Women Hold The World Under Their Tongues @thoughtcriminal - Tumblr Blog

femcelist-deactivated20230101

Andrea Dworkin, Pornography

"A man rose at the back of the hall with a pencil and paper in his hand. "You say that over 2000 women are raped every day in this country. I did some quick figuring. That makes about 40,000 a day worldwide." Significant pause. Then he exploded: "That's the number of children who starve to death every day! Think about that!" And he plopped down in his seat with a smug, duty-done look on his face. At that point, another man, encouraged by his colleague's outspokenness and impeccable logic, arose and pointed out that no matter how bad incest is (he called it "child abuse" since he was apparently unable to face the implications of "incest"), he was furious at my saying that what happens to females in incest is far worse than anything that happens to men in wars. How could I be so insensitive? How do I think he'd felt, leaving the blasted bodies of his buddies strewn all over Vietnam's battlefields? Didn't I have any conception that men were being tortured even as we sat there, in El Salvador, for instance?

What they were saying to me was very clear. As long as any male, anywhere is suffering, women are selfish to mention that they are suffering, too.

I'm sure neither of those men realized the woman-hatred behind their feeling that everything and everyone should come before women. I pointed out quietly that in every country where children are starving, women are starving also. In every country where men are being tortured, women are being tortured also. I was insensitive enough to point out that Vietnam is also strewn with the blasted bodies of women, and that many, many of those bodies were not simply blown up, but were also sexually abused-raped, gang raped, used up in prostitution, tortured. No matter when or where or what men suffer, women's suffering is on some totally different, more exquisite, plane.

But no one wants to hear that women are suffering. Men's ordeals are recounted and described and depicted in every conceivable way in every medium on earth, and have been from earliest history. We are always asked and expected to look at and listen to and understand and sympathize with men's pain and suffering, and we have always done it, all of us, men and women. But women's agony at the hands of men must never be revealed. If women steadfastly and courageously began to tell the truth and would not stop, would not be co-opted, would not become afraid, the truth of our enslavement would be undeniable, and the jig would be up.

That this might indeed happen is terrifying to most people. It would stand the whole world on its head. This is why any time women say, "Look at what is happening to us!" someone invariably rises up on the spot (as patriarchy has trained us all so well to do) and shouts, in order to divert us, to frighten us, to remind us of our vulnerability and danger: "But what about men?"

I explained to the distraught man whose buddies lie in fragments all over the corpse of Vietnam: ''You are performing this function here tonight. May I interrupt this well-rehearsed performance to point out that we have given men 5000 years of undivided attention." (Is it any wonder they have remained spoiled little boys?) As Pauline Bart points out: "We are not allowed, even now, to speak of women's suffering without someone saying, 'and men, too,' although we have always spoken of men's suffering without adding 'and women, too!'" Patriarchy has worked hard to make women's experience appear so trivial and so invisible that it is inconceivable to most people that we warrant any attention at all. Otherwise, it would not be so maddening to them to have to listen for a whole hour to a speech about women, though they listen willingly day after day, year after year, to talks by and about men. For many hundreds of years they have heard about nothing but men: their wars, their ideas, their art, their politics, their science, their blah, blah, blah, ad nauseam."

- Going Out of Our Minds by Sonia Johnson

tejuina

so many people go through life without ever wondering about the origins of patriarchy. deep down, they believe there’s nothing to question because it comes down to simple nature, to men being “stronger.” people genuinely believe patriarchy was an inevitable step in human history. they might not say it, but they think women alive today should feel grateful that men have ~evolved~ from their ~primitive~ ways. they don’t actually think women can win their own battles, they think feminism is something contemporary men have allowed because they’re more rational and benevolent than their ancestors. the implicit threat: if you start acting out of line, we can still easily subjugate you.

this is not just a failure of the imagination but also a lie. modern humans have been around for over 200,000 years. there’s no evidence that patriarchy goes that far back–12,000 years at most if you believe the common theory that it came about with the advent of agriculture, sedentary societies, and private property. it is a disservice to women throughout history to ignore the hundreds of thousands of years that they lived free of male domination.

tejuina

people generally fall under one of two camps: 1) they think patriarchy is entirely natural and has always been the order of human societies, or 2) they think it originated much later than it did. the problem with the latter is that everything that predates their theory must therefore be human nature. for example, if someone believes patriarchy was brought to the americas by european colonizers, then it follows that there’s nothing patriarchal about mexica society teaching women how to cook while it picks only men to be warriors. in the end, these people pick and choose which aspects of patriarchy they believe to be ~bad~ (in this case, christian values) and which are just the natural order of things. regardless, failing to understand the true depths of patriarchy means you can’t truly envision what life was like for millions of women before it.

notsurewhattoputhere215

so then when and how did patriarchy come about?

tejuina

what I’ve read that makes the most sense is that it came about with the agricultural revolution, which allowed for permanent settlements and the accumulation of resources. people differ on whether this led to the adoption of private property or if it was the other way around (some people think agriculture only came about because some hunter-gatherers had already developed a notion of private property and wanted to accumulate more, which makes some sense if you consider how harsh the transition to agriculture must’ve been for the first agrarian societies), but the point is that they came hand-in-hand.

in this context, bloodlines gain importance, both as a way to accumulate wealth (the more kids you have, the more laborers you have for your farm, for example) and as a way to establish inheritance of that wealth. this means there’s an incentive for men to have power over their descendants, and in order for them to achieve that, they must control reproduction. how do they control reproduction if they’re not the ones giving birth? by controlling women. there’s no paternity tests, how do you ensure a kid is yours? by punishing women who have multiple sexual partners. how do you make women more vulnerable and thus easier to control? by getting them pregnant and making sure they can’t abort. how do you ensure the mother of your children doesn’t just run away with your kids? by making it impossible for women to own property and making them dependent on a man. a woman is infertile and can’t give you children? she must be worthless. and so on and so forth.

I don’t know if that’s exactly how it happened, and I want to keep learning, but so far, that’s what’s made the most sense to me.

libracorpvs

when a woman views the world in a female-centric way, she's biased and unreasonable and emotional and illogical, but a man who upholds the male-centric status quo believes himself to be totally neutral and uninfluenced by male supremacy

peachtwigs-deactivated20230912

— excerpts from invisible women by caroline criado perez

only-tiktoks

sugarcoatednightshade

This is an ongoing issue, here’s the link

The Arctic Wildlife Refuge is threatened by oil and gas development after being opened to oil and gas leasing by a provision in the 2017 Tax

lavendergrrls-moved

If you're scared of being falsely accused of rape, just don't go outside. Don't go out at night, that might give a woman a chance to accuse you, especially at parties and clubs. Just be responsible. Watch out for yourself. Don't be stupid. Don't get a woman angry to the point where she'll consider doing that, don't tempt her. and if she did falsely accuse you, I mean, what were you doing? Are you saying she falsely accused you so you can get sympathy points? How do we know you aren't the monster here? Why are you being so cruel? Do you want attention? You shouldn't ruin her life like this, saying that she faked being raped by you. Do you have any proof it didn't happen? If you're just careful, it won't happen. Stop being dramatic. It's not that much of a problem. Why do men have such a victim complex?

nobleelfwarrior

I watched Parasite yesterday on the plane and I did really enjoy it. I though the plot and symbolism was well designed and really made amazing points.

But I already knew it was good. Everyone had watched it and raved about it.

No one talked about the pedophilia, though. Spoilers.

The story starts with a college student in love with a high schooler that he is mentoring offering a job to his friend so that he will protect the high schooler while he is gone abroad. His friend is the mastermind of the story and quickly falls in love with the high schooler as well. The high schooler seems to be into it, which is messed up because she is a child and of course she thinks it is flattering when an older man says he likes her better than an adult woman.

Now, this is a subplot, but I've been trying to think about how it fits into the themes of the story. From face value, it seems that the poor young man is the parasite because he hopes to one day inherit the big home and the rich family that he is currently conning. The story goes out of its way to show how the wealthy family is instead the parasite in every instance, so I wonder how this teenage girl getting preyed on is the parasite.

I would argue that this time, the young man is, without a doubt, the parasite. Not because he wants to inherit a large home and tons of wealth, but because he is stealing away a girl's affection, shaping her perception of the world, and doing it under the guise of mentorship. The true shame is that his attachment to the girl is what saves him. He was bleeding out from a head wound with serious brain trauma, but she found him and carried him away from the scene of murder, saving his life.

While I have no doubt that after the events of the film the girl was never allowed to contact the young man again, if they had been undiscovered, we can only speculate what would have happened to her.

The rich are parasites on society, but men are parasites on women.

kiefbowl

male ally:

1. he will clean the house, the public spaces, the common areas, the work spaces, and anywhere a woman may tread fully, with complete competence, so that it is hygienic and sanitary and nice to look at and pleasant to be around, without any expectation that a woman or any woman will assist

2. he will not consume any material classified as media that depicts women, fictional or real, in positions, sexual or not, of humiliation, torture, bodily harm, pain, torment, dehumanization, commodification, or death, made for the express purpose to tantalize, titillate, or arouse an audience of males, and he will not masturbate to the thought of it.

3. he will expect no children, no marriage, no servitude or attention from any woman, and will not expect any woman to forego her own health and safety to uplift his quest for legacy and import, nor will he expect her to prioritize him and his goals, his desires, or needs over her or another woman’s, rather he will when possible prioritize her own self-fullfilment and self-actualization without her asking.

4. he will not rape.

5. he will murder rapists. he will not punish a woman who murders a rapist, but indeed he will try his best to spare her the pain by murdering the rapist for her. when a woman murders a rapist, he will aid in uplifting the woman in the community in announcing and celebrating her good deed. he will expect no same approval and distinction, and will do his work quietly and unassuming. He will find no pleasure in the act and expect no reward, not least which from the rapist’s victims.

6. he will speak when spoken to by a woman. he will otherwise cast his eyes down, and make no act or sound to gain her attention. he will be thankful for any attention a woman deigns to give him, and he will not expect any attention further than she gives.

7. he will disown any god, all gods, and take no interest in the pursuit of godliness. the matters of theology will only be discussed, known, and understood by women, and he will have no desire taking part. he will not listen, he will not concern himself. he will not argue with a woman about the affairs of gods and spirituality.

8. he will labor graciously to provide a world that fosters the health and imagination of women, with no expectations for his own rewards.

9. he will not wage war, he will not fight in a war.

10. he will accept death before he waivers on any of these tenants.

iphnh

The Origin of Misogyny II: Men’s Inability to become Pregnant is a Source of both Superiority and Inferiority

In a previous post, I argued that the origin of misogyny is men’s ability to impregnate (and their inability to be impregnated). This gives them a unique ability to harm women in a way that women cannot harm men–and this ability, if exploited, gives them a unique power over women that women can never impose on them.

However, I think women’s ability to be pregnant, while an obvious vulnerability, is also a great source of power. Women have the ability to create a human eye, a human brain, human consciousness; the ones naturally endowed with the ability to decide who lives and who dies. So while the ability to become pregnant is a vulnerability, it is also a great power.

And men know that. So to “steal” the power of life and death from women, they rape women and pass abortion bans. By doing so, they can wrestle control over women’s bodies and thus control over the production of humanity itself.

In other words, men’s inability to be impregnated is a source of both superiority and inferiority. Their inability gives them a unique protection that women do not have, and so they can never face a particular kind of horror that women face; however, their inability to become pregnant also means they are biologically less significant than women. The human race would continue if there was just one man on earth, but not if there was just one woman. In other words, men are disposable; women are not.

Men’s feelings of inferiority to women are just as powerful as men’s feelings of superiority. They are two sides of the same coin, and both drive men to attempt to assert dominance over women.

iphnh

The Origin of Misogyny: It is not Men’s Socialization or Men’s Nature, but Men’s Ability

The idea that misogyny comes from socialization is circular logic. Misogyny comes from misogynistic laws and religions? Who made the laws? Who made the religions? How is it possible that women were socialized to be subservient to men in so many cultures, even ones that had no previous contact with each other?

However, the idea that misogyny comes from men’s nature is also flawed. Yes, men’s hatred of women is extremely common, as previously established, yet it is not completely universal. There have been matriarchal societies. And in our day-to-day interactions with men, we do notice differences between men based on how they were raised and their respective day-to-day environments.

So what is the root of misogyny, if it’s not men’s socialization or men’s nature?

I think a more useful way of understanding misogyny (and honestly all forms of oppression) is not to focus on socialization or nature but on ability.

Men have a unique ability to harm women in a way that women cannot harm men. Men can impregnate women. Women cannot impregnate men. On top of having this unique ability, men also have major incentives for doing it: by impregnating a woman, they receive pleasure and a lineage. Unlike women, they also run such a small biological risk for producing a child. After having their orgasm, nothing else is biologically required from them. At worst, they might get an STD.

You might argue that some men are gay or do not want children. That’s all very much true. However, I am not arguing that men have a natural impulse to use their ability. I am simply stating that they have the ability. It is also important to understand that men exist as a class, as well as individuals. While individual men might not even have the ability to impregnate (due to infertility), we can hopefully understand that men as a class have this ability.

If it helps, we can think of this unique ability like a gun. Half of the population is born with a gun (ability to impregnate) and a bullet-proof vest (inability to be impregnated); the other half is born with neither. The ones born with the gun and the bullet-proof vest are not necessarily born with a natural impulse to fire the gun–but they are nonetheless born with one.

Even if a man never hurts someone with the gun, I want you to imagine how his psyche is formed just by virtue of having it. Imagine walking into a room with a gun and a bullet-proof vest, and no one else in the room has either. Even if you would never use the gun…just having one gives you a sense of protection, and perhaps a sense of superiority and power. Even if you would never use your tacit threat, you nonetheless have a tacit threat. And now imagine the psyche of those without the gun or the vest. They are vulnerable, and know that they are vulnerable, to the ones who do have one. And so their options are to either appease those with guns and vests, always tip-toeing around them–or to band together.

The ability argument answers the questions that the socialization argument fails to address; namely, it answers the question “where do sexist laws and religions come from?” It comes from men’s unique ability to harm women in a way that women cannot harm men. This is not to say that men have a natural impulse to harm women–just that they can.

rude-fem

every time i see radical feminism discourse i always see tras say that we “reduce women to their bodies” and i’ve never really understood that

what is so dirty about our biology? why is it so repulsive and bad to point out that females have female genitalia? none of us have ever said that women as people are just their bodies. what we are saying is that the word woman defines an adult human female and implying that to be a woman you need more than female anatomy is literally just sexism

that1betch-deactivated20230628

They see “women are adult human females” and read that as “women are sex objects” because that’s what the female body is to them--a sex object. They don’t consider that existing in a female body leads to its own perspectives and inner life based on how that body interacts with the world.

radfemarg

against what patriarchy are you fighting if the oppressor changes the pronouns and you call him companion?

radaenerys

but… not all men, right?

female-malice

Okay moids. Let's go. Don't be cowards. Leak your little boy chats. Be male in public. Let your sisters know. Let your mom know. Let grandma know. Show your group chat on the first date. Are you ashamed? Are you a coward? Come on now. Quit hiding behind the nice guy act. Man up and speak your mind publicly.

radicalcoffeeclub

This is the worst. Men need spaces away from women so they can share all their misogyny with each other? But god forbid women have a female exclusive space to talk about the misogyny moids inflict on us. And yeah, our gender conflict boils down to men being misogynistic assholes who can't even be civil humans and keep it to themselves. The second comment is literally just the biggest projection I've ever read.

tinydevlog

From r/pornismisogyny

movedto-transmisogynistic-deact

L husband + you need to be trained like a dog for something simple + not wholesome + cringe

movedto-transmisogynistic-deact

Most based redditor.

parapraxisaxis-deactivated20230

The comment section is full of manchildren

ladielabrys-deactivated20230204

Introducing the Radical Feminist Library!

Hi Radblr, I'd appreciate if you shared this link! I've accumulated hundreds of books from the second and third waves to create the Radical Feminist Library ! ++(Library on another site) The link is available to everyone, and feel free to share it with others.

If you have any book requests, or EPUB requests, send me a message! I'll see what I can do.

If you'd like to follow me on twitter, my handle is the same as on here.

My pages are meant to talk about radical feminist theory & feminist + lesbian history. Thanks for sharing!

radmenace

Masterpost of gender-neutral language used for women but not men

Some say that gender-neutral language is not sexist, nor does it erase women. Here are some examples that prove otherwise, revealing the bias for women, and not men, to surrender linguistic boundaries.

(I’ve been collecting examples since I made this post. Thanks to all who submitted! I will keep adding on.)