#the way white cis women will cry that women are being erased by acknowledging that not only women need access to abortion for instance

[palms-upturned]

According to Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the moral to be drawn from women’s (i.e., white women’s) Civil War experiences was that women should never “labor to second man’s endeavors and exalt his sex above her own.”

There was a strong element of political naïvete in Stanton’s analysis of the conditions prevailing at the war’s end, which meant that she was more vulnerable than ever to racist ideology. As soon as the Union Army triumphed over their Confederate opponents, she and her co-workers insisted that the Republican party reward them for their wartime efforts. The reward they demanded was woman suffrage—as if a deal had been made; as if women’s rights proponents had fought for the defeat of slavery with the understanding that their prize would be the vote.

Of course the Republicans did not lend their support to woman suffrage after the Union victory was won. But it was not so much because they were men, it was rather because, as politicians, they were beholden to the dominant economic interests of the period. Insofar as the military contest between the North and the South was a war to overthrow the Southern slaveholding class, it was a war which had been basically conducted in the interests of the Northern bourgeoisie, i.e., the young and enthusiastic industrial capitalists who found their political voice in the Republican party. The Northern capitalists sought economic control over the entire nation. Their struggle against the Southern slaveocracy did not therefore mean that they supported the liberation of Black men or women as human beings.

(…) Granted, the [Fourteenth and Fifteenth] Amendments excluded women from the new process of enfranchisement and were thus interpreted by them as detrimental to their political aims. Granted, they felt they had as powerful a case for suffrage as Black men. Yet in articulating their opposition with arguments invoking the privileges of white supremacy, they revealed how defenseless they remained—even after years of involvement in progressive causes—to the pernicious ideological influence of racism.

Angela Y. Davis, Women Race & Class

[buddha-in-disguise]

This is how it's done

Episode 5.15 at last.

While the emphasis has been on Nia's story in this episode, the synopsis made it clear Alex, Kelly and J'onn had a secondary storyline running as well. So again we were eager to watch knowing they were finally getting more than a token few minutes together.

Did it deliver?

Oh hell yes.

You just have to look on Twitter to see the praise being heaped on it by fans.

But first let's get the elephant in the room out of the way. William.

The opening sequence as Kara is fighting with Nia, and Nia has to be the one reminding Kara she has a date? Already covered by me and others, but to reiterate: that does not give a vibe of someone excited to be going on a first date. You can't even use the excuse of her mind was on the fight, because so was Nia's.

As to Kara at her apartment with Alex prior to the date?

Those words, "Cancel it for me."

Lets say (for arguments sake) it is nerves again speaking. Maybe it is, but that she is even having those thoughts? That she completely forgot about the 1st date, and needed reminding? If Kara can't get invested in the date, how are the audience expected to become invested?

As for the date itself. Kara arrives.... having been told by Alex to wear the blue top because .... well reasons .... and she is wearing the purple? So, not wanting to go with the best look then?

I didn't mind the date per se, although I did wonder if Kara was simply trying to not show pool skills, because I can't believe for a second, with Alex as a sister, and the control Kara now has on her powers (worry over lack of control would be the only other reason for her hesitation that I can think of), Kara hasn't been pulled into playing many times.

Did I get a date vibe? No. I felt more bonding yes (like why has it taken until now to even vaguely have that much), but date? Nope. Still not feeling it. If any of the above was a one off instance, you could shrug it off. But all of them? Sorry but as I say, if Kara isn't that invested in a first date, then we can't be expected to be as invested. However, that isn't to say that William annoyed me. In truth having him more on the sidelines was a relief as it finally allowed others to get some much needed screen time.

The Nia storyline.

This is obviously one extremely close to me, as my husband is transgender, and we have other family who are also transgender.

Nicole's input was definitely felt. Some of the lines she spoke were ones we have said ourselves almost word for word.

This is a topic that is one I've been extremely vocal about, and one in particular I have spoken about (in the William and Kara at CatCo scene) is the figures for transgender people killed in the last year alone in the USA, but more importantly that this number is likely not a true representation as many who die are misgendered after death.

It was so important to show just how bad for the transgender community it is. And no, it wouldn't necessarily be a fact Kara would know. Even those in the LGBTQ community aren't always aware of these figures. As for William being the one stating the figures back to Kara, again in the context I had no qualms about it. In fact having a CIS straight man write the piece and be a supportive ally is an important message in it's own right. I was worried that wouldn't come across, but I felt it did.

If ever there was a line that spoke volumes in this weeks Supergirl episode it was this:

"They want us to be invisible because of their own fears, they want to erase us so...... we need to shine even brighter." - Nia Nal

And shine Nicole Maines (and Roxy Wood, because the additional line about being a Black transgender woman - take my heart, stomp over it, then expect me to function), did. Both deserve so much praise on the way they delivered their performances.

I genuinely cried at some of this weeks episode, because the experiences have been ones we have faced as a transgender household. Being white does afford us a privilege that Black transgender people (especially the women) don't have. But as I say, it has been something I've been vocal about for a long time.

Lastly Kara and Nia on the balcony. Holy mother of god (or goddess), tears. Again. Nicole and Melissa once again were so good it felt like a punch to the gut. Kara wiping that tear off Nia's cheek. Big ugly sobbing from me. Gah! Just ....

Now Alex and Kelly. While I'm still craving a nice intimate atmosphere at home with them, having had so little of Dansen (and Kelly) it was a relief that for once Kelly wasn't given diminished screentime. Not only that, she was instrumental in helping Alex navigate through the VR world.

Alex having that PTSD flashback to being in the tank. Whoa, finally acknowledging it affected her and obviously still does. I loved how Kelly is so good at helping Alex maintain her equilibrium. You could tell it wasn't just because of her training or profession, but as a girlfriend who knows and understands how to communicate to Alex in that moment of stress, much like Alex was able to realise Malefic was manifesting as Kelly in the earlier part of the season, simply because she knew her girlfriend well enough.

Watching Alex train to get used to the Martian weapon, felt very reminiscent of S1 where Alex was training Kara early on. It was good to see her off balance for once in her training, as she has always shown a confidence in her ability until now. For those who complain she brought up wanting to be back at the DEO, as someone who has heavy military presence in our family (for at least 4 generations on my maternal side), I can safely say, going from military (and remember the DEO is recognised and spoken about in canon as being a military operation), and suddenly and unexpectedly thrown back into civilian life is one heck of an adjustment. It's an adjustment for most even when they know it's coming. To be so abrupt, so unexpected? Alex is going to want that structure back, and have that support around her. It is absolutely not unrealistic for her to feel this way or to talk about it. I would've been more surprised if she hadn't.

"And this is my gun."

Alex giving no crap. The whole rescue sequence was a joy to watch.

If I had a complaint, as I mentioned, I would've loved just a moment of real quiet intimacy between Kelly and Alex. We've barely seen anything of that sort. I hope we get something next episode (which also looks amazing from the trailer).

I could go through the episode and pick up so many times on how good it was. It was so much, I know I will have forgotten something I wanted to say. But I'm exhausted (almost no sleep will do that to you, damn being in the UK and these stupid o'clock viewing times), and it was so much to unpack.

Brainy, was barely in the episode but damn, so lovely (& heartbreaking) to see him give the information to the NCPD to help against transphobic attacks.

Onto a side plot, but finally we have more about Leviathan.

Leviathan have those bodies suspended.

What if William dies in 5.19 and becomes one of those suspended bodies for 5.20 or was supposed to, as Nicole mentioned on her Instagram story they still had scenes to film, and a couple were pretty amazing? With Staz back, would it have involved him, possibly as a sleeper agent? I've touted this idea before. While I would prefer that a MOC isn't cast into being a bad guy again, or killed off, I would more than happily see him simply go back to London and The Times. But I guess we wait to see what happens there.

But if, like Russell in 5a, he becomes an unwitting agent of Leviathan & a bad guy, cue fight scene, possibly in a VR setting? Maybe? Who knows.

Last but by no means least - they killed off Jeremiah. Since we're not entirely sure if Cadmus operated in the same way on Earth Prime as they did on Earth 38, we don't yet know the circumstances behind his death.

Will we get more explanation about it? Honestly I'm not overly bothered unless it helps serve a current storyline. Merely because episode numbers are running out, and it does at least bring us closure on his character one way or another. Something a lot of us have questioned for so long now.

As for complaints, the only ones expressing any real disappointment have been fans who have either regularly attacked other fans (especially those of in the SC or Dansen fandoms), or the outright transphobic users (I won't call them fans), who as the episode makes clear, are everywhere. The transphobes come out in force everytime with Nicole, so it isn't a surprise to see them again. As Nia says, it what transgender people face on a daily basis.

Plus with no Lena in the episode, it helps show that fans didn't need a Lena/Kara centric episode for this to garner such positive reactions, particularly from the LGBTQ fans. In some ways, as many have been saying (yes even SC fans), this Lena drama has long since gone by its sell by date and not having Lena once more stuck in her laboratory wasn't missed. And god, I say this as a huge Lena fan. I still want her on screen of course, but we need progression on what is happening with her. Both Lex and Lena have felt stale of late, and while I know it changes as we get into the last few episodes, I can truly say neither was missed this time. And before anyone jumps in, no this isn't bashing SC (I still ship both Dansen and SC, as well as Brainia), or saying SC shouldn't happen, or Lena is evil, or not needed. I don't think that at all. I merely am getting tired of a merry-go-round on Lena in her laboratory that we've had of late, & the only interaction has been with Lex. Time to break her out of that cell!

I don’t know what they were putting in the water in Vancouver when they did the Batwoman and Supergirl episodes this week, but they both had me simultaneously laughing & crying! It looked ugly for a minute there.

Both were outstanding episodes.

As much as I've had my criticism over some of this season, when Supergirl get it right like they did here, they soar! This was one of my top episodes for the entire series.

And despite all the news in the world right now, Supergirl trended on Twitter again.

Gif courtesy of @ Daily_danvers on Twitter.

[ashleywgss]

Ten Ways an Intro to WGSS Course Will Change Your Thinking

Differences should be embraced, not erased

Some white liberals oftentimes use the expression “I don’t see color” in an attempt to seem progressive regarding racial discrimination. What these people don’t realize is that this viewpoint is actually quite damaging, for it ignores the discrimination marginalized people experience in their daily lives. Oftentimes, people with privilage whether they are white, cis, straight, wealthy, etc, ignore our differences out of guilt, because they do not want to be associated with the oppressor. However, liberation movements like the feminist movement will never be successful until we acknowledge and tackle the ways in which each marginalized identity experiences different issues. For example, though white women and black women are both women, a black woman experiences racism alongside sexism (also known as misogynoir). So a white woman may think rallying for equal pay in the workplace is an important feminist issue, they fail to acknowledge the racial pay gap between them and black women, or the racial discrimination that black women experienced in the workplace. White feminism alienates women of color by not addressing these issues, or expecting women of color to deal with them on their own instead of uniting to fight with them. I recommend Audre Lordes “Age, Race, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference” for further reading on this subject

Obesity is a lie

American society has a weight problem. And its not peoples weight that is the problem, it is the obsession society has over peoples weight. Contrary to popular belief, being overweight is not a sign of bad health. In fact, studies find very little evidence to suggest that being overweight increases the risk of developing diseases. And weight is actually determined more by genetics than a persons lifestyle. The stigma against fatness is about aesthetics, not health, as many people would like to claim. For proof of that, look no further than social media, where thin influencers can brag and receive praise for their ability to stay thin and eat junk food, whereas those who are overweight and do the same are looked down upon. Unfortunately, the 60 billion dollar weight-loss industry cannot profit off of the facts, and so this misconception continues to be pushed by ads and public figures without question. Thankfully, I no longer fall for this rhetoric after taking my WGSS class, where we read the article “Sized Up” by Anna Mollow that exposed this issue.

Dunking on men isn't actually feminist

To be a feminist is not to be anti-male. The purpose of feminism is not to hate men or put the sole blame of the existence of patriarchy onto men. This line of thinking is individualistic in nature and does not confront the root of the issue of sexism. The Patriarchy is the way in which society is structured, on a foundational level, and not merely the result of a popular idea among men. This is why women can also sometimes participate in anti-feminist behavior. For example, Allan G Johnson outlines this concept more thoroughly in the second chapter of his book “The Gender Knot”. "The crucial thing to understand about patriarchy or any other kind of social system is that it’s something people participate in. It’s an arrangement of shared understandings and relationships that connect people to one another and something larger than themselves. In some ways, we’re like players who participate in a game."

Gender is literally made up

I never realized just HOW much of a construct gender really was until I took this class. We read an article titled “The Medical Construction of Gender” by Suzanne Kessler that really opened my eyes. The article details a study that was done where six pediatricians were interviewed about their attitudes and procedures regarding intersex children. Essentially, the researchers wanted to know what went into the process of identifying the baby’s gender. Their answers were a far cry from the purely biological and scientific methodology often spouted by TERFs and right wing fanatics. The doctors decisions were incredibly arbitrary and mostly boiled down to aesthetics. For instance, one of the doctors claimed that if a baby’s penis was considered a “micro-penis”, they would be gendered as a girl in order to avoid stigmatization. And though these babies born intersex were perfectly healthy, they had to undergo an array of tests and surgical procedures to satisfy the status quo (one doctor literally said “corrections’ must be done ASAP to prevent upsetting the parents). Gender did not exist naturally, gender was created by society.

Until black women are free, none of us will be free

Black women are likely the most marginalized identity in western society. In 1977 the Combahee River Collective, a black feminist political group, highlighted this fact in their Collective Statement. We read the statement in its entirety in class and I highly recommend it. It details how black women face both racial and sexual oppression, and how that makes their struggle unique. Black women are also positioned at the bottom of the economic hierarchy. If the systems of class, race, and patriarchy are all interconnected, then they all must be destroyed in order to achieve true liberation. And if black women, who experience all of these forms of oppression, feel alienated from all of the movements fighting against these systems, then they failed to untangle themselves from the interconnections of oppression and will ultimately fail. The Combahee Collective said it best: “If Black women were free, it would mean that everyone else would be free since our freedom would necessitate the destruction of all the systems of oppression”.

Feminist history is so much more expansive than Susan B. Anthony

As mentioned earlier, the womens rights movement has had an issue with the centuring of white women. This has resulted in the retelling of the history of this movement to also be centered around white women. I remember my history class in 7th grade touching on this history, and only mentioning Susan B Anthony and the suffragettes before moving onto another topic. If this is what most people’s experience is, then a WGSS is incredibly necessary to really understand the history of feminism and know the influential women who fought for it. The class itself is an introduction into black feminist thought, and much of the source material is black feminists like Audre Lorde, Angela Davis, and bell hooks. And their work will detail the efforts and organizations of even more feminists. In Women, Race, and Class by Angela Davis, I learned about the activists Ida B Wells and Mary Church Terrell.

Girl boss feminism actually perpetuates inequality

Capitalism is very good at co-opting social justice movements and feminism is not exception. At some point between the second wave and today, feminism is not about liberation, but about equality. It is not about the destruction of the patriarchy but about overcoming it. “Equality” and “overcoming patriarchy” might seem like admirable goals, but they actually serve as a way to deradicalize feminism and embrace capitalism. Now, the goal is to become a “girl boss”, to beat the odds and amass wealth and power just like men do. But more women CEO’s and millionaires wont fix anything. Most of the women who even reach these heights are privileged themselves (usually white and upperclass) and they exploit poor women, women of color, and women in the global south just as their male counterparts do.

The imperialist white supremacist capitalist patriarchy cannot be fixed

One thing about oppression cannot be understated and that is: oppression is systematic. Racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, transphobia, no matter what it is, it is not the result of just bigoted thoughts and ideas spread from person to person, generation to generation. It is not something that can be stopped only through changes in behavior. Oppression is enforced by the foundation of society. That means the schools, the financial institutions, the media, and most importantly, the government. The government puts discrimination into law. Laws are created that are used to target marginalized people. For instance, stop and frisk inplemented in New York City, which gave cops and excuse to target black people for no reason. The crime bill, the war on drugs, the war on terror, the list goes on. Oppression is the foundation of the United States of America. The country was built upon genocide and slavery. And not amount of voting can fix that. In the book “Building an Abolitionist Trans and Queer Movement with Everything We’ve Got” I learned the ways that these systems should be dealth with, and that is through collective action and mututal aid, and avoiding relying on the system responsible for creating it.

Feminism needs to be trans-inclusive

If the goal of feminism is to end sexist oppression, then that means feminists seek unity of the marginalized, and an end to patriarchal oppression and biological essentialism. Women come in all shapes and sizes, have different attributes and traits and desires. Women are not innately anything or defined by her reproductive abilities. If a woman gets a total hysterectomy, she is not suddenly not a woman because she no longer has the reproductive parts. If feminists can agree this is true, then there is no reason to push back against the notion that transwomen are women. Just like cis women, transwomen should not be defined by their bodies or personalities. They also do not receive the privillages in society that men do, and experience high rates of physical and sexual violence. To reject transwomen from the feminist movement is to reject the core principles of feminism.

[laundryandtaxes]

do u agree with any parts of radical feminist theory?

That depends a lot on what you consider radical feminism, but many of its core tenets, yes, although I don’t agree with all of them (for instance, I think gendered socialization of children is important and needs discussing to not erase the reality of loads of little girls, but it needs to be understood socially as literal abuse and grooming for heterosexual relations later in life, and while boys typically make it through childhood with a better self image a lot of the socialization of boys is emotional abuse meant to detach them from their emotions, make them afraid to cry, make them cruel and angry, etc- that’s not the problem of every woman a man encounters and he’s still responsible for his actions but the idea that being raised with the intention of shaping you into a man is itself a privilege is the worst possible understanding of socialization, and if socialization affected everyone the same way all women would be timid and hate themselves and lack confidence and be afraid to take up space and speak out, which many women, including myself, are not at all, so this idea of socialization determining who you will be is silly and foolish; I think it is important to acknowledge that gender is a set of material relations, and your place within it is determined by your life chances, relationship to patriarchy, your paycheck, your race, and your sex or at least your perceived sex regardless of your identity, but I think misgendering people to point that out is needlessly cruel when many, say, afab nonbinary identified people who are not gnc will acknowledge that to some extent; I think worshipping at the altar of sex is as foolish as worshipping at the altar of gender identity) and every single woman who uses that term for herself means something slightly different by it.

If you’re talking the works of Dworkin, Wittig, and hooks then I love the body of work. If you’re talking Daly and Jeffreys, it’s a trash ideology composed of half truths, weird hatred of gnc people and trans people who often share the literal same life experiences as in Jeffrey’s absurdly homophobic claims about feminine gay men, and an oddly mystical understanding of sex for a feminism which claims to be solidly materialist. Either way the body of work is quite different from the ideology of the women who now carry its torch- not all of them are hateful, but a great many of them are, and many also have no set of broad politics outside of radical feminism, which it needs to stabilize and make sense of it- for instance, gender can be a biological category or a class category, but it cannot be both, and because classes are never, ever naturally occurring from a Marxist perspective, it makes no sense to say Buck Angel, or even a trans guy who lives 100% stealth, is in the same class wrt gender as I am, even though trans guys who don’t pass all the time or aren’t out and I have more experiences in common than not imo. I don’t think finding community on the basis of shared experiences wrt sex is necessarily evil- loads of trans men I’ve talked to long for social circles of gnc cis women, not cis dudes, because they can’t relate to them- but community and class are not the same. My neighborhood is a community. It is not a material class in itself.

So I agree with a lot of it, but without a broader analysis it falls apart pretty easily, just like liberal feminism makes no real sense outside of the logic of liberalism generally. Gender is either naturally occurring along the lines of sex, or a class under radical feminism. You have to pick one. The bourgeoisie is not naturally occuring, neither is whiteness, and I would say that neither is womanhood in a meaningful (more than biological) sense. If we aim to abolish womanhood we need to aim to abolish what gender actually is, a set of relations constraining the liberation of women and recreating the class of men just like capitalism constrains the liberation of the proletariat (who exist ONLY in relation to it) and creates the class of the bourgeois. I can’t imagine trying to justify to Dworkin why I thought “woman = adult human female” was the basis for like, solid political movement outside of stuff where sex is primary like sex selective abortions, abortion access, reproductive rights (though trans people being able to both transition and have kids is part of reproductive justice), access to education for girls (and again, a gnc boy for instance will have lots of barriers to education, like bullying and sexual harassment), but that stuff doesn’t encompass the whole of feminism and feminist action.

This is long but idk, it is to settle the record lol since there is lots of conjecture on every side about my gender politics. For this a lot of people suspect I secretly hate trans people and a lot of other people suspect I secretly hate women for talking about stuff like menstrual stigma as a women’s issue. Neither is true. Anyway all of this is why I call myself a Marxist feminist, because my politics are primarily Marxist and I approach feminism through the same ideological framework.