1984 is here! Gender propaganda outlet NBC "News" uses "HER PENIS" in describing Wi Spa incident. Don't know whether to laugh or cry...

Radish · 2021-07-04T20:58:05+00:00

Yes, I also liked the way there is no mention of the child he waved his penis at. Also the way it mentions somebody getting hurt in the protest but not who beat up whom.

Radish · 2021-06-19T23:07:26+00:00

I think you have to define your terms here. My understanding is that "radical" feminism means "to the root" which means addressing the root cause of oppression. (spoiler: it's men) I agree with the concept but don't know whether that makes me a radical feminist by other standards, because it seems so complicated now. Why is because it is obvious and makes sense.

My understanding of political lesbianism as originally practiced had to do with devoting one's energy and time to women and withdrawing from the physical and emotional labor and did not mean compulsory genital activity with women. Now I am told that it means forcing oneself to be a lesbian regardless of attraction, which is not going to be healthy for you or for any woman you engage with sexually on that level. I do believe in the former; men have taken enough of our time and support. I don't believe in the latter. I don't think it's a good idea to engage in sex you don't want. Seriously, that sounds a lot more like being a TRA. I am a lifelong lesbian, however, so my perspective may be different from some.

Also, if you're going to go on vaguely about "anti-science beliefs" you need to define your terms and say what is anti-science about your understanding of radical feminist ideas. Your (and many others, I guess) concept of political lesbianism may be icky and too close to trans demands that we be attracted to them, but is not opposed to science or denies science in any way. I don't know of any radfem, or any person with radfem ideals who is "anti-science" but then again, I don't get out much.

Radish · 2020-12-30T21:06:35+00:00

Absolutely. I stopped calling myself a feminist because nobody has any idea what that means any more. I hear people who I otherwise highly respect saying things like "oppression of femme-identified people"

I don't believe feminists are to blame, though. I don't believe feminists are really behind a movement that disguises itself as progressive but is characterized by telling women to shut up and that the movement knows what women are like better than women do. That sounds like regressive malespeak to me.

Radish · 2020-12-30T22:19:14+00:00

I went to an all girls' summer camp as a child. At one point, they changed to start allowing boys and male counsellors. Although there were very few men or boys there, it made a difference. The whole place felt different and all "we have to make the boys welcome" and all the songs were changed to include boys (even though the changes were awkward and weird) and I think the girls feel less comfortable, in general. That was the last year I ever went back.

Radish · 2021-06-12T17:00:01+00:00

I knew a TIM married to a TIF once. These two talked incessantly about their sex life and said they were waiting for surgery to get advanced enough for them to switch genitals with each other. They both thought homosexuality was wrong and were opposed to gay rights. Another TIM I know is "bisexual" but has only ever dated women or TIFs. They are all different with different preferences like anyone else, just with a lot of confusing language to make it sound important.

Radish · 2022-03-15T21:51:20+00:00

I am a lesbian. Therefore, anything I wear is dressing like a lesbian - myself. (Mostly sweats and a t-shirt, since I work at home) In my 40 or so years involved with lesbian communities, I haven't seen outfits of those types worn by the women I've known, attended concerts, Pride, or workshops with on any consistent basis. Also, what is this with "powerful"? Did lesbians suddenly get powerful and I never noticed?

Radish · 2021-07-22T18:57:06+00:00

I worked with a woman who is married to an FtM. She has only dated and married men previously, and claims to be straight. We are only work friends. She's never told me about her "husband" being a woman, so I'm not supposed to know. But I don't see a lot of depictions in the media or popular culture, for sure.

Radish · 2021-06-01T20:06:24+00:00

I read a lot about what you don't need before I got to the point, which I think is that you want to interview women who have been stalked by AGPs for a book. I can't really help you there, although I have known a few, none have ever stalked me, fortunately. I just want to make sure I am understanding what you are asking for here. There is a lot more of what you don't want and need than what you do. Best of luck to you whether you decide to write the book or not.

Radish · 2021-06-18T18:06:39+00:00

At least this is honest, telling women to sit down and shut up and take a man's word as gospel.

Radish · 2020-12-31T20:58:54+00:00

I do not believe that all the divisiveness is feminist. I don't think telling women to sit down and shut up is ever indicative of a movement for women.

All religions are oppressive to women, and I don't mind saying so. That doesn't mean I don't have respect for the women in them. Just not the oppressive religions (not sure why you think I was advocating for defending islam or for staying silent about woman hating abuse here)

There are people standing in line to blame "the feminists" for everything. By that, they tend to mean "Any woman who has an opinion I don't like or who voices it in a manner I don't like." I refuse to join that line.

Radish · 2021-07-24T18:46:58+00:00

My partner is solidly in the trans camp, unfortunately. Her best friend is trans, and she just swallows the whole thing and gets offended that I don't. We avoid the topic because we offend each other, and are both sure we are in the right. She believes I'm bigoted, I believe she just doesn't get it. We've been together for almost 20 years, and I didn't understand the issue when we started out. If I were doing it today, I suppose I would get into more GC active circles and just meet more women in general.

Radish · 2021-04-12T14:49:37+00:00

Why?

Radish · 2020-12-27T22:40:39+00:00

I find it to be inaccurate. I don't usually give a lot of credence to male authors on the subject of women, although I find it interesting to have the view into men's thoughts about women. It reminds me of how I am seen by them when they are interacting with me. The quote is a generalization about half the human race, based on the underlying unfounded anger that men seem to have toward women. Obviously, the character is having issues of his own (sexual frustration) and blaming it on women. Orwell's books that I've read say very little about women, and the female characters tend to be two dimensional when they exist.

I'm not sure what is haunting you, or what you mean by "a problem with women." The most ardent followers of religion are women, despite the fact that all religions treat women as second class citizens. I always thought this was because women are the most severely punished when they step out of line, and they want to be good and virtuous and do the right thing. This is how we are socialized. Approval seeking is very much part of female socialization.

Men are the ones who benefit from keeping women in line. They also benefit from having other women (Mary Daly used to call them "token torturers") do the work for them. We also tend to give men more of a pass on things, and treat them as though their thoughts are more important. We are less likely to see the antagonizing and piling-on. You do not say what the subject of the thread or threads were.

As an aside, I think everyone is reacting to your post strangely because it sounds a bit odd. I mean, one doesn't really hear people say "fellow women" and it sounds kind of strange. Perhaps English isn't your first language. People here tend to be a little overly cautious of trolls, so that is probably the reason for the wariness.

Radish · 2021-06-20T04:38:52+00:00

I actually based my understanding on some of the second wave feminist writing I read when I was young. I would have to go through and look it up, so perhaps my understanding is wrong. I never got around to reading Jeffries, although I have a pdf of Lesbian Heresy that I need to get to. I've read Julie Bindel on the subject and disagree with her interpretation completely. I find the idea of sleeping with someone who doesn't really feel it kind of repulsive.

There is a difference between something not being scientifically proven or simply wrong with being actively anti-science, which is a different position altogether. There is disagreement among many things within the scientific community. I would say that one can change one's sexual orientation at will is both wrong and not scientifically proven, but does not say that science is wrongor that they are opposed to science.

Perhaps my understandings of terms are wrong.

I do know that Dworkin never said that all heterosex was rape.

People are pretty threatened by radical feminism, generally speaking. There are a lot of ideas out there. Many people call themselves radfems. There is not an organized gospel or anything like that. So the terms are all up to interpretation. I do know for me that being gender critical is rooted in radical feminist philosophy.

And, of course, it's all just my interpretation and I could be wrong.

Also, I respect science.

Radish · 2021-08-21T16:53:41+00:00

This makes it sound as though banning pornography is harmful to women. I can't believe all these people crying about how some women can't make money now, instead of questioning why it's acceptable to have people in a position where their best choice is to ~~do degrading things~~ be raped for money. If they were really concerned for the welfare of the women, they would talk about social safety nets for displaced workers, reforming the system, better education or training programs, or at least urge everyone to support the OnlyFans members anyway, even if they don't perform sex acts, because, hey, they need the money.

Edited for clarity

Radish · 2021-08-12T18:45:52+00:00

The question makes an assumption. I would ask it more like, What rights do women need that men also need, and actually have, and women don't?

Radish · 2021-07-23T21:59:19+00:00

When we define sex as genitals and gametes, we're reducing people to their genitals and gametes.

I don't see how this follows? If you are defining sex as genitals and gametes, you are defining sex as genitals and gametes, not people. If you're saying that it necessarily follows that you're defining people as genitals and gametes, that would mean you believe that sex is the only thing there is to people.

Science is very complex and interesting. It does not remove the fact that humans are sexually dimorphic, whatever else they may be. It does not change thousands of years of oppression that half the human population lives with just for having one set of gametes and genitals and not the other.

Maybe many men have uteruses and can get "pregnant", and many women have testes and penises, but they didn't know because the government and the "scientists" don't reveal it to the public, to hold onto the "sex is binary and not a spectrum" "propaganda"?

And nobody noticed this somehow? It's something that only "The Government" and scientists know, but they go to the trouble of hiding it and putting out propaganda because . . .reasons?

Abnormalities of sexual development do not mean that sex does not exist, or that sex is not used, both currently and throughout all recorded history, to justify the oppression of women.

tldr; Identifying sex is not the same as reducing a person to only their sex.

Radish · 2021-06-30T00:29:34+00:00

You're absolutely right. I should have moved on long ago, but am correcting that mistake now. "Dude"

Radish · 2021-01-01T20:44:03+00:00

Feminism should be about women. It has been corrupted to be defined in so many different ways (many not having the words "women" "girls" or "female" in it at all) that it no longer has that meaning, and people don't know what they're talking about.

Radish · 2021-08-21T16:55:42+00:00

some people find it difficult to find or hold a normal job,

Kind of sucks for them if they don't have the correct age/attractive features to degrade themselves for the camera, doesn't it?

Radish · 2021-08-12T17:44:11+00:00

Do you have any idea what "severely autistic" means? You might want to look that up.

Radish · 2021-06-21T00:05:06+00:00

Sexuality and attraction can change to some degree over a lifetime. I don't mean that I could turn around tomorrow and be all into men, but I know at least one woman who honestly believes that she was straight until her early 20s and became a lesbian. I don't really know what's in her mind, so I have to take that at face value, I guess, since it is her feelings about it. To me that does not seem possible. Neither position is scientifically provable, so therefore, saying one is anti-science is not true. Yes, things touted as medical treatments that go against the scientific laws would be considered anti-science.

I don't think there's "a face" to the movement. Radical feminists don't recruit, or have settled dogma, or anything else. Some are better known than others, those who dare to speak up. That doesn't make them more right or anything they say law.

Also, I'm opposed to religion, which I don't think is good for people, so I don't really care for seeing anything used in the way religion is, not radical feminism, not science.

We can disagree without one of us being wrong, which is what makes this an interesting conversation. Thank you.

Radish · 2020-12-30T22:16:07+00:00

Beautiful response. If it is normal, why hide it?

The kids are going to figure it out on their own. Probably better to tell them first.

Radish · 2021-07-23T23:36:22+00:00

Just curious, how would you explain to a child where babies come from?

Radish · 2021-10-30T17:23:23+00:00

perhaps a woman perspective could help clear up for me.

Nearly half the people in the world are women. We are not a monolith and have a variety of opinions.

I didn't answer your question at first, because it comes off to me as a bit disingenuous. I do think if you looked up Men's Rights, and read some of the things they say and language they use to talk about women, you might understand why many women would have a problem with them. I really don't care much about those people, and stay away from them.

Many of these things you can look up, like divorces statistics. In the US, custody is agreed on by both parties more than half the time. A great many more come to a mutual decision through negotiation. Of the small number (less than 5%) of cases where it goes to court, the outcome favors the man by a small margin (something like 57%)

Also, not sure what you mean by male shelters - the homeless population in general needs more shelters, and they tend to be mostly male out there. If you're talking DV shelters, those started closed down because men won't use them. Also, women started and ran their own shelters on their own. Men aren't doing this, and MRAs are blaming women for not doing it for them.

Radish · 2021-08-12T18:43:17+00:00

No. One, I was raised nominally Christian and rejected it. Two, I don't think I ever had "faith" to begin with. Three, I don't know that it informs my opinion directly, but both issues are because I am reality based. Four, yes, I think there are definite parallels. People get very upset when you challenge their non-reality based belief systems.

Radish · 2021-07-24T21:10:37+00:00

Porn makes its money on abuse of women. I'm not in favor of supporting the industry. BDSM concerns me, because the dynamic is sick, and hurts people. That doesn't give me the right to say bad, you shouldn't do it, because people have different ways of coping with things. The origin of a lot of paraphilias is hard to discover and to get rid of, and not everyone is inclined to do it. I'd say if all parties involved are enjoying it and nobody is getting hurt, I don't care. As a lesbian, I don't necessarily want to hear a lot about your wonderful sex life with a guy, but I don't have to read that shit if I don't want to.

Radish · 2021-06-14T01:08:28+00:00

Are you a troll?

Radish · 2020-12-30T21:07:23+00:00

Great question.

Radish · 2020-12-30T20:33:19+00:00

All I can say is that I truly hope she doesn't hurt herself doing this, and I hope it makes her happy and she finds what she's looking for.

I doubt it, though.

Radish · 2020-12-30T19:59:58+00:00

I don’t disregard a speaker on the basis of sex, or race, or religion, or sexual orientation, or political ideology, or any other superficial reason. Knowledge is knowledge despite its source.

Nice soundbite, but when evaluating writing, especially when questioning the veracity and applicability of it, knowing who the author was, where they were from, and what their background is, would be germane to the subject at hand. You were wondering if there was truth in this writing. I believe that it was true only as far as it is common for men to blame things they don't like on women, whether applicable or not. Both the character and author are male, and the quote contains tired stereotypes men use against women, therefore, I don't give it much credence or think it to be accurate. There is a sort of weary "things haven't changed much" to my thinking.

English is my first language. It’s more that I think for myself and have a grasp on English in a way that it may be strange to you. It’s the Internet, not formal writing.

I don't think so. People still don't say "fellow women"

The quote struck me and stuck with me because my intuition and experiences tell me it’s likely true.

Okay. So what is it that's bothering you about it, then? If it strikes you as true, and your experience seems to reflect that opinion, why are you asking questions.

No, “everyone” is false. Most of voices have generally been in support.

I did use "everyone" inaccurately to reflect the reaction I saw in most of the posts. However, it wasn't my intention to make you defensive. I simply thought it possible that you were looking for an explanation, since you seem to react to the responses here with a bit of hostility. ETA: In this thread, you keep talking about how insightful you found Eric Blair to be. Then you say the source doesn't matter. I get some really weird mixed messages from this whole thread. I hope you got whatever it was you wanted from this thread. It inspired me enough to actually write instead of just read, so that would be a good thing.

ETA 2: Tired old stereotypes are tired old stereotypes regardless of their source.

Radish · 2022-03-24T20:29:59+00:00

Using sex-based slur.

Radish · 2021-07-23T17:28:01+00:00

I'm GC and my SO is very pro-trans and has a trans best friend. She finds my position highly offensive. I find hers offensive to women. It wasn't a deal killer when we got together because it didn't seem like a big deal back then (2004) and I didn't realize that in order to not be a bigot in her eyes, I had to really believe that trans women are women. We're kind of trying to work through it, but mostly we avoid the subject.

Radish · 2021-06-29T23:00:29+00:00

You are male, aren't you?

Or are you just sort of confused and throwing around catchphrases like they mean something?

Radish