Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 10:13:23 -0500
From: Doug Henwood <dhenwood-AT-panix.com>
Subject: Re: M-TH: Men and Feminism (was All Work...)


Yoshie Furuhashi wrote [responding to the ineffable Jurriaan]:

>>I say a man who calls himself a feminist is either a whimp or hasn't
>>thought it through, or both at the same time.
>
>Apart from the fact this is merely an assertion, not an argument, the only
>way one can interpret your statement is to see it as an expression of your
>desire to turn what should be a political debate into an immature contest
>of manliness. (This sort of silly competition is also what turns off many
>women.)
>
>>Male adequacy is when you
>>are happy to be a man and can function adequately in that role.
>
>Oh, is that so? Your need to challenge other men about their masculinity
>just because they believe in gender equality seems to me to be a sign of
>your gender unhappiness. In fact, you admit to that later in this post.

Leaving aside the issues of JB's personal psychology - which seems an
interesting study in how resentment and sexism magnify each other - I'm
amazed by his apparent naturalization of gender. No Marxist would ever talk
so uncritically about "functioning adequately" in a class role, but somehow
gender roles are taken as given, things to be adapted to rather than
questioned and transformed.

What does being a "wimp" mean to you, Jurriaan? Is there some ideal of
manliness that you have in your head that you can't live up to? Has it ever
occurred to you that that ideal of manliness is impossible, undesirable, or
destructive?

>>"Anti-racism" as such is a fad, a fashion, it's hip to be anti-racist.

What an icky statement. What the hell is it supposed to mean, JB? Is it
more profound to be racist? Or indifferent to racism?

>Hip? I wish it were. Around this part of the world, it is, on the contrary,
>quite hip to be anti-feminist, anti-black, anti-immigrant, etc. It's cool
>to be conservative and reactionary. Ever listen to American talk radio?

Not to deny that American political culture can be very very cretinous, but
the talk radio audience and its message are significantly to the right of
the general public. According to polls I've seen, it represents the
rightmost 20% or so of the public.One of the effects of talk radio has been
to convince people that "the people" are viciously right wing, and only
"elitists" are anti-racist, anti-feminist, etc. Things may be bad here, but
not *that* bad.

Doug




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