feminist-politics

"Women, then, have not had a dog's chance of writing poetry. That is why I have laid so much stress on money and a room of one's own."
- Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own

Author Virgina Woolf's A Room of Ones Own is an eloquent argument in support of the idea that a woman, should she want to pursue her own dreams and goals, must have a measure of financial and material independence.

For Woolf this was because:

Intellectual freedom depends upon material things. Poetry depends upon intellectual freedom. And women have always been poor, not for two hundred years merely, but from the beginning of time. Women have had less intellectual freedom than the sons of Athenian slaves. Women, then, have not had a dog’s chance of writing poetry. That is why I have laid so much stress on money and a room of one’s own.

(If you have not taken the time to read this brilliant but dense essay I urge you to do it. It is a great argument, although long.)

So it was 'surprising' to me to read the headline Females who rent weigh less. The subhead? 'Home-owning women outweigh their renting counterparts by an average of 12 pounds'. That's right ladies, do not try to own property, you may think it leads to a greater degree of financial security, and thus more social power and control over your life circumstance. In fact it just makes you fat. And we all know fat, stressed out, property-owning ladies are not as good as skinny, care-free, renting ladies.

You know what I hate?

I hate when marketers take things I love with all my being, and make them look ridiculous, vapid, and stereotypical.

Take chocolate and sex.

There are other sweet treats, but none are such a miraculous mixture of sweet, bitter, sharp and spicy as a decent chocolate bar (especially the chili/peppercorn variety). And as for consensual physical pleasures, I am including all sorts of activities here: massage, sexy dancing, making out in the park, holding hands for the first time - the whole spectrum. Like chocolate, sex is wonderful in its variety.

Even though I am clearly a demographic goldmine, I can't stand the campaign for Fling chocolate bars. The "naughty but not that naughty" chocolate bar made especially for women:

"It is a delicate truffle,sitting on a subtle crisp layer enrobed in shimmering chocolate that looks as glamourous as the women it speaks to. It tastes indulgent but it keeps its figure, at under 85 calories per finger. Sneak out to a movie. Go curly. Lick the wrapper. Shake things up! Nobody's looking."

Yet another one: Feminism in the Web era: It ain't pretty. This one, by Judith Timson, is a little less virulent - at least.

But it's still wrong.

At the outset Timson ponders the bigger issues that may lie behind an increased trend towards extreme violence (and especially in the context of intimate relationships) perpetrated by young women:

(Authors note: I am so infuriated, and still so PMS-Y that I feel compelled to overdo the CAPS LOCK)

OMFG!! If Browsers Were Women. In and of itself a potentially humorous premise, if the person who wrote this hadn't been such a objectifying hater. The author is such a fartgobbler that the whole post is an IMAGE - what? Was it too hard to get the pretty words next to the pretty pictures, you weasel?

You know, I am all for a bit of like "the ladiez are craziez" humour, I am not a (gasp!) humorless feminist, but this is just painful. I mean check out the write up next to Chrome (who uses that browser by the way uh? no-one..)

"Extremely skinny, but very cool and friendly, but when it comes to the bedroom she's very inexperienced and has little to offer".

Next to a picture of an obvious anorexic - I mean come on, are you trying to fuck your browser or a woman who's hair is falling out in clumps? Either way, it's disgusting.

BUT I mean, if you wanna bring it I can bring it. After the break: If your browser was a dude.

Second Authors Note: What follows is classified as NSS - Not Safe for Simon. You've been warned Simon, I am going to talk a bit dirty so go carefully.