Egyptian TV Host Riham Said REMOVES VEIL During Interview, CLASHES With Guest Cleric Yousuf Badri

[RainDog]

77. I've had women tell me I'm not a real feminist

because I disagree with them on the issue of free speech, and even tho one of my thesis readers was one of the leading feminists in this nation who spoke out against Dworkin and MacKinnon's attack on free speech. This is also my position. They have attacked me by lying about what I've said. They've attacked me by claiming I am an apologist (as is Jennifer Granholm, apparently) because I don't accept the words of an anonymous blogger about pedophile accusations against someone.

I'm a woman. I don't think I should have to state my gender to have an opinion that differs from another woman's opinion.

I also don't think it's a feminist position to attack women who are engaging in political theater to bring attention to issues.

In the sixties, such actions had a big impact and brought many people's attention to the issue of Vietnam, for instance.

While some people disliked those actions, many did not.

While regressive political opponents were elected, they engaged in dirty tricks to do so, so I can't put the blame on those who were acting outside of the majority of society's approval, either. And, in any case, as soon as those dirty tricks were uncovered, America elected a progressive president who was shut down by the right wing...who, again, engaged in election fraud (and treason) to win an election.

I can look at history and see that those engaging in this political theater, etc. were on the right side of history, tho, and while many things are still problematic, over all change has moved toward societal disapproval of racism, sexism, wars of aggression, etc.

Few who were working within the system at that time held those positions, or were brave enough to stake political careers on them, and those who did were marginalized. But society changed without the powers-that-be accepting that change at the level of culture.

We're still dealing with those changes via religious fundamentalism in the U.S., which is many times a cover for racism and sexism, or, rather, intrinsic to them, but that's not the view of people in the majority in the U.S. anymore.

So, I look at history and see no need to condemn what Amina did, or to condemn what FEMEN is doing by confronting people in their comfortable spaces to ask them questions about their "freedom" to be under a religious system that oppresses them.

Since history indicates that religion and property ownership are the two most potent cultural norms that have contributed to women's oppression across the world, I see no problem with attacking religions that engage in sexism and homophobia too, for that matter, as part of their view of the world.