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When men consider how they should treat other men, it is moral philosophy. When womyn consider how we should treat other womyn, it is feminism. It has taken feminism to separate the were-centered moral philosophies from the human-centered ones. It will take feminism-in-practice to discover the full potential of feminism-in-theory.
What do I look for in feminism-in-practice? (besides, of course, my beloved V.?)
I honestly don't know, but I'd suggest, for starters:
Womyn's freedom-in-equality, that is a social relationship of mutual respect, mutual cooperation, self-directedness and self-realization.
Womyn's completeness, recognizing that womyn are not the matching halves of men, but are whole among ourselves.
Womyn's space, that is a community defined by womyn's needs and contributions.
Womyn's originality, that is the rediscovery of our identity and potential as womyn.
P.S. Most of these are inclusive of men as well as womyn. Womyn's equality certainly has to encompass men as well as womyn; we will fail to treat ourselves rightly if we come to treat men wrongly. Womyn's completeness is just as important. It requires a strong push-back and heterosexism and against subversivism. I think that creating gynocentric spaces can help to encourage womyn's completeness. I think that once we defeat misogyny as well as patriarchy, then we can create spaces which are for all humans at once. In any case, the perception that we are incomplete on our own encourages many of the attempts of men and of other womyn to deny us individual control of our own bodies. I would point to the recurring argument that, among hetero people, husbands should be able to deny their wives access to birth control or abortion.
What do I look for in feminism-in-practice? (besides, of course, my beloved V.?)
I honestly don't know, but I'd suggest, for starters:
Womyn's freedom-in-equality, that is a social relationship of mutual respect, mutual cooperation, self-directedness and self-realization.
Womyn's completeness, recognizing that womyn are not the matching halves of men, but are whole among ourselves.
Womyn's space, that is a community defined by womyn's needs and contributions.
Womyn's originality, that is the rediscovery of our identity and potential as womyn.
P.S. Most of these are inclusive of men as well as womyn. Womyn's equality certainly has to encompass men as well as womyn; we will fail to treat ourselves rightly if we come to treat men wrongly. Womyn's completeness is just as important. It requires a strong push-back and heterosexism and against subversivism. I think that creating gynocentric spaces can help to encourage womyn's completeness. I think that once we defeat misogyny as well as patriarchy, then we can create spaces which are for all humans at once. In any case, the perception that we are incomplete on our own encourages many of the attempts of men and of other womyn to deny us individual control of our own bodies. I would point to the recurring argument that, among hetero people, husbands should be able to deny their wives access to birth control or abortion.
(no subject)
Aug. 10th, 2010 08:06 amSupporting borders means having armed guards keep lovers apart. It's not right. It's just plain cruel. It wrong to let loyalties to countries, or in other issues, loyalties to parties or churches or any other institutions come before love, or hope, or humanity. If your politics or your religion lead you into doing evil, then you're doing it wrong!
