[Noisebridge-discuss] happy feminist film night: Hayao Miyazaki?

[Adrian Chadd]

On 29 July 2013 15:18, rachel lyra hospodar <rachelyra at gmail.com> wrote:

> (I am re-forwarding to list, in the hopes of keeping public discussion
> public. I'm not in this discussion to get feminist troll jollies, or to do
> pro bono one-on-one lessons in feminist thought. I'm seeking to have public
> culturehacking discussions about issues that are clearly important to many
> members of the NB community.)

.. and I would've at least liked you to ask if you could have
forwarded the response public. I would've said yes. Oh well, with that
in mind..

>
> Your question seems to me to presuppose a parity in this discussion - ie,
> that in a discussion about feminism, the opinions of all should be weighted
> equally.

My question was actually not about feminimsm. My question was about
your particular open-ness to change your views on a variety of topics.

And just so people don't misunderstand me, I'll re-quote my question in-line:

===

This begs a question, if only to see what it's like from your perspective.

I completely agree with your "are you willing to modify your position"
outlook. But does this also mean you're willing to modify your own
ideals, morals and opinions? Which ones would you hold steadfastly to,
even in the face of evidence?

I tend to get some very uncomfortable silences when I ask people this
as they tend to assume I'm trolling rather than seeing if they're
truly as open to adapting to a changing world and accepting their own
shortcomings as they expect others to be. Hence, I'm curious.

===

Nowhere here did I once mention "feminimsm." Again, with that said..

> I believe that in a discussion about feminist goals, women are the de facto
> experts. I do not expect blind abasement to my opinions in all matters. I do
> expect that my opinion of [*what women ought to do* in order to try and be
> less oppressed] is more valid than that of a not-woman.

*nod*

> I further often hear similar sentiments to this email that to me, overall,
> sound like 'why do *you* get to have prime number one opinion?! Unfair!'
> Which seems to indicate a belief that I would hold (or have held) the same
> stance WRT some other discussion that is not supposed to be centered on what
> I think and feel. I change my beliefs all the time, based on evidence I am
> constantly gathering from the world around me. I listen really well to the
> opinions of others, actually. After all, part of how they train you to be a
> woman in this society is to make sure you listen more and speak less. We are
> experts at hearing how your opinions center in your self. We are the half of
> society that is trained to center in others, to listen, support, and learn
> passively. We must undo that training and if you want to help then google
> around 'how to be a good ally'. I promise it starts and ends with listening,
> and has f*ckall to do with you worrying about my personal growth. Worry
> about your own.
>
> I only started learning the language of feminism recently, to describe
> patterns I have empirically observed in a way that is more systematized,
> less easily dismissed. Ultimately, feminism is centered on women, what they
> think, feel, and want. It's not about anything except the collaborative
> opinion of a certain group of people.
>
> Which seems to be the main sticking point for lots of folks.
>
> I invite you to consider that this novel feeling is in fact a reversal of an
> invisible, insidious, and very strong status quo.

Thank you for your response.



-adrian