Request: Feminist Theory for Dummies

[noamnety]

From conversations passed through private messages here:

"Maybe we should start a thread in the feminist group where we ask them to explain some current theories in simple terms, and provide links to short (SHORT) essays online that can act as a bridge between total ignorance and the commitment required to slog through hardcore feminist tomes."

"I'm all for that. 'Cause yeah, they start talking about all this stuff and I'm like whoa I don't know what's going on anymore, wait for me! I mean, a lot of it sounds interesting but I just don't have the patience to figure out what it all means."

Can y'all shed some light on what's going on in the world of women's studies, or feminist theory (or at least clue us in on what we're supposed to call it)?

We're hoping for readable stuff, stuff that specifically excludes the phrase "vis-a-vis."

[BlueIris]

1. Try reading the forum guidelines before posting here. That should help.

I know, it's so hard. Reading, that is. So adult, and requiring such effort.

I know that following the DU rules is hard for some DU users to do as well. You really should make the effort, though.

Those who honestly don't know what feminism is and don't care to invest the time or develop the consideration to learn what it is on their own shouldn't be posting here, as is clearly stated in the rules. And those who don't feel like learning about the rules for each DU group should stay out of the groups.

Seriously, basic definitions of feminism are not that hard to grasp, and they're not that hard to find spelled out around here. Check out the rules. Follow the links. Read the information at the links. Or, you know, you could actually swing by Borders' women's studies section (such as it is) and peruse the stock. Yes, that requires more reading, as well as actually spending your money on books. If you don't have the means, maybe your public library can help.

Jesus Christ. It's 2006. If you have figured out how to operate a computer, you should be able to figure out the basic definition of "feminist theory."

[noamnety]

2. Well, that wasn't quite the guidance I was looking for.

I read, I go to bookshops, I've purchased four books in the last three weeks (history, essays). But I also work more than fulltime, I do some volunteer work, and I'm interested in a lot of different subjects - I want to learn more than I know on this topic, and I'm freely admitting I don't have time to turn that into a fulltime endeavor. From the messaging I've done here, I know that I'm not alone in hoping someone can suggest some good start points for a person who is interested in the subject, but is having trouble because the more involved stuff they've looked at references a thousand other things we haven't been exposed to. I feel like I did in college physics class, when we were told we didn't need calculus as a prerequisite, but suddenly all the lectures assumed we knew it anyway.

I was hoping people might have favorite essays that they would recommend - things that move me beyond "the system is stacked against us" (tell me about it, I've been a single mom ... been the only woman in an army unit) into scholarly writing, but something that doesn't presume an existing level of theoretical knowledge on the subject, which I don't have. In the education forum I asked for suggestions on some research and guidance on recent history, and got some very useful feedback. I'm hoping I will here as well.

I went back and looked at the forum rules, and I don't see anything that precludes asking this question. I did see: The goal of this group is to understand the problems (and how they affect women), identify the myriad causes (and how they can limit a woman's vision and opportunity) and propose solutions (and how we can bring those solutions in a meaningful way out into the greater community). That sums up what I'm here for.

peace.

[bloom]

3. There is always wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism

And it has links to various Subtypes of feminism. I haven't read them all. I am drawn to radial feminists ideas, myself. Also LOTS of links.


And then there are favorite blogs. Like:

http://redstatefeminist.blogspot.com/

http://blog.iblamethepatriarchy.com/

http://pinkofeministhellcat.typepad.com/pinko_feminist_hellcat/

http://laurelin.wordpress.com/

http://www.bitingbeaver.blogspot.com/

http://www.echidneofthesnakes.blogspot.com/

http://melancholicfeminista.blogspot.com/

http://www.amptoons.com/blog/

http://www.pandagon.net/

http://www.feminista.com/issues/front.php

[noamnety]

4. Thanks!

I've bumped into two of those blogs before. I think I'll hunker down and take a longer look at them, and follow their links as well. I'm looking at the wikipedia entry - I didn't know there were quite SO many subtypes of feminism. Yikes. :)

[bloom]

5. you're welcome!

:hi:

[ismnotwasm]

6. You can keep it simple.

Being on the more radical side myself, I would rather keep feminism in your face and strong, but I understand the word has been demonized, and thus lost a lot of potency. Some feminists want keep to ideological door open-- so to speak-- making it easier to accept some of implications of feminism, as well as what it means to live in a patriartical society.
Women's studies and the history of feminism is quite enlightening, almost spiritual when you get far enough into it to get the "AHA" factor. Keep on open mind, and keep reading and you'll get there.

[Cerridwen]

7. Here's a link to a page which defines some feminist theories

http://www-lib.usc.edu/~retter/lst2.html

It's a nice primer type of page. Not too long, not too short, not too pedantic. It's also not quite complete but it's a good starting place. It shows feminist theories side by side which makes some of the differences easier to understand.

And if you're ever wondering why feminists go after language meaning and use, a truly good book is

"Speaking freely:" Unlearning the lies of the fathers' tongue. Penelope, Julia (1990). New York: Pergamon Press. It's not too wieldy a slog and well worth the effort to understand how language is frequently used against us; not just us feminists, but us liberals, workers, etc.

And, just for fun "How to be a Fabulous Feminist" from the poster of the same name:

Fight Sexism. Do it Now Say Yes to Female- to Justice- to Freedom. Love Yourself, Love other Women. Say No! Get angry, Get Active. Don't Agonize- Organize. Fight racism- classism- ageism- homophobiasizism and ableism. Lower pain and isolation. Raise Consciousness, Raise self esteem. Think Globally- Act locally. Avoid Burnout. Be Woman identified. Create Safety. Take Risks. Take Your Power Back. Do it Now! Live equality. Thank Yourself. Celebrate Women Survivors. Invent Herstory. Shatter Myths, pioneer, trailblaze. Discover She-Her-We-I-Woman. Honor lesbians. Say Yes to Power. Love Your Body. Decorate yourself anyway you like. Have Happy Sex. Visualize Perfect Birth Control. Keep Abortion Safe, legal and accessible. Help A Mother today. Make every child A Funded Child. Praise Rebel Spinsters. Do it Now. Be A woman's movement. Vote, March, Girlcott, Lobby, Write letters. Elect Progressive Women. Win the ERA. Stop the Violence Against Women. Demand Economic Justice For All. Say Yes to More Money. Fun-raise, raise Hell. Do it Now. Cherish Your Mother Earth. Be anti-war. Liberate Oppression. Think Humanarchy. Make peace with Men. Be a Mover and A Shaker. Support Bad Girls. Join A Feminist Political Organization. Volunteer, give love, give money. Get Powerful, Get Respect. Heal Yourself. Heal the World. Collect Fabulous Memories.

[cally]

8. Thanks for your post

I'm following many of the links provided here. BTW, you don't have to well versed in feminist theory to be a feminist.

[noamnety]

9. I consider myself a feminist

have no problem with the word whatsoever.

I just figured after declaring myself one for the last 20 years, it might be time to do some studying up on the issue so I can talk semi-intelligently about it with other people. In the military, it wasn't an issue that my friends discussed much. :)

Now that I'm moving in a different circle of friends, the issue comes up a bit more. I haven't thought much in the past about how it related to sustainable development, other forms of oppression, and so forth.

Thanks - everyone - for providing some links, especially the book about language, another pet interest.

[lukasahero]

10. lwfern, You are one of my favorite posters

Thanks for asking a good question. I'm not well versed in the academics of current feminist theory myself. I just know how it feels to be brought up a woman in today's world. I think that probably qualifies us.

But if you want some excellent readable explanations of women's studies, you could do worse than to start right here in this group. If people go over your head, or are talking about stuff you're not familiar with, ask. Trust me, most of us love to talk. ;) But if you want someone to bring it down a notch (i.e. - in "english" please for those of us with no background), just say so. Seriously, there are some incredibly smart women here who have scads of knowledge on this subject.

If you want more information to be brought out here in this thread, maybe you could give some idea of things that have you (and your PM partners) confused: "they start talking about all this stuff" - What stuff? Seriously. Give us a specific question and you may be surprised to see the amount of information you get in return. :)

Also, early in the history of this group, there were a few posts recommending feminist blogs etc. You might want to check some of them out.

Thanks for dropping in. :hi:

[noamnety]

11. The things that have us confused

actually reference outside conversations more than anything directly posted here. We keep running into jargon from emails or meeting groups, and being the masochists we are, we keep returning for more. :)

In addition to all that, I'm also puzzling through this thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=965714

(Summary: A group of men are at a picnic table watching a DVD player. Two people steal it. Two of the picnic group chase them, and get murdered/beaten)

And wanting to know why it doesn't degenerate into rhetoric about whether the murdered guy was "asking for it" by:

1) displaying (flaunting) his expensive eletronics in public, and
2) chasing after a known thief, thereby deliberately inserting himself into a dangerous situation

The only other time I see a prevalent "they were asking for it" mentality is in regards to the military - such as enlistees that refuse to serve in Iraq. ("They knew what they were signing up for.")

[lukasahero]

12. We've tried to have that conversation

I'll check later to see if I can find the post. The supposition was shot down. We won the battle (by good googling) but it didn't go anywhere - people will continue to believe what is convenient (non-threatening) for them to believe regardless of the presented facts.

As for references from other conversations, maybe we could start like a PM buddy list or something so that when we do run across terms/ideas that we're not familiar with, we could PM the group for information? I'm really not as well versed on the theory side of things as others here are but I would certainly welcome inquiries. If I don't have the answer, I could forward the question on to another... Would something like that help?