I have a guest post up at Hoyden About Town responding to an opinion piece by Rachel Funari which essentially argues that mothers are hijacking feminism. Yeah, you can imagine how I responded.. or you can read for yourself over there.
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Since when were you radical bluemilk?
Yeah I still don’t know where I sit exactly on the spectrum, which is why I said “kinda radical”, but I’m thinking I’m more radical than liberal as a feminist these days.
Recently I caught up with a friend I used to work with and we had a conversation which meandered on to porn and she pulled me up and told me I had a completely different view about this 5 years ago when she recalled we’d discussed something similar. I wasn’t all that surprised, I had to admit that I think I’m getting more radical about some aspects of feminism. I am not sure if this is part of getting older (for me) or if some aspects of the world got a hell of a lot more sexist and pushed me to a more radical viewpoint.
For the record, Lip magazine, which is now being slandered, has been strong in it’s inclusion of motherhood and homebirth issues.
Funari is Lip’s founder, but not the main editor/contributor.
Funari did that; founded a magazine, promoted dialouge about mothers in feminism to younger women, did unpaid work to make spaces for young women to express themselves sans body image crap and ageism..at an age when you, bluemilk, were still being snotty to ugly, low income radical lesbians in activist spaces.
Where “snotty” is a euphamism for classed, homophobic and formerly somewhat defensive to maternal and radical feminists.
Would it kill you to show some context and grace to those women doing more in their youth via Lip than you were, rather than promote another stereotype yourself?
OK I just published my comment, no. 3,. before seeing your comment no.2.
Though I still feel Lip shouldn’t be dragged into this.
How do you disagree in a way that shows context and grace, outfox?
Asking because I’m curious about the answer.
Woah outfox!
Defend Lip all you like on HAT’s site (where the topic came up in the thread, as opposed to here where I’ve not mentioned Lip). The background info you know about Lip is noteworthy to the discussion over there, particularly your knowledge of Funari’s previous writing on motherhood issues.
For the record, Funari and I won’t see eye to eye on some issues but I think I was pretty fair to Funari in my piece -
I didn’t take any cheap shots at her, I don’t want feminists to be jumped on by other feminists every time they come out in the public sphere with an opinion, even when I don’t share their opinions. Of course I am interested in having a discussion about one another’s ideas, and that was my motivation in posting. She wrote a provocative piece and it is provoking a reaction. I’m sure Funari knew what she was getting into.
Incidentally what the fuck is all this shit about????
Good question Bluemilk. I’ve never found you to be anything but articulate, thoughtful and inclusive.
I think your equation thinking + motherhood = feminist applies to you and I hope it applies to me (and many others), however I perceive that you wouldn’t expect that to be the only equation which leads to feminist. Like Mindy, I also find you to be articulate, thoughtful and inclusive. I liked your guest post. But maybe that’s because I imagined how you responded and I went there to read already knowing I would like it.
When we’re talking about slander, we’re talking verbal communication. If it’s in print, it’s libel.
Now, I did mention LIP magazine simply because Funari was setting herself up as a person who was treading the true path of feminism and disparaging mumfems who, according to her, are doing nothing better than raising the next generation of consumers – her words. Therefore, I thought it fair enough to go over to LIP (which wasn’t linked by the MSM article – geez they’re clueless), and see if this person walked the walk that she talks.
At that time, an article near the top of the posts was simply a press release to do with Sex and the City, published seemingly without any addition whatsoever.
Which is fine. But don’t lecture us about why our form of feminism is overly consumerist!
Secondly, Funari may have done sterling work in the past, but if for instance (this is a clumsy analogy but bear with me) she’d toiled mightily for the Farmers Federation and then written an article with the farmerly equivalent of :
feminists become simply a bunch of waxen, anorexic, botoxed mannequins, with badly-behaved children, complaining their husbands don’t do enough housework?
I hardly think a farmer stumbling on her writing for the very first time would be very impressed.
Loved your response–one of those posts that had me talking to the screen and nodding my head.
Also–your perspectives on feminist issues are always remarkably inclusive and respectful, and have, indeed, broadened my own perspective. It was the article that you responded to that struck me as quite “snotty.”
I loved your response too. I felt dead uncomfortable reading Funari’s article – I just didn’t feel like I fit anywhere in her list of stereotypes, and the places I did sort of, amost fit made me the bad guy. What with being hairy-legged, a mother, a feminist and awfully concerned with domestic chores (because I don’t do enough, actually).
I wish someone could write in the mainstream press about feminism without entire swathes of women being characterised as somehow ‘ruining’ feminism for the other kids. I don’t think we have to be all jolly hockey sticks together, but surely we can recognise difference without demonising it.