Patriarchy’s Waitress – Would you like to taste our special feminist coffee? No thanks, I’ll have it the usual way.
Posted: 15 May 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized 4 CommentsBeing a waitress under patriarchy is so much fun – I love it. What makes it so special is that not only are you working as a subordinate for bosses, customers, and capitalism, but your job is also shaped by your gender identity. Being identified as female makes your experience of service a specific one. You’re not doing a shift, you’re waitressing. It’s a specific activity, with specific requirements, specific joys. Here are my top 10 favourite things about being Patriarchy’s Waitress. The list is not exhaustive, feel free to add yours in the comments.
A feminist reading of the French presidential election
Posted: 8 May 2012 Filed under: elections, feminism, international news, Uncategorized Leave a commentOn Sunday, May 6th Francois Hollande, the candidate of the French Parti Socialiste (Socialist Party), was elected President of the French Republic. An article by Alexandra Topping entitled “Vive la Femme?” published on the 8th of May in the Guardian asks whether Hollande is “the first feminist president of France?” If I agree on the necessity of a feminist reading of the election, I think this article is problematic in many aspects, for a large part because of a lack of information on French politics (especially feminismwise). It is partly understandable (the journalist mainly repeats what mainstream media says) and partly problematic (the journalist mainly repeats what mainstream media says). Here are my 4 critical points on the article and the election, as a French feminist woman. All the translations are mine; all the italics are French. I apologise for the fact that most of my links are in French.
Whatever we do, it’s wrong – so let’s do it right
Posted: 30 March 2012 Filed under: feminism, intersectionality, monogamy, polyamory, radical feminism, responsibility 2 Comments
When I told a friend that I was going to write an article about the fact that “whatever we do, it’s wrong”, we realized after a few minutes of slightly chaotic dialogue that we didn’t mean the same thing. I meant that whatever a woman does with her sexuality, she is judged and criticized for it. And my friend thought that I meant that whatever, as feminists, we do, it’s never completely right and satisfactory, because it’s never truly intersectional.
I first thought it was a misunderstanding, and we moved on. Then I thought that it was a meaningful misunderstanding, and that I had to take it into account as such: as a sign from the god that doesn’t exist (or from my friend) that my politics are not intersectional enough. And now I think that even though I didn’t think so when it happened, my friend and I were talking about the same thing. Or rather, I should have considered that we were talking about the same thing even though I didn’t. Because we were both talking about how to fight domination – any domination, including the one we exercise on other people, on other women whom we call sisters and who could legitimately call us enemies. I should have considered that we were talking about the same thing because MY FEMINISM WILL BE INTERSECTIONAL OR IT WILL BE BULLSHIT. I cannot separate the two; writing about one means writing about the other, otherwise, yes, it is bullshit.
In this article, I first address various inventive patriarchal criticisms of my sexual and affective behaviour, and then try to make a link between the fact that all these criticisms are very hurtful whoever utters them, and the necessity for my feminism to be truly radical and intersectional.
I am still shaking
Posted: 10 March 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized 13 CommentsLast night I went to a protest against a white wealthy rapist who was being given a worldwide audience to give a capitalist talk on neoliberalism under patriarchy. I thought sleeping on it would help, but it didn’t. I am still shaking. Read the rest of this entry »
Fighting for safer places
Posted: 25 February 2012 Filed under: feminism, Militancy, relationships, Women's Army 7 CommentsSometimes I feel exposed. So exposed that all I want is a refuge, a shelter. A place, a moment, a relationship I could rest in, and gather enough strength to get back out and fight. Something like a truce. A safe place.
Recently, I have felt this feeling of vulnerability and this longing for safety to be particularly strong. I have been thinking about it a lot, both pragmatically and theoretically. Theoretically – why is it the case that I feel particularly exposed right now ? And pragmatically – what can I do about it, what would I consider as a safe place ?
Being a woman under patriarchy is exposing, in itself. By definition, patriarchy is everywhere, the patriarchal social structures pervade and rule all dimensions of a woman’s life. When she is seen and acts as a worker, a teacher, a student, a tennis player, a singer, a unionist, a friend, a partner, a mother, a sister, a daughter, a lover, and so on, she is a woman, in the political and social meaning of the word. She is part of an oppressed group, and as such, experiences domination both as a wide social phenomenon, and as an intimate matter. As such, she is exposed. At all times, in all places.
To me, feminism is about fighting this exposure, or rather, the social structures which enable it to happen. It is about making the world a safe place for women, for all women. By safe I mean physically safe, but I also mean, psychically, psychologically, economically, linguistically, affectively, sexually safe. In fact, I mean domination-free. I mean political safety. Read the rest of this entry »
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