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, with a special thank you to Carnival organiser, Heart, at |
Sex-Trading = Slave-Trading? We have placed posts on this topic separately. To view, click on the title. The main conflict here is between the abolitionist view and the regulationist (or reformist) view. Generally speaking, radical feminists are abolitionist, seeing it as a form of human slavery and an abuse of human rights. Whereas liberal reformists tend to focus on harm-minimisation policies through industry regulation, and establishing a binary between willing choosers and unwilling (forced) prostitution. Other Features
The first half of 2008 saw a competitive primary (or Party pre-selection) race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for Democratic Party nomination for the US Presidential election, which triggered tensions in some sections of the feminist internet sphere, primarily in the USA. Following Gloria Steinem's op-ed piece in the NYT in January, a number of north-american feminist critiques appeared, such as by Jennifer at the Mixed Race America blog: Do we have to choose between racism and sexism? |
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Some tangents developed into a more general discussion of racism within north-american feminism, for example Suzanne Reisman at the blogher blog: Racism in the Feminist Movement. Black feminist Jennifer McClune at Celies Revenge blog, provides thoughts on her own experiences of sexism in her post:
Some Thoughts on Choosing Sides
Jeyoani provides a thoughtful post on the intersection of racism and sexism at Womensspace blog Jeyoani on Racism, Privilege and Woman-Hating
Others felt that public misogyny had become so extreme, intense, widespread and violent, that it deserves more attention as an issue in its own right. Daphne Merkin at Alternet speculates on the social acceptability of misogyny in: The Bitch and the Air-Head: Women-Bashing makes a gut-wrenching comeback.
Anglachel also speaks on the political acceptability of misogyny in a series of posts in her blog Anglachel's Journal
Australian feminists also faced conflict over race during 2008, concerning the Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER) a.k.a. the 'Intervention',. In 2007, the former federal government declared a form of martial law as a 'national emergency' in many Aboriginal communities of the Northern Territory, in response to a report on high rates of child sexual abuse in Aboriginal communities. Some Indigenous and non-Indigenous activists and feminists supported the imposition of apartheid-style social and welfare laws as being justified (at least partially), others like Linda Ford, did not: The August 2008 publication of Germaine Greer's essay around male rage, "On Rage", and her media interviews sparked more controversy, with claims that she was being racist. Some feminists felt that Greer's essay was using racism to excuse male violence against women, as in Skepticlawyer's blog post: What happened to Greer's Feminism?. Others disagreed, as in Kim's post on LarvatusProdeo blog: 'On Rage' - Book Review, noting Greer attempting to highlight the erasure and denial of responsibility of white male violence in the debate. Many of us recognise strong connections between the abuse of women, animals and the natural environment, and in-principle, once supported organisations like PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). No longer, as the ends do not justify the means - its continuing use of sexually degrading images of women to raise public awareness of animal abuse in its campaigns, are angering many feminists.
The-Fury : Australian Radical Feminism Radical Feminist Carnivals! |
 . Gender CrossingSimilar to the differences in the political positions on prostitution/pornography, the main conflict here is while some strands of feminism include trans-sexualism, most radical feminists do not, as Margaret Jamison at Arooo blog points out in her post: By Any Other Name Womanistmusings blog in Black Men, Take Off The Dress, views Black drag, or gender minstrel performance in pop culture as offensive; ".. The genderized minstrel show is the perfect example of the ways in which race and gender intersect. It is the visible representation of the oppressed, becoming the oppressor. What black men who perform the gender minstrel show fail to understand is that the same power that allows them to demean women in this manner, is what allows whiteness to perform racist acts, as a prime example of racism." The essay Whose Biology-is-Destiny Around Here Anyway?, also discusses the role of trans-sexualism in erasure of female human experience of sex-based oppression. In 2004, the UK enacted the Gender Recognition Act, which allows trans-sexuals to change their legal gender. Pollystyrene at Cows Gone Wild blog in If this is Justice, then I'm a Banana describes the operation of the legislation, its impact on related legislation such as the Sex Discrimination Act, and the implications of legally defining what a "woman" is, based on social gender stereotypes. In November, Julie Bindel in her UK Guardian magazine blog post : Its Not Me. Its You. , responds to trans-community criticism of her nomination for a journalist of the year award by a gay rights organisation. Women's Global War of Terror Some submissions we received were of individual women's personal stories around male violence against women, from a variety of countries, with some submissions including links to news stories over the past year. Such violence is a common thread in girls and women's lives across the globe, from incidents of harrassment, to widespread rape and torture used as a Weapon-of-Mass (female) Destruction in war.
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