re: re: Re: virus: Re:[genius] Sexism

Bryan Wheelock (wheelock@mindspring.com)
Mon, 22 Feb 1999 23:14:58 -0800

>>I'm sorry, but I have something more to say.
>
>>Hey, it's a battle to beat back sexism, but give it a rest, girl! Fight,
>but keep your sense of humor. Life just isn't that serious.
>
>It's so easy for you to say 'give it a rest', isn't it?
>
>Are you for women in the military? Why?
>
> What do you have
>to worry about? One of my personal principles is that Life is too short to
>spend living it in fear.
>
>Then please follow your principles.
>
> I don't always dwell on the negative BUT, the
>fact is, "one out of every six college women will be the victim of a rape
>or attempted rape while an undergraduate", and by the time I graduate (I'm
>nearing my third year), I will probably be raped.

(A man in a long white coat steps into the light of a stark white sterile lab. To his right is a very delicate scanning tunneling microscope. To his left is a plasma torch. He gently begins to probe the little idea with a stick that he found in the woods.)

I think that the Feminism movement has some of the more powerful memes that I have seen. I don't know if I can even think of a woman that wouldn't consider herself a feminist.

This meme has began maybe 50 years ago and has reached at least 25% of the population. How did this spread so quickly?

My guess is that these memes are passed on to women at a point when they are very confused about their personal identity. This created the opportunity for the idea to slip inside.

So the freshman girl at the Big School decides to try on the idea. The statistics make a lot of sense.(This makes it seem scientific.)There are the numbers right there on the paper. (Click) There are also a lot of anecdotes about some of the bad things men have done against women.

This same girl most likely is surrounded by people during the incubation phase that all hold the same beliefs.(Peer pressure)

When I think about it, the male sex really has screwed me over.(grr) That sure wasn;t right. I did all the right things. He must be evil. Men are evil. (Whack of their little heads)
(This creates a generalized enemy to rally against.)

Plus most of the statistics are very scary. I personally wouldn't want to be raped.

The Feminism movement also has a very evangelical component. I am not quite sure how they get that element. I would guess speading the word is ones personal duty.

Kristy, I would love to hear exactly how you began to learn about this? What exactly was it that made it feel true? How do you know that it is not wrong.

I think that Feminism can teach us a great deal?

How do you want to perceive it,
Bryan