Recently a friend put this song on a cd for me and I love it a little bit. While I don't necessarily agree with the implications of violence I do understand why attitudes like this are at some points necessary to deal with the crap of sexism, heterosexism, homophobia, and misogyny alive and well in our culture. She seems to think this song reminds her of me to which I reply, "feminist bitch-yep you better believe it" I seem to wear it well I think...
Flirting, Jess Klein
The boss didn't like me
Cause I refused to flirt
He paid me peanuts
And treated me like dirt
He said but we could work it out
So what do you say
I thought I bet at 5pm
This gets subtracted from my pay
But I said Hey hey
Flirt with this I am a certified hardcore bitch
And I do not want approval from you
But I'll let you live and thats the only favor I'm gonna do
I sing myself to sleep
I sing myself awake
It's a woodenbelly hustle
He says shake a baby shake
And I guess I shook it too hard in a public place
Cause he was breathing down my neck
With his arm around my waist
And his slimey intentions were ozzing from his face
He said whats a pretty girl like you doing without a man
I said why don't you ask my girlfriend
She'll help you understand
And I said Hey Hey
Flirt with this
I am a certified hardcore bitch
And I do not want attention from you
But I'll let you live and that's the only favor I'm gonna do
Serving food to a man with a top ten list on his chest
Top ten reasons why beer is better than women
What? God
Reason number one beer always tastes fresh
I spit in his salad so that it was better dressed
Reason number two beer labels don't put up a fight
I looked at the carving knife and thought I just might
So I rang up his order and what did I say
Thank you for raping me with your shirt
And have a nice day
He said relax girly don't you like to flirt
And I said no bagels and lox for you pal
Yeah I said Hey Hey
Flirt with this
I am a certified hardcore bitch
And I do not care for your point of view
But I'll let you live and you'll consider yourself lucky too
So sing it with me ladies
Theres no need to be afraid
A bad attitude can really brighten up your day
Some man tries to get you to hang your head in shame
Just give him the boot
Yeah reclaim the name that brought you to fame
And say Hey Hey
Flirt with this
I am a certified hardcore bitch
And I do not want any shit from you
But I'll let you live and that's the only favor I'm gonna do
--
video version
Showing posts with label feminism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label feminism. Show all posts
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Thursday, January 17, 2008
To Be or Not To Be...Angry that is...
So I have thinking about several things to blog about and what I have settled on is this. It involves my class yesterday (not the performance one) and a guy in it and a conversation we had. I was mostly puzzled by the conversation unsure exactly what was happening and yet at the same time I became extremely irritated by what the convo yielded.
It all started because one guy H.L Goodall in his book Writing the New Ethnography said, "Voice is derivative." Basically he meant we pick up our voice specifically as writers but also as human beings trough the voices we hear and read of others. This makes a lot of sense to me. For example a childhood friend of mine was born in the south, she had a thic southern accent. Her parents also spoke with thick accents. When she moved to Colorado and met me all of a sudden I started realizing that I at certain times spoke with a southern accent. I would say "I'm fixing maself somethin ta eat." Or "Ya'll" made an appearance in my vocab. All of this was derived from my social situation, I derived my voice from the voices around me. So it is with authors-often when I read something like Foucault, I will try to imitate his and other critical theorists in my writing (I honestly think it makes me sound smarter and more learned.) Other times I may just incorporate certain elements of these theorists writings into my own, like stringing adjectives together. Nonetheless I feel like it makes sense that our voices would come from the external and become something we internalize-and honestly I do not see how this is not a feminist notion-it is in fact very feminist as far as new ways of defining feminism go.
Back to my story, guy in my class who I will name Fred although that is really not a good name choice because Fred appears stand-offish and old fashioned whereas the man I speak of is actually very warm-hearted with very good intentions. I feel like most of the time when Fred talks he wants to appear smart, educated and also empathetic. He likes to quote feminist rhetoricians when he talks in class and basically likes to throw around the term feminist to prove that he is IN FACT, sensitive to feminist issues and causes. Guess what Fred I've read those books too-taken feminist rhetoric classes and read a shit ton of theory-I mean really you wanna go with me? I like Fred, most of the time as much as I like most of the straight white dudes in my class who like to try and take me to task on issues of feminism, race, and queer on a monthly basis.
My saving grace is that in that class there is a Cool California Blonde. I am going to call her Tiffany although this is really a bad name for her because Tiffany sounds like the name of a bimbo, or at best an airhead and actually Tiffany is one of the smartest people I know. Often she and I make eye contact throughout class (we are not much for social friends) but in the classroom setting I am so glad to have her presence there because I know that most of the time she is thinking exactly what I am thinking. All my complaints of people not getting it are stifled in her because she gets it. Maybe not all of it but neither do I so I really can't complain.
So an interesting dynamic happened yesterday in regards to Fred, Tiffany and I. Fred posed te question, in his sort of pretentious, look at me I'm a feminist watch me shed my knowledge sort of way, "Isn't what Goodall is saying against the feminist notions of voice of trying to unleash the voice, to give the voice of the marginalized a place to speak. I mean isn't that the primary concern of feminists is to give voice to those who aren't heard."
Gut reaction, "Huh?" puzzled look adorning my face. How is what Goodall saying not feminist and where did you learn your feminist theory Fred-some 70's drawing room with a bunch of white women sitting around examining their vaginas talking about how they are oppressed?
Tiffany must've been thinking the same thing because she raised her hand and said, "I think the whole point of this is that people of color, women, queer people and all of those who intersect multiple identities are able to get in touch with their voices more easily and I don't think Goodall's argument is not feminist just because he says it is derivative."
My professor also sort of chimed in and said something to the affect of there have been times when ideas of voice were more internal and that they came from places inside.
I'm still confused. I don't know exactly what Fred, Tiffany or the Professor are saying. All I know is that I don't like the conversation it doesn't seem necessary or productive and it definitely seems built on archaic notions of what feminism is or has been.
I interject. "I think Goodall is advocating for recognizing positionality and I don't understand what is not feminist about this? And also when you talk about the (emphasis mine) feminist perspective of voice of whom are you speaking?"
Fred stutters, "Well although their are different versions of feminism like womanism for African Americans etc...a primary concern is voice and hearing voices we don't always hear right? I mean that's the point of standpoint theory."
Wrong. wrong wrong wrong. Standpoint theory? really? Great theory, love it, now lets keep going. Lets push those notions further. That's what I see feminism doing these days. We are no longer solely concerned with marginalized groups but how power relations are maintained, negotiated, and performed on a daily basis. It is no longer simple enough to say margin and center because there is too much complexity in the human experience to limit it to that. We are all margins and centers at different moments in time, history, and geographical and spatial location. I do not totally disagree with Fred, but women's/feminist/and gender studies and feminism more generally is also concerned with much more than consciousness raising as they once were during the second wave. While I am in debt to those who do and have done this work I would say that feminism as a discipline and a movement has been much too influenced by queer theory, critical race studies, and global social movements to so that we are concerned with power relations and social structures and a piece of this is yes hearing the voices of those who are marginalized. And a part of that is unleashing derivative voices. It is no longer simply giving or hearing voice (although this is really never simple) but understanding voices in larger structures and contexts, not hearing the voices for the voices sake. and I love hearing voices, I love reading voices, but they don't speak to me because they come from this internal harmonious woman place, but because they are social voices in social contexts and as Goodall says they fill the "gaps in my soul." But can I be critical of those voices-yes-definitely. I love Audre Lourde but her piece on "The Erotic" makes me uncomfortable as shit. I still love her and it because they challenge me-it is the challenge that I truly love.
At that moment I start to scribble in my notebook. This is why Women's Studies programs are in such contention. On one hand they are fighting to be legitimized to be taken seriously because guys like Fred think that feminists are (while maybe a positive stereotype) are still mainly concerned with unleashing the inner goddesses voices of the marginalized. And yet at the same time there is so much push to eliminate women's studies programs because they place women and gender too much as a focus when we should be concerned with all aspects of identity and the way different identities produce and maintain each other. Another perspective, women's studies is no longer needed, we're equal now right? Why aren't there men's studies programs? There are just look at who dominates the writing in the majority of other disciplines as well as the fact that implicit in understanding women as a valid line of inquiry we must also study men.
I realize that I have gotten defensive at a time and place I maybe shouldn't have. I should have been more dialogic, I shouldn't have looked and sounded so upset and angry. But he was criticizing my baby, my passion. At the end of class Tiffany came up to me, "Thank You," and tapped my desk. I guess it was worth it to be angry-even if for only that.
It all started because one guy H.L Goodall in his book Writing the New Ethnography said, "Voice is derivative." Basically he meant we pick up our voice specifically as writers but also as human beings trough the voices we hear and read of others. This makes a lot of sense to me. For example a childhood friend of mine was born in the south, she had a thic southern accent. Her parents also spoke with thick accents. When she moved to Colorado and met me all of a sudden I started realizing that I at certain times spoke with a southern accent. I would say "I'm fixing maself somethin ta eat." Or "Ya'll" made an appearance in my vocab. All of this was derived from my social situation, I derived my voice from the voices around me. So it is with authors-often when I read something like Foucault, I will try to imitate his and other critical theorists in my writing (I honestly think it makes me sound smarter and more learned.) Other times I may just incorporate certain elements of these theorists writings into my own, like stringing adjectives together. Nonetheless I feel like it makes sense that our voices would come from the external and become something we internalize-and honestly I do not see how this is not a feminist notion-it is in fact very feminist as far as new ways of defining feminism go.
Back to my story, guy in my class who I will name Fred although that is really not a good name choice because Fred appears stand-offish and old fashioned whereas the man I speak of is actually very warm-hearted with very good intentions. I feel like most of the time when Fred talks he wants to appear smart, educated and also empathetic. He likes to quote feminist rhetoricians when he talks in class and basically likes to throw around the term feminist to prove that he is IN FACT, sensitive to feminist issues and causes. Guess what Fred I've read those books too-taken feminist rhetoric classes and read a shit ton of theory-I mean really you wanna go with me? I like Fred, most of the time as much as I like most of the straight white dudes in my class who like to try and take me to task on issues of feminism, race, and queer on a monthly basis.
My saving grace is that in that class there is a Cool California Blonde. I am going to call her Tiffany although this is really a bad name for her because Tiffany sounds like the name of a bimbo, or at best an airhead and actually Tiffany is one of the smartest people I know. Often she and I make eye contact throughout class (we are not much for social friends) but in the classroom setting I am so glad to have her presence there because I know that most of the time she is thinking exactly what I am thinking. All my complaints of people not getting it are stifled in her because she gets it. Maybe not all of it but neither do I so I really can't complain.
So an interesting dynamic happened yesterday in regards to Fred, Tiffany and I. Fred posed te question, in his sort of pretentious, look at me I'm a feminist watch me shed my knowledge sort of way, "Isn't what Goodall is saying against the feminist notions of voice of trying to unleash the voice, to give the voice of the marginalized a place to speak. I mean isn't that the primary concern of feminists is to give voice to those who aren't heard."
Gut reaction, "Huh?" puzzled look adorning my face. How is what Goodall saying not feminist and where did you learn your feminist theory Fred-some 70's drawing room with a bunch of white women sitting around examining their vaginas talking about how they are oppressed?
Tiffany must've been thinking the same thing because she raised her hand and said, "I think the whole point of this is that people of color, women, queer people and all of those who intersect multiple identities are able to get in touch with their voices more easily and I don't think Goodall's argument is not feminist just because he says it is derivative."
My professor also sort of chimed in and said something to the affect of there have been times when ideas of voice were more internal and that they came from places inside.
I'm still confused. I don't know exactly what Fred, Tiffany or the Professor are saying. All I know is that I don't like the conversation it doesn't seem necessary or productive and it definitely seems built on archaic notions of what feminism is or has been.
I interject. "I think Goodall is advocating for recognizing positionality and I don't understand what is not feminist about this? And also when you talk about the (emphasis mine) feminist perspective of voice of whom are you speaking?"
Fred stutters, "Well although their are different versions of feminism like womanism for African Americans etc...a primary concern is voice and hearing voices we don't always hear right? I mean that's the point of standpoint theory."
Wrong. wrong wrong wrong. Standpoint theory? really? Great theory, love it, now lets keep going. Lets push those notions further. That's what I see feminism doing these days. We are no longer solely concerned with marginalized groups but how power relations are maintained, negotiated, and performed on a daily basis. It is no longer simple enough to say margin and center because there is too much complexity in the human experience to limit it to that. We are all margins and centers at different moments in time, history, and geographical and spatial location. I do not totally disagree with Fred, but women's/feminist/and gender studies and feminism more generally is also concerned with much more than consciousness raising as they once were during the second wave. While I am in debt to those who do and have done this work I would say that feminism as a discipline and a movement has been much too influenced by queer theory, critical race studies, and global social movements to so that we are concerned with power relations and social structures and a piece of this is yes hearing the voices of those who are marginalized. And a part of that is unleashing derivative voices. It is no longer simply giving or hearing voice (although this is really never simple) but understanding voices in larger structures and contexts, not hearing the voices for the voices sake. and I love hearing voices, I love reading voices, but they don't speak to me because they come from this internal harmonious woman place, but because they are social voices in social contexts and as Goodall says they fill the "gaps in my soul." But can I be critical of those voices-yes-definitely. I love Audre Lourde but her piece on "The Erotic" makes me uncomfortable as shit. I still love her and it because they challenge me-it is the challenge that I truly love.
At that moment I start to scribble in my notebook. This is why Women's Studies programs are in such contention. On one hand they are fighting to be legitimized to be taken seriously because guys like Fred think that feminists are (while maybe a positive stereotype) are still mainly concerned with unleashing the inner goddesses voices of the marginalized. And yet at the same time there is so much push to eliminate women's studies programs because they place women and gender too much as a focus when we should be concerned with all aspects of identity and the way different identities produce and maintain each other. Another perspective, women's studies is no longer needed, we're equal now right? Why aren't there men's studies programs? There are just look at who dominates the writing in the majority of other disciplines as well as the fact that implicit in understanding women as a valid line of inquiry we must also study men.
I realize that I have gotten defensive at a time and place I maybe shouldn't have. I should have been more dialogic, I shouldn't have looked and sounded so upset and angry. But he was criticizing my baby, my passion. At the end of class Tiffany came up to me, "Thank You," and tapped my desk. I guess it was worth it to be angry-even if for only that.
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