my moral standing is lying down

Some blog posts/articles regarding sexism/racism/privilege that made me feel good rather than depressed:

1. Regarding the sexual assault on Lisa Logan in Egypt, Journalist Nir Rosen's offensive jokes/remarks on twitter. And his subsequent apology: THIS, btw, is how public apologies for rape jokes/apologia should go.

2. Have I mentioned how much I love Clarisse Thorn? In the follow-up to her post last week about entrenched societal sexism, is a post with some very valid, relevant, not-so-rhetorical questions:

But … how many times do dudes get to be “trying to be friendly and not really jerks” when they shut women down, before there’s more to it than that? At what point does it stop being “that one asshole dude” (or “those two asshole dudes”, or “okay it was three”) … or even “that one nice guy who just said one sexist thing that one time” (or “two nice guys” or “three nice guys” or “one nice guy who, okay, yes he says it a lot, but ….”) I noted that I’ve experienced other similar situations, and plenty of commenters backed me up; at what point does it stop being “that one guy”, “that one time”, and become a pattern? And at what point does an example become good enough to represent the pattern?

She also addresses what I think to be one aspect of the mental hurdles it's difficult to overcome when you're privileged. That is, the knee-jerk denial/defensiveness that you experience. I know it; I've felt it myself. It's not the responsibility of others, of course, to patiently explain to you why you're wrong -- and you'd have to be willing to admit you're wrong to begin with -- but honestly, a kind explanation can help in getting past that feeling.

There’s something else worth adding, too, about this particular example. Admittedly, there were points in that post where I was pretty snarky about this dude, but one of the things I really like about feminism is that it gives me a great framework to think about people who act in oppressive patterns without thinking that they are Incontrovertibly Bad People. What I am saying here is that I don’t think, and never did think, that he’s an evil guy; in fact, I thought he was pretty nice, really, overall.

Individuals bear responsibility, but culture affects these things too. Feminism has taught me that culture often encourages people to fall into oppressive patterns, which we should watch out for. This means, unavoidably, that individuals sometimes have to be called out or used as examples. But it means that they’re, you know, people. Who can be understood as people.

Personally, I really identify when people talk about themselves; it illustrates your willingness to own your own mistakes and prejudices -- and we all make/have them. In a stereotypical way, I suppose, I feel like-- "if you did/thought this dumb thing and are opening/improving your mind/perspective, then I don't see why I can't do the same."

And given how privilege and oppression and violence replicate themselves, it may be especially problematic for me to have the kind of privilege that I have, and simultaneously come from a feminist background that has educated me about the way women have consistently been shut down … unless I resolve to watch myself and never feel entitled to shut others down, or ignore their perspectives, in the same way.

“I know you’re smarter than me, so let’s not get into it”: this isn’t only a kind of subtle shutdown that I can feel frustrated about and condescended to if someone says it to me; it’s also something I should be careful about with in terms of shutting down other people. If I do that, then perhaps I should be called out or used as an example. I’d hope that I’d also be seen and understood as a person.

ETA: Sorry, I didn't want to put any of this behind an lj-cut, in case something caught someone's eye, since the message is an important one.

Please read bookshop's post about a fantasy book and why changing its cover is that sort of insidious institutionalized racism/bias that I hope people can work to become more aware of, and protest/counteract.

http://bookshop.livejournal.com/1056528.html

Oddly enough, it's almost exactly the same situation as what's going on with Avatar: The Last Airbender. Funny, that.

For a great post about the racism in Avatar, please read: http://splinterend.tumblr.com/post/749364670/facepainting

From ravenwings_7's post on c6d_universe, she links to Diana Gabaldon's blog post about "Fan fiction and moral conundrums". In which Gabaldon states that she does not enjoy/appreciate/support fanfiction in any form and finds it to be not only illegal, but immoral.

As one might expect, there are already over 350 comments arguing for or against her statements. So far (up to comment 200), everything has been very civil, which I quite appreciate. Because I do think that presenting dissenting (civil, not ranting) views on the topic is beneficial to anyone who's straddling the line and is able to use the thoughts presented as a starting point to further inquiry. And yeah, I know that, for the most part, the back-and-forth arguments aren't likely to change anyone's opinion who has already made up their mind one way or another. Of course, this argument isn't new by any means, and I suppose I'm reading the comments in almost a watching-a-train-wreck sort of way, since I know what to expect.

But there are quite a few commenters who have made really intelligent, logical, clear arguments as to why fanfiction is not only NOT ILLEGAL NOR IMMORAL; how it can be, in fact, beneficial to a published author's fanbase and bottom line; and who also comment on the disrespectful way Gabaldon likens fanfic writers to perverts, criminals, pedophiles, and the like (in an "off-handed" way couched in analogy, but the implication is there nonetheless).

It's sad that a person can't understand the reasons one would write fanfic, and even more sad that a clearly creative person would be so narrow-minded and possessive in a way that excludes others from sharing in (but without attempting to possess or claim credit for) that creation. It gladdens me to know that other authors are able to understand or be sympathetic to their fans in this way -- authors like Jim Butcher and Mercedes Lackey -- who have given permission for "fanfiction to be licensed as derivative fiction under the Creative Commons umbrella."

Clearly we all know on which side of the argument I fall, and maybe my interest in this particular "train wreck" is high right now because I recently spoke with someone who stated, with no room for argument, that fanfiction is illegal after I referred to it as a "grey area". Really, I don't propose to know it as well as a copyright lawyer, but as far as I can tell, it is a grey area. (See: OTW, "I'm done explaining why fanfic is okay.")

While I have no argument with Gabaldon disapproving of fanfic for her own works, and supporting her right to publicly and officially request no fanfic of her works be produced/posted/shared, etc., I find her arguments against it to be inconsistent, illogical, and demeaning.

I whole-heartedly approve of those commenters who said they would now never read her fiction. I'm all for boycotting the products of people/groups/companies that I am in strong, fundamental disagreement with. It's quite ironic, actually -- I never before had much interest in her works as I'm a little wary of epic historical fiction (especially those that simultaneously cohabit the romance and the mainstream fiction categories), but some of the comments have revealed that I actually would have been interested in many of the situations Gabaldon writes about -- including situations that would be considered "perverted", "deviant" and "immoral" by prudes around the world.

(Personally, my confidence in myself and my sexuality has increased dramatically since I got involved in this little community. Am I the only one who feels that way?) We get raunchy with each other for our own amusement, and if the men in our lives get off on it, fine, and if they don't, tough shit. Right?

I want to respond point by point to everything she said, as well as all the comments that other people made to this entry, but I just don't have the time if I want to actually eat something tonight.

I encourage anyone who's interested to go read it, and the link to the article that hyanan posted about the book about modern America's "raunch culture". As with almost anything, there are points on which I agree, and points on which I disagree.

But I did want to answer this part of windsorblue's post. Yes, I have unquestionably found that I am so much more confident in myself, my self-image, my sexuality, my personality, pretty much just in most parts of being me, after having gotten involved in this online yaoi community. Why else, after having decided that Ycon was too expensive to go to this year (and not to mention, how I don't really love the con, and am so behind in current fandoms 'cause I don't watch too much anime anymore), did I strive to attend anyway?! I love hanging out with you guys -- we all understand and support aspects of each other's preferences, personalities, and tastes that many people in our "real lives" don't know of, wouldn't necessarily understand, nor appreciate. I consider myself lucky -- all of my friends know about all this stuff, and either join in, or at least don't make stupid fun of it and don't look down on us for having this interest.

And yay, I like pr0n!

Well, I know that was sort of a pointless ranty post, but I wanted to say it. ^^;