Yes, it is real. I verified it several times over because I couldn't believe it.
Now, let me, just for a second, elaborate on my former love for Kanye. I can rap most of his songs offhand. I particularly enjoy busting out when intoxicated and impressing strangers with my Kanye rapping skills. Beyond loving his music and what he does in the industry, I defended him personally. Because I believed that every outburst he had was an outburst that spoke the truth and just displayed his passion. I defended you, Kanye West. I DEFENDED YOU TO THE WORLD.
And now this...
OK, so I think we all know about the shit show going on right now in the government, what with the Planned Parenthood funding cuts, the whole rape victims being renamed "accusers," and other just really shitty things. Now, in order to stay sane in all of this, I have decided to view every man that feels like he has a right to talk about abortions as quaint. It is just so fucking endearing to hear a guy, who has no idea what it means to be a lady, with lady bits, and the lady times, to blather on about abortion and rape, as if he knows.
I just don't know how people are getting away with saying the shit that they are saying. I don't know how Kanye West, a person I used to think was awesome, thought that that is an OK or appropriate statement to make. Putting aside the fact that it's completely inaccurate, it just shows how low of an opinion people continue to have of women. The very notion that a woman would get herself pregnant, to ultimately get an abortion, as a way to get money from a man is absurd. AB-FUCKING-SURD. Furthermore, the idea that a woman would accuse a guy of rape just for shits and giggles is equally absurd.
To top this all off, I particularly love when women lambast feminism as unnecessary and purely for the hating of men. Now, let's get this straight. I generally love the men-folk. They do some great things and provide the sexy times for us straight ladies. But, I do abhor certain individuals for their ignorance and this abhorrence does not discriminate based on gender, race, or what-have-yous. There have been plenty of lady folks [video of The Daily Show, they show a clip of House Repubs wanting to defund Planned Parenthood--most of whom are women] who have shown themselves during this turbulent time, claiming to be "pro-lifers," but are actually just giant a-holes. They are all around and have made a significant appearance in the House Republicans.
I guess I'm pretty pissed about a lot of things. But during all of this hoo-haa, I had a vain hope that my love for Kanye would stay strong... at least, I had that to turn to. But alas, I've lost that too. Now, I will return to my thesis research, which pretty much focuses on how people hated on women in the 16th century... good to know that the times have changed. Except, not really.
oh 'ye, at least he was advocating for safe sex?
ReplyDeleteI have to take issue with you on something. I ended up writing way too much, so shit may seem like it's about to get real, but it’s not.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand how you justify the claim that "It is [wrong for] a guy, who has no idea what it means to be a lady, with lady bits, and the lady times, to blather on about abortion and rape, as if he knows." It sounds like you're saying that if a person cannot imagine what it's like to have certain qualities, if a person cannot empathize with another person, then they are not entitled to an opinion about people with those qualities (in this case, gender), at least in matters that are unique to people with those qualities.
But think about what might follow from this. I don’t share certain qualities with people who were born with any number of physiological differences from me. I don’t share qualities with who were born blind or deaf. I can’t even imagine what it’s like to have *never* seen anything or to have *never* heard any sound. Now consider if I had the chance to defend the rights of a blind or deaf person with respect to a certain injustice they faced that was specific to their blindness or deafness. Suppose blind people kept getting run over because they didn’t know when to cross the street, because they can’t see the crosswalk sign. I am a seeing person, and someone asks me if I think the fact that crosswalks don’t make helpful sounds when you can cross is unjust to blind people. Am I really to say “Well, I can’t have an opinion on whether that’s unjust. I don’t know what it’s like to never see anything. If they want to change the crosswalks, I’m not entitled to help them”?
A key point is that you’re saying men aren’t entitled to an opinion on women’s issues, regardless of whether men agree or disagree with women. In the same way, I’m not entitled to an opinion on injustices towards the blind, or deaf, or people with any number of major physiological differences, even if I’d like to defend their own opinions about these injustices. You might say the difference between two genders is much different than the difference between seeing and blind people. But these are all just physiological differences. And if you want to say there are important differences in the non-physical, mental experience between a man and a woman, then the same can be said for seeing and blind people--certainly there should be a difference in the mental experience of a person who sees and a person who has never seen.
CONTINUED-->
(Continued from previous)
ReplyDeleteThink about this too. Suppose there’s a person--a psychologist, a neurologist, a social worker, and a journalist all at once--who has studied everything there is to know about the emotional difficulties faced by women with respect to unplanned pregnancies, rape, and all women's issues. This person has been to Darfur, or Rwanda, they’ve seen all the unspeakable atrocities that happen to women across the world, they’ve spoken with these women, they’ve heard from these women stories of all the pain and suffering, and this person has witnessed it firsthand themselves. Now let’s say this person is asked to testify at the UN about whether it is wrong for a man to rape a woman, or for women to be subjugated and denied many rights they wish to have. This person gets up to testify, and they say “I can’t provide an opinion of whether it’s wrong or not, because I am a man. I have seen all these things that happen to women when they are treated in this way, but I do not know what it’s *really* like to be in that situation, because do not know what it’s *really* like to be a woman.”
When you say “men aren’t entitled to an opinion on women’s issues because they are men”, I think you would have to accept the above consequences, and I think these results are really counter-intuitive and even morally wrong. I'm a man, and I think I'm entitled to defend a woman's right to choose whether or not to have an abortion. I think that, even as a man, it is morally wrong for me to be apathetic towards whether Planned Parenthood should lose funding, or to whether rape victims should be called "accusers". I think you should make your claim less extreme: “people in general are not entitled to opinions about things they have not *learned* about.” Maybe most men aren’t educated enough on women’s issues to have an opinion, but when you say “It is [wrong for] a guy, who has no idea what it means to be a lady, with lady bits, and the lady times, to blather on about abortion and rape, as if he knows,” it sounds like you are denying men a the right to an opinion based on the mere fact that they are men.
I should have clarified what I meant. I am talking about when men belittle female issues. Obviously, I am not talking about men who actually care about women and their issues and are what I would call allies for these issues. What I do NOT like, and I think I used specific cases to show this, is men talking about female issues and essentially attempt to usurp authority. I appreciate the time you took to respond, it's a very thoughtful response that I absolutely agree with. I'm sorry if what I said came off wrong.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I would add is that members outside of a certain subjugated group do not have a complete understanding of what it means to be a part of that group. And they never will. I hold myself to that standard as much as I possibly can. I have no idea what it's like to be an African-American, a first generation Pakistani-American, or a homosexual. But I fight for the rights of these groups and attempt to dispel stereotypes and generalizations. But I do so knowing full well that I can never understand the hardships that go with being a member of that group. I think that awareness is key in discussing so many of these issues. I suppose what is frustrating is when Justin Bieber or Kanye West or all of these repubs don't have that awareness, ya know?
But I was not trying to take away the validity of male opinion (specifically, male opinions that support women). I'm sorry if I upset you!!
I think Monish makes a really good point, and it is sometimes a difficult point to hear. The fact that Kleine's response to a tweet about abortion also included a discussion of rape demonstrates what a hot button topic women's rights can be. The instinct is to try to protect these rights by approaching everything from an idea of a women having a unified experience of the issues that affect them. This instinct gains strength because of what we perceive as clear gender distinctions. However, the idea that there is a "unified experience" of being a women is proven wrong frequently. But we strive to be inclusive of all women when we fight for women's rights, nonetheless. Maybe the lesson we should learn from this is that we should strive to be inclusive of all people when we fight for women's rights, because varied experiences and voices lend strength. And even when we hear a voice that disagrees with us, we learn how to listen, how to counter, and, hopefully, how to sway opinion.
ReplyDeleteI said the same thing! (that at least he was telling guys to wear a condom). The minute Kanye got DIAMOND TEETH despite his song about blood diamonds, I knew he was an idiot.
ReplyDeleteAs for the whole men talking about abortion etc, I think it's pretty dangerous overall. Mostly because I don't want to be the kind of person who says "Well, it's ok if they have an opinion as long as they agree with me." If a man who was pro-choice got in an argument with a woman who was pro-life over the issue, I don't think that would be appropriate in the least.
It may seem like a slant example, but in my mind I often relate it to the use of "the n-word". I have NO right to have an opinion on whether it is appropriate for people of color to use. The NAACP had a mass burial for it years ago, African-Americans throughout the country are hugely divided on it, and I respect that division and keep my mouth shut because it has nothing to do with me. Nothing. Granted, there aren't bills and laws about the issue forcing one opinion or another on a mass of people, and it has more to do with the sociology of a culture than anything else, but still. I think treading lightly on issues as divisive as abortion, etc, is generally a good idea on all sides -- but especially for those for whom (when you get down to brass tacks) it has no real physical effect, or effect on the trajectory of their lives.
"for those OF whom" -- sorry
ReplyDeleteI'm not really understanding why the n-word example can't be refuted by Monish's argument too. The n-word situation goes beyond issues of morality and into the study of how language operates. Just because you're not an African-American does not mean you cannot have an opinion about the connotations attached to a word, or what purpose a word serves. Of course, nobody has the right to control speech, whether it's offensive or not. It's still important that we understand, and make judgments, on how these words function in discourse. If we can't have opinions about whether words are just arbitrary labels placed on concepts or whether they are permanently loaded with connotation, then that question of appropriateness doesn't really matter. And if you use the logic that because "it has nothing to do with [you]," you're not entitled to an opinion, it just goes back to what Monish was saying. And, weirdly, I think it does have something to do with you, since you use language, which is what's ultimately problematic.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that was kinda unrelated, but uh...power to lady bits!
ReplyDeleteYeah I just disagree, at least in the specifics of that word. But this is the beauty of being in America! We can disagree, and have discourse on these subjects, but overall understand that people have a right to say/think/do whatever suits them (thought-through or not). We've done some things right.
ReplyDelete