falcao@felix.metaphor.com (Ronnie Falcao) (05/04/91)
A while ago, someone posted this condemnation of (presumably women-written) feminist tracts. >Some of us don't bother to quote feminist tracts because we've read >enough of them to conclude that they're largely a crock of shit. >To wit, I categorically reject Susan Brownmiller's contention that >all men are rapists (this is JUST as bigoted and hateful a statement >as "all blacks are shiftless"), and Dworkin's contention that all >pornography is violence against women. I might start reading feminist >stuff again if anyone could convince me that it had improved to the >point where it was no longer offensive, bigoted, biased, hateful, >defensive, shrill, humorless, unsupportable, gibberish. > >From: uunet!igor!rutabaga!jls@ncar.UCAR.EDU (Jim Showalter) I agree that it's a waste of time to read "bigoted, biased, hateful, defensive, shrill, humorless, unsupportable gibberish." People interested in reading thoughtful writing about gender issues from a male perspective may be interested in the following: The magazine "Changing Men" describes itself as: "Changing Men" is dedicated to discussing issues important to changing men, affirming a healthy, life-loving non-oppressive masculinity, and supporting the network to end sexism. Articles in "Changing Men" speak to the collective and individual experiences and interests of men. We encourage the use of straightforward English, first-person narration and the honest expression of feelings. Subscription for 4 issues/year costs $24. Send name, address and check to Changing Men 306 N. Brooks Madison, WI 53715 >From the jacket of the book, "Refusing to Be a Man: Essays on Sex and Justice" by John Stoltenberg "Inspired by the ideas of radical feminism, Stoltenberg probes the heart of men's belief that they are "men," and finds it to be an invention: a political and ethical construction based on sexual injustice. The attempt to maintain that social fiction exacts an enormous human cost: rape, homophobia, sexual objectification, pornography, battery, men's control of women's reproduction, war. "The male sex," he writes, "requires injustice in order to exist." "Refusing to Be a Man' by John Stoltenberg ISBN 0-932576-73-7 by Breitenbush Books, Inc. Portland, Oregon Distributed by Taylor Publishing Co., Dallas, Texas I got mine through the mail; you might be able to get a copy from New Society Publishers at 1-800-333-9093 I have all the back issues of "Changing Men" and several copies of "Refusing to Be a Man" which I'd be happy to lend out to people willing to pick them up from and return them to Mountain View. Happy reading, Ronnie Ronnie Falcao, Metaphor Computer Systems, Mountain View, CA falcao@metaphor.com What do you see said he I am not this body What do you see said he I am a spirit living within I did not choose this frame or this picture of me you see But I am living inside this time of this me - Judy Fjell, "Dance In The Moment"
jeffb.bbs@shark.cs.fau.EDU (Jeffrey Boser) (05/08/91)
falcao@felix.metaphor.com (Ronnie Falcao) writes: > The attempt to maintain that social fiction exacts an enormous > human cost: rape, homophobia, sexual objectification, pornography, > battery, men's control of women's reproduction, war. How did pornography get in there? I wonder about war too. To hazard a guess, I would think Bush was not thinking about his penis when he attacked Iraq. The others sound mildly reasonable, but porn? I would like just once to see proof that pornography is the cause or result of a defective sexual value system. just once. Every decent phsyc has shown that explicit sexual images does not alter our behavior. Violent porn does, but so does anything violent. Stoltenberg sounds like a standard bible-thumper with the sympathy and insight of the ten commandments. It is true that there are problems with societies picture of sexual conduct, but to mature you do not spank, you guide. To mature the world, you first must mature yourself, then find others who think like you and be fruitful and multiply. You dont fight an ideal by getting angry, you get everybody think think it is stupid and ignore it. .....jeff jeffb.bbs@shark.cs.fau.edu "Make something an idiot can use, and only an idiot will use it" -RAH Like a Bible, maybe?