[duedue]

Here is a pert about "Exploring Feminism".

Quote:

In this the third part of our series which examines the role of feminism in the destruction of Truth, our three intrepid heroines explore the issues of equality and the double standard. In what way, they fearlessly ask, do men perpetuate the double standard?
[...]
Katherine: Hmm, to my mind, what you say is obviously correct and beyond argument. But putting on the Devil's hat for a moment, what is so wrong about the idea of men and women sharing the same values? Surely it wouldn't be all that bad?

Mary: It would be awful. I mean, if we adopt the same values as men, then how could we possibly experience the pleasures of being feminine? How could we hang prettily off a man's arm, for example, or revel in the silk and flow of a lovely, new dress? How could we lose ourselves in the joy of the moment and gossip happily to our friends about the latest brand of lipstick? How could we concentrate on appearing reflective and deep and poetic as if staring into the outer reaches of the infinite, in the way men find so attractive? Adopt the same concerns as men? No thank you! I mean, as every woman knows, a man's life is filled with suffering. You only have to look at him to see that he carries the whole world on his shoulders. Who'd want to be like that? This is precisely why we think men are fools in the first place! No, I prefer to run and jump and play with my children. The last thing I could possibly want is to be like a man.

Julie: Yes, but we do want the same privileges as men.

Mary: Oh, absolutely.

Julie: Although we don't want to actually adopt the same values as men and experience the same masculine suffering which comes with assuming responsibility for oneself, we nevertheless want to be regarded as their equal.

Katherine: Good. You see, here we have a flat contradiction, and I believe that encouraging people to accept flat contradictions is the most effective way of destroying consciousness. You're saying that even though women do not want to perform the same activities as men, they nevertheless want to be treated the same as men and be given the same respect as men?

Mary: Precisely.

Julie: Hmm, I don't know. I think that women do want to perform the same activities as men, but only up to a point. In other words, we want to emulate men to the degree that it gives us pleasure; but should it turn the least bit nasty, then we, as free and liberated beings of the universe, demand the right to be able to dive quickly back into the safety of our femininity.

Mary: Yes, we want men to be the ones who stand up to the might of nature and risk life and limb in order to build the secure havens necessary for civilized existence. I mean, what else are they good for? Surely, men only exist for the sake of creating the structures in which women can safely nestle down and enjoy life to the full.

Julie: Yes, the darlings are truly our slaves, but they mistakenly believe they're our masters!

Mary: That's what makes them so cute!

Katherine: This is terrific stuff, because it all smacks of a double standard. You want women to be different to men, yet at the same time you want women to be given the same respect as men!

Mary: Absolutely. Equal but different, that's our philosophy.

Katherine: And an excellent philosophy it is, too!

Julie: This is why we propagate the idea that men and women have their own truths. Each sex has its own unique body, you see, with its own particular set of genitals, and therefore each sex must have its own truths, its own morality, its own set of values, and its own ultimate purpose in life.

Katherine: And men swallow this rubbish?

Julie: Well, yes. Especially when we say it prettily.
[...]

Mary: Well, I would have thought it was obvious. The double standard gives women all the freedom and happiness they could possibly desire, while burdening men with all the dreaded accountability. At bottom, we want men to be responsible for everything we do, because then we can frolic through life like a child.

Julie: As well as giving us plenty of injustices to complain about!

Mary: That's right. And to have both sexes judged according to a single standard would destroy this utterly. So you can see why we constantly accuse men of oppressing us with a double standard: it so beautifully preserves the double standard which we find so liberating.

Katherine: It is often said there are only two types of women: virgins and victims. Whoever made that one up was a genius.

Julie: Yes, it is only when women are oppressed that they feel truly free.

Mary: And this is why I think women like to preach that everyone is intrinsically valuable and of equal worth. It implies that consciousness and unconsciousness are of equal value and so gives permission to women to act as unconsciously as they please.

Katherine: This is good stuff! In other words, you're saying that there is no good and bad, no right or wrong, no superior and inferior, etc.

Mary: That's right. Everything everybody does is valuable.

[...]
Katherine: Oh, I see. So really, women should qualify their preaching by saying, "everything everyone does is valuable, except most of what men do."

Mary: No, no, no. Listen closely. We say to men, "Everything everybody does is valuable. There is no right or wrong. Good and bad are relative, blah, blah, blah." Okay? Then we turn around and accuse them of all sorts of evil behaviour. Okay? So while men are pummelled into submission trying to fathom that one out, we can get on with our lives in peace.

Julie: And while they're busy cowering and sniveling and gushing about our awesome powers, they won't get it into their heads to try and imprison us in this one standard of theirs.

Mary: Which they inevitably devise.

Julie: Exactly.

Katherine: Now, I'm with you. Your goal is to completely destroy all reason and so break man's spirit completely. And in so doing, you turn him into an automaton which hovers at your beck and call.

Mary: Absolutely. What other use could a man possibly have?

Katherine: Ah, all this is music to my ears. With feminism around, how can truth and integrity have a hope? Not only does feminism encourage people to accept and value contradictions and inconsistencies in their lives, but it persuades the world that the whole notion of standards is a joke. Or to express it more accurately, feminism is all about wrestling the power of judgment from men and giving it to women. The masculine desire to relate everything to a single principle is slowly being obliterated and in its place an ever shifting landscape of feminine whim is taking shape. One minute, there may be one standard; the next moment, there may be two; the next, five billion - who cares? Whatever suits the whim of a woman is all that matters.

Mary: This goes to the root of all feminism, actually. What women really complain about is not that they're being oppressed by men - for let's face it, we enjoy being dominated by men - but the masculine insistence that everything should be related to a single standard which is constant over time. I mean, honestly, what a bore!