bcholmes | Some additional links

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bcholmes

Related to my last post, here are a coupl'a additional links:

Piny at Feministe
A follow-on post from Amp at Alas, a Blog
When it isn't about you
A Radical Feminist response to Amp's cartoon

That last link can be an uncomfortable read, especially for transfolk. It's fair to say that I disagree with it. But what I want to say right now is that, generally, I think there's a lot of fruitful stuff in the writings of radical feminism, and I'm not supportive of tarring all of radical feminism with the evil brush. (There's a specific response, here that, in my opinion, only fans the flames).

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

merlot-winters.livejournal.com

this whole debate is bloody and hard to stomach for many yet we still keep rubbernecking at the wreckage.

i'm a transwoman who identifies as feminist (not sure what qualifies as 'radical') and who supports the aims of feminism to change our culture to be more woman-friendly. Maybe a hopelessly subjective aim, though we'd certainly know that space when we experience it, i suppose.

One thing i would add to any of these discussions is that there seems to be an underlying presumption that the transgender experience is a relatively new one and that these debates are crucial because these ideas are still up for grabs. However, it is clear from the historical/herstorical record that transpeople have been part of many cultures and many times, and that we are as much a part of the human continuum as ordinary men and women (however you chose to define the same). Some cultures have regarded the transperson as a third or fourth gender and have a much wider view of sex and gender than the more binary view we find in this time in the west. i would add this view to any debate that involves the question of whether transitioning/transitioned trans folk are men or women. Flesh has always been malleable, and so have the definitions of men and women. Even in mythology, there have been sacred intersexed figures that transcend all gender categories.

i agree with radical feminists that partriarchy has been on a winning streak for a long time and that women bear the brunt of the violence and oppression that are the result of the same. i also agree with them that it must be dismantled, as soon as possible. in my mind, such a post-patriarchal society would look more like some of the native american societies that viewed all human beings as equally sacred with their own unique contributions to make to the whole community, and that sexual identity is a matter of what the individual wills themselves to be within that society.

From:

anthonyjk-6319.livejournal.com

...and I won't be disrespectful of it or of you.

I really don't think, though, that my response to Heart's madness really amounts to "fanning the flames"...at least not nearly as much than the anti-transphobic and extreme commentary over at Heart's place already does enough of that.

No, all of radical feminism does not deserve all of the evil brush...but the particular brand of pseudo radfem theology that Heart and her followers do promote constantly at her blog certainly does, in my own opinion, cross the line of common decency several times over enough to deserve the highest of criticism and denouncement.

If that be considered "fanning the flames", then so be it. You can't please everyone, and sometimes you have to stand by your words. I stand by every single one....take it or leave it.

Anthony Kennerson
Founder/Owner, The SmackDog Chronicles Blog (http://redgarterclubwebsite.com/SmackChron_Blog/index.php)