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man be a feminist?
My immediate family
members are some of the
most socially open-minded
people I know. When I
asked my mother if she
considered my father a
feminist, she unequivocally
answered 'yes'. However, I
wonder if men can
genuinely partake in a
feminist advocacy.
In an effort to combat
oppression in all forms that
it manifests its ugly face, I
have made numerous
attempts to engage in a
feminist critique of my
socialization as a western
Cana
male. After evaluating
many of the words I have
spoken, as well as some of
my writings, I see where I
have exposed my own
sexist tendencies. So, if I am
sexist, how can I advocate
women's rights?
In my humble opinion,
all American men are sexist.
I say this for
two reasons.
First, we are
socialized in
a western
culture in
which
oppression is
an unspoken,
and seldom
admitted,
value.
Looking at the history of
this great nation, its
oppressive legacy cannot be
denied. Second, we are all
bound by an innate instinct
of self-preservation. Those
in power want to maintain
their status, and those not
in power desire to acquire
it. Men cannot authentically
advocate a feminist agenda
because it will inevitably be
perverted by prejudicial
sexist thinking.
Western males are
plagued by conscious as
well as unconscious
patriarchal prejudices.
Nonetheless, we play a vital
role in defeating sexism,
even if we are the
oppressors of women. What
we can do is make sincere
attempts to raise our
consciousness in an effort to
expose sexist tendencies,
and to imagine and re
imagine ways to overcome
those sexist prejudices and
values that we know we
have.
All liberation
movements should be left
to those oppressed. What
oppressors can do is ease
resistance by opening our
minds, deconstructing
stereotypes, and attempting
to be sensitive to the needs
and concerns of women. It
is my belief that by
accepting the benefits of
oppression, we play an
active, though sometimes
unconscious, role in
perpetuating
discrimination.
It is not an easy task to
raise one's own conscious
and overcome western
oppressive values, but it is
necessary for anyone with a
genuine interest in
humanity. It also takes
continuing challenges from
members of those
oppressed groups and
earnest ears by oppressors
to attempt to understand
why and how their (our)
actions and assumptions are
sexist, racist, homophobic,
anti-Semitic, etc.
Although I believe men
can not genuinely be
feminists, I do think we
play an integral part in the
feminist discourse as
oppressors attempting to
liberate our sisters from a
unique form of oppression.
As moral creatures who
demand liberation
ourselves, I believe we have
an obligation to work to
eradicate all forms of
oppression, even the ones
we benefit from.
Men cannot authentically advocate a
feminist agenda because it will inevitably
be perverted by prejudicial sexist
thinking.
Larry Ftynt hustles America, again
Heather Thompson
Contributing Writer
As the soap opera-
esque drama of Bill
Clinton's extramarital
activities plummets
deeper into the mire of
ridicule, and the American
public grows increasingly
irritated with what could
be the most frivolous
scandal the American
presidency has ever seen,
one man has walked away
from the fray having
changed the American
political landscape
forever. Not Kenneth Starr,
not Vernon Jordan, not
even Slick Willy himself.
I'm talking about Larry
Flynt. America's favorite
pornographer has once
again rewritten the rules
for freedom of speech.
In the 1970's he made
headlines by degrading
naked women in Hustler,
and now he has stepped it
up a notch to degrading
politics. Flynt's outing of
Republican speaker-
designee Bob Livingston's
affair has toppled the
already crumbling wall of
privacy surrounding our
public officials. As those of
you familiar with the story
know, Flynt offered up to
a million dollars for
verifiable stories of
women who had affairs
with major Republican
party members as a
backlash to the G.O.R's
crucifixion of our
President. /
While Flynt's motives
may have been good, he
has set a precedent from
which there is no
retreating. If Flynt can in
effect force Bob Livingston
to resign, what's to say
that Bob Guccione
(Penthouse's chief editor,
and perhaps a man of even
lower moral standing than
Flynt, or for that matter,
Beelzebub) won't find
someone who will attest
that Dan Quayle
fornicates with sheep?
Flynt's basic technique
was blackmail: Lay off the
president or I'll air your
dirty laundry. I don't
suggest that it is not
hypocritical for those who
have had past
indiscretions to berate,
much less legally
prosecute, the president.
However, Flynt's ac
tions have opened the
door to victimizing any
unpopular public figure
for even the slightest slip
ups. Despite their
attempts to show
otherwise, politicians are
people, too, and people
make mistakes. Thanks to
Mr. Flynt's flagrant
disregard for personal
privacy, we all pay for
those mistakes.
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