WOMANHOOD AS PERSONHOOD: A LOVE LETTER
As much Western history has been tainted by the cultural subordination of women, Women’s History Month offers us the opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments and power of women throughout time. It also serves as an opportunity to remind us of the ways women, although freer than once before, still find ourselves to be the victims of patriarchal oppression.
Womanhood has been consistently defined in relation to men. For a long while, we were literal objects, the property of our fathers and then of our husbands. Now, this objectification persists. If you are seen as a sexually viable woman, your body is commodified by men. If you aren’t — because you don’t fit the strict beauty standard or you’re visibly queer — you are erased and ignored by men or your sexuality is fetishized and objectified. Even those of us who are lesbians, who are completely uninterested in men, are still subjected to their whims as men still disproportionately hold power positions over us. Regardless of where we align in comparison to the patriarchal feminine ideal, all of us are subjected to dehumanization (it is important to note here that while men are the oppressors within the gender binary the patriarchy creates and perpetuates, it is patriarchy as a system that is the true perpetrator of gender violence, a system which we all participate in and uphold in various ways, depending on the power we have).
Feminism is the rejection of this objectification, the belief that women are more than sexual objects, more than wombs, more than bodies, more than caretakers. We are human.
However, because we are human, we are not monoliths for good, either. We’re not all girl bosses whose success and power are inherently feminist. We’re not innately kind or caring or tender. We have feelings and opinions that are not always good or right. We are capable of love and gentleness, but we’re also capable of cruelty and anger. We are fallible. We make mistakes constantly and those mistakes should be simultaneously criticized when necessary and understood as part of the human experience.
A tweet from user @scumbelievable in response to the often-championed claim that a matriarchy — a world whose power dynamics valued women over men — would be a kinder, gentler, and less violent society sums this up well: “[This idea] is, in its own way, deeply misogynistic. Women are complete people. This entails a capacity for cruelty and an inability to cope with holding power over others without enacting violence and oppression.”
I understand the need, in response to a world that belittles us, to advocate for the greatness of women. It’s true that many women are great, and that greatness is ignored or denied by society. It’s also true that how women have been socialized does impact how we internalize the constructed gender of “woman” so that more of us have learned to be caring while more men have learned to be cruel. But this construction has nuance. We all differ in personality and experience, which means we react to patriarchal constructions in different ways. Some women think kindness and vulnerability are weaknesses. Some women react to power imbalances with manipulation. Some women exclude and attack transgender women. Some women oppress other women, especially along lines of race and class.
There isn’t one definition of “woman” that binds us together. We are not bound by biology, by menstruation or reproduction, as some transphobes would like you to believe. We are not bound by an innate connection to Mother Earth or Mary. We are not bound by some inherent badassedness.
What we are bound by is oppression. Regardless of who we are, there will always be someone who disrespects us, belittles us, ignores us or puts us in physical danger. That is the nature of being a woman or, even broader, a misogyny-impacted person. It is through that shared experience that we can relate to, uplift, and advocate for one another. As Audre Lorde said, “I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.”
I love women not because we are kind or powerful or badasses, but because we are human. That alone warrants love, and it is the denial of this humanity that we must continue to fight against.
ABC News/Ipsos Poll: 6 in 10 Americans Oppose ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Laws
A new ABC News/Ipsos poll published March 13 found that more than six in ten Americans oppose legislation that would prohibit classroom lessons about sexual orientation or gender identity in elementary school.
According to ABC News, 62 percent of Americans oppose such legislation, while 37 percent support it.
The results found that Republicans are more likely to support legislation that would prohibit classroom lessons about sexual orientation or gender identity in elementary school, with 61 percent of GOP identifiers supporting it compared to only 20 percent of Democrats and 35 percent of independents.
The polling was conducted within days of the Florida Legislature giving final approval to HB 1557, legislation that is titled “Parental Rights in Education“but widely labeled as the Don’t Say Gay” bill, which would bar Florida schools from “instruction” about sexual orientation or gender identity in grades K-3 and otherwise not at “ageappropriate” levels.
The ABC News/Ipsos poll found; “Support for this type of legislation increases with age, but doesn’t reach majority support in any age group. Among those 65 and older, 43 percent support the ban, while it falls to about a third among those under the age of 50.”
ABC News also took note that respondents who identify as LGBTQ overwhelmingly oppose this type of legislation, at 87 percent. The poll oversampled people who identify as LGBTQ, with their responses then weighted to match their correct proportion in the general population. Among those who do not identify as LGBTQ, a majority (59 percent) also oppose the legislation.
Disney Pauses Florida Political Donations, CEO Apologizes Over ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Response
Walt Disney Company Chief Executive Officer Bob Chapek issued a memo to the company’s LGBTQ+ and ally employees apologizing over his handling of the controversy over the media conglomerate’s response to Florida HB 1557, colloquially known as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill.
The bill which cleared its final hurdle in the state legislature is currently awaiting Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis’ signature to become law. DeSantis has publicly indicated he will sign it.
“Thank you to all who have reached out to me sharing your pain, frustration and sadness over the company’s response to the Florida ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill,” Chapek wrote in his memo. “Speaking to you, reading your messages, and meeting with you have helped me better understand how painful our silence was. It is clear that this is not just an issue about a bill in Florida, but instead yet another challenge to basic human rights. You needed me to be a stronger ally in the fight for equal rights and I let you down. I am sorry.”
“I missed the mark in this case but am an ally you can count on — and I will be an outspoken champion for the protections, visibility and opportunity you deserve,” he added.
Disney’s Chief Executive Officer also informed the company’s employees, “Starting immediately, we are increasing our support for advocacy groups to combat similar legislation in other states. We are hard at work creating a new framework for our political giving that will ensure our advocacy better reflects our values. And today, we are pausing all political donations in the state of Florida pending this review. But I know there is so much more work to be done. I am committed to this work and to you all and will continue to engage with the LGBTQ+ community so that I can become a better ally. You will hear more about our progress in the coming weeks.“
Chapek ended his memo saying, “I truly believe we are an infinitely better and stronger company because of our LGBTQ+ community. I missed the mark in this case but am an ally you can count on — and I will be an outspoken champion for the protections, visibility, and opportunity you deserve.”