anger about something that is going on in the news and nondisabled peop […]
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Two things to keep in mind:
1. I am bad at answering lengthy emails. Sorry!
2. I may ask you for permission to blog about our correspondence. However, if you are harassing/abusive/trollish, then I no longer have to ask you for permission. Proceed with caution!
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