3 ms·

@duncan_bayne - men exist as a *class of human beings. This is how social systems work. This is what I mean -- if people were familiar with feminist thought the

• duncan_bayne 12y ago
  Yes, yes they do. I think we're in complete agreement there. I am married to a pilot, and I've seen some shit that would turn your hair white that is seen as perfectly normal in that industry. The thing is, the fundamental epistemological problem that underlies those systems of oppression is that people think of people as 'male', 'female', 'husband', 'wife', 'employer', 'employee' etc. first, and as individuals second. This is the collectivism of which I speak. It's also a gripe I have with a lot of feminist thought. It's not that I haven't read it, it's that I disagree with a great deal of it, both in terms of philosophical underpinning and also execution. Here's an excerpt from Dworkin's article: "The shame of men in front of women is, I think, an appropriate response both to what men do do and to what men do not do. I think you should be ashamed." To quote Rand: "The worst guilt is to accept an unearned guilt." Men who are not, themselves, rapists should not feel guilty because other men are. Edited to add: there's a great article at http://www.atlassociety.org/feminism-and-objectivism http://www.atlassociety.org/feminism-and-objectivism on the Objectivist position on feminism: "There are strong strands of collectivism in today's feminism. These strands of thought treat men and women as hostile classes. Some infamously ascribe radically different thought patterns to men and women as such. Objectivism rejects group-think of this sort, and holds that each individual should be judged based on character, actions, and ability, not merely on the person's sex. Rand called herself a "male chauvinist" because she admired the many great men of history, to whom all of civilization owes so much. Her rhetoric was chosen in response to collectivist feminists and racists who denigrated "dead white men" as such." Edited to add again: re. the being married to a pilot thing ... I've worked as ground crew while she was flying tourists around on joy flights. I have been treated as the pilot while dressed in jeans and a hi-vis jacket, while she is in full uniform with gold on the shoulders. I have also seen her - again, dressed in full pilots regalia - been asked by prospective passengers whether she's ever been up in the helicopter herself. And this is the relatively mild stuff; she also once had a prospective employer tell her "sure, send in your CV, but I should warn you that when hiring we have an unofficial no chicks policy." Sadly it's not just the IT industry.