Feminism Friday: Trauma and Content

A short mobile post today.

It turns out that I have connections to both of the sad stories out of Orlando this week. If you've heard of the concept "6 degrees of separation" (or it's semi-humorous twin, "6 degrees of Kevin Bacon")...

I saw research once, that said by analyzing Facebook networks, it turns out to be between 4 and 5.

For both big Orlando stories, The Pulse and the Disney gator, I find myself at only 2 or 3 degrees of separation.

I think it's important to remember, that all of the tragedies we hear on the news? Those are real people, going through real, often traumatic, experiences.

And that, is a big part of why I support content warnings, also called trigger warnings.

Not to censor the material (no one can read this), but to alert people dealing with current traumas in their lives, that they may need to skip this story for now.

That it might be something they want to learn about with people they trust, or in their soft pajamas with a comfy blanket & a cup of tea.

Or whatever is necessary to help maintain their own mental health.

Feminism Friday: Purity Culture

One phenomenon that has swept the U.S., particularly conservative Protestants, is Purity Culture.

Love, Joy, Feminism has a great collection of articles on the subject, the practices, and the problems with it.

I think one of the most damning commentaries on Purity Culture comes from Elizabeth Smart. The counter-example, then, is the story of the $20 bill. Crinkling it up in a ball, dropping it in the dirt, stepping on it - whatever you do to the $20 bill, it is still worth $20. It doesn't lose its value.

Feminism Friday: Spectra and State Space

In "The Great Human Diasporas," the Cavalli-Sforza's point out that human biometrics cover a wide range of types, without clear divisions. They did so in order to point out that race has no basis in biological science-- it is a social construct.

In the UUA's Welcoming Congregation refresher, a similar range of types was described for human gender and sexuality.

Feminism Friday: A Little about Radical Feminism

I've often discussed global and transnational feminisms and intersectionality on this blog. These branches of feminism are particularly developed by women of color (for example, Kimberle Crenshaw developed intersectionality).

I've touched on White Feminism, but I haven't discussed one of its major strains: Radical Feminism.

Radical feminism was part of the women's liberation movement and second-wave feminism in the 1960s, and continues as a strain of feminism today. As with any other feminism, there can be many variations on the theme. The Chorus I sing in recognizes that feminism can be defined in many ways, and does not attempt to define the feminism of the singers.

In my encounters with radical feminists online, they appear to build on the concept of the gender binary, and the ways in which society has allowed anatomy to determine a person's destiny as a human being.

Many of the radical feminists online criticize religion as a tool of the patriarchy, and particularly religious dress as a form of women's oppression. Transnational feminism (which intersectionality is a part of) recognizes that many women draw strength from their faith, even if it is one of the traditional Abrahamic religions. There are Muslim feminists, Jewish feminists, Catholic and other traditional Christian feminists who draw on the stories of the women in the respective traditions.

Some radical feminists are "trans exclusionary" (what intersectional feminists may abbreviate as "TERF"s), who consider trans women to be men invading women's spaces. While they have a few good points about how men should be allowed to wear whatever they want, and all genders should be able to do whatever jobs they want... so many of the arguments in the Wikipedia article are harmful.

Unfortunately, the exclusion of trans women from feminist spaces has had the effect of leaving trans women unsupported, with nowhere to go. Trans women (and men) have unique insights into the kyriarchy and systems of oppression, that cis-gendered people don't experience, as this article discusses:

Why Aren't Women Advancing At Work? Ask a Transgender Person.

Because Intersectionality embraces non-binary gender expressions (as well as a variety of religious beliefs and expressions), proponents of intersectional feminism often find themselves in opposition to radical feminism. Intersectional feminism recognizes Trans women as women, and works to include these women in their safe spaces.

I will admit that on my journey towards becoming an LGBT Ally, it took me longest to understand the transgender aspects. But knowing someone, caring about someone, made it easy. I don't need to know their anatomy, I just need to treat them with respect and honor their preferred pronouns.