Feminism 101: On Anger

Niflmir

A modern nomad
Dec 18, 2006
3,460
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Leiden, the Netherlands
I'm just going to leave this here, by way of explanation, by way of apology for people who maybe I stepped on in passing, to all those I sleighted without realizing it. Then I'm going to cool off.

Feminism 101: On Anger
Melissa McEwan

This may be the shortest Feminism 101 post I ever write.

Here's the thing: To a subjugated person (yes, this, like most of my F101 posts, can be easily modified for application to most oppressed groups), anger is perfectly rational.

If you have even the merest capacity of imagination, it shouldn't be difficult for you to conjure your emotional reaction if you were, for example, told your entire life that you are equal, only to have the opposite be communicated to you in big and small ways every minute of every day, or if, as another example, there were people who argued that they should have control over some significant function of your body, that they needed to rob you of personal autonomy because they can make better decisions for you than you can for yourself, or if, for instance, you made less money for doing the same job someone else is doing for more, just because of some arbitrary physical feature, like, say, the color of your eyes.

If you are indeed in possession of the capacity of imagination, you have no doubt concluded by this juncture that these scenarios, coupled with a lack of immediate recourse, might make you angry.

So the idea that a feminist/womanist with demonstrable anger is somehow nutz is actually quite stupid.

Here's the other thing: If you are a genuine ally to feminists/womanists, you will never, ever, criticize a feminist/womanist's tone for being "too angry."

And you will never do this because, if you are a genuine ally, not only will you have internalized an understanding of the perfect rationality of the anger expressed by feminists/womanists, but you will also share that anger.

How can you look at a cultural landscape of institutionalized inequality and not be angry, right? I mean, if you're a genuine ally and all.

And, if you are, you'll be glad for that anger, because you know that the opposite of anger, for a progressive, is complacence—and there can be no progress if everyone is perfectly complacent with the way things are.

Progress is dependent on people who get angry, because anger—productive anger, motivating anger, directed anger, rational anger—is the root of all progress.

Feminists/womanists and their allies know that change comes by virtue of anger.

Progress ain't fueled by rainbows and gumdrops.

If you're not angry, you're probably not helping.
 

AnnaG

Hall of Fame Member
Jul 5, 2009
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Exactly. Why do guys have to be such jerks?
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Kidding. :D
 

SirJosephPorter

Time Out
Nov 7, 2008
11,956
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Ontario
Exactly. Why do guys have to be such jerks?
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Kidding. :D

There is no kidding about it Anna, some guys really are jerks. How many men opposed the vote to women? There are many men who have opposed the struggle of women to achieve equality at each and every stage (so have some women).

That is the same mentality which opposed the civil rights struggle by blacks, and which is opposing granting gays the equal rights today. Well, in Canada they have achieved equal rights, but in USA many men are opposing any attempts to grant gays equal rights tooth and nail.

So your comment is quite valid, some guys really are jerks. On the other hand, there are many men who support equal rights for women, blacks, gays and other minorities.
 

Cannuck

Time Out
Feb 2, 2006
30,245
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Alberta
How many men opposed the vote to women? There are many men who have opposed the struggle of women to achieve equality at each and every stage (so have some women).

That is the same mentality which opposed the civil rights struggle by blacks, and which is opposing granting gays the equal rights today
...or the rights of the unborn...
 

AnnaG

Hall of Fame Member
Jul 5, 2009
17,507
117
63
There is no kidding about it Anna, some guys really are jerks. How many men opposed the vote to women? There are many men who have opposed the struggle of women to achieve equality at each and every stage (so have some women).

That is the same mentality which opposed the civil rights struggle by blacks, and which is opposing granting gays the equal rights today. Well, in Canada they have achieved equal rights, but in USA many men are opposing any attempts to grant gays equal rights tooth and nail.

So your comment is quite valid, some guys really are jerks. On the other hand, there are many men who support equal rights for women, blacks, gays and other minorities.
I was kidding. Sure some men are jerks, but the majority are ok.