tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489915595496337926.post6235139997176433599..comments2023-10-30T11:58:20.915-04:00Comments on Retconning My Brain: I'm too serious about race and gender. But especially gender.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02405019346861244737noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489915595496337926.post-35925426888199832772011-01-14T13:17:35.389-05:002011-01-14T13:17:35.389-05:00Your Mom sounds great! Sexism is absolutely alive ...Your Mom sounds great! Sexism is absolutely alive and kicking and I get loud about it to prove feminism is, too. But perhaps not publicly or seriously enough. <br><br> I personally don't really like the idea of gender-swapping, probably because a LOT of my own identity is wrapped up in the fact that I am female...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02405019346861244737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489915595496337926.post-50049802557497944142011-01-14T13:17:34.821-05:002011-01-14T13:17:34.821-05:00I think a gender swapped Kirk could be fantastic.T...I think a gender swapped Kirk could be fantastic.<br><br>Think about the qualities that make Kirk. His confidence, bravery, charisma, and ability to make split-second decisions all the while hitting on anything in a skirt?<br><br>These qualities could easily belong to a female. After all, the only thing that stands in the way of this working is our conceptions of what makes a man/woman, correct? Simply remove a lifetime of sexual indoctrination, and voila! Jane Tiberius Kirk!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02405019346861244737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489915595496337926.post-7790109518672195552011-01-14T13:17:34.543-05:002011-01-14T13:17:34.543-05:00I like your blog and I am a relatively new reader....I like your blog and I am a relatively new reader. I agree with most of what you say here but I think that you should be very, very careful about suggesting that:<br><br>"I think it's a lot easier to be offended by racism, because racism is still considered a Big Problem, whereas sexism is something that got fixed in the 70s so we should get over it."<br><br>What you are straying dangerously close to here is commonly known as the Oppression Olympics and it is unhelpful for a number of reasons.<br><br>Firstly, you are making invisible those that suffer from both sexism and racism. You are also missing the point that women of colour don't experience racism and sexism as 2 seperate entities. They experience BOTH at the same time and it can often be different than the sexism a white woman will experience. <br><br>Secondly, you are creating a heirarchy of oppression and therefore catagorising who has it worst. This is unhelpful and diminishes the importance of recognising racism.<br><br>Thirdly, I am guessing you are white. You say people take racism more seriously than sexism, but is that true? I imagine people of colour have a very different experience of this. Your white privilege will protect you from seeing most examples of racism.<br><br>Honestly, I'm not trying to have a go - I just think you should think about all the things you are implying when you suggest that sexism is more common or more accepted than racism.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02405019346861244737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489915595496337926.post-57359129805709510222010-02-04T10:19:36.985-05:002010-02-04T10:19:36.985-05:00Hi Sam!
I get what you were trying to say now. A...Hi Sam! <br /><br />I get what you were trying to say now. And, as I said, I do agree with your post. I probably jumped the gun a bit quick there myself to assume that you don't already know these things! I apologise for that. <br /><br />I think the reason that people can sometimes be quicker to dismiss accusations of sexism than they are for racism is that it usually comes from a woman. Have you ever noticed that if a man says something is sexist he doesn't get shot down immediately compared to if a woman says it? I have also seen people only take accusations of racism seriously when a white person says it. <br /><br />We comic fans are a diverse lot but I don't think it is untrue to say that the main readers are white straight men and that the Big Two tend to cater to their whims quite a lot. Even the online environments are often very white and male. Maybe this environment is what contributes to the rolling of eyes, derailing and denial when a woman brings up the fact that something is sexist? Some of these dudes are very privileged and not used to being challenged. Pair that with the relative anonymity of the internet and they aren't going to hesitate to tell you how wrong and stupid you are. <br /><br />Btw, I also started following you on twitter - hope you don't mind!JenniferRuthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02440540179659912231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489915595496337926.post-7410789814684321882010-02-02T10:04:22.313-05:002010-02-02T10:04:22.313-05:00@JenniferRuth - Also, because I just found it and ...@JenniferRuth - Also, because I just found it and I know you're a new reader, I'd like to refer you to <a href="http://retconningmybrain.blogspot.com/2009/07/guys-love-lesbians-well-most-lesbians.html?showComment=1249392843100#c5553803261434059703" rel="nofollow">a comment</a> a made in a post discussing lesbian identity, about how we shouldn't compare oppressions.<br /><br />Okay, now I <i>do</i> sound defensive. Just trying to explain myself, I promise. :)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02405019346861244737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489915595496337926.post-32951124185786613542010-02-02T09:56:04.960-05:002010-02-02T09:56:04.960-05:00@JenniferRuth - Thanks for the comment. I'm p...@JenniferRuth - Thanks for the comment. I'm pretty much aware that a hierarchy of oppression is a problematic construct. I wasn't try to imply that one exists here. My point in this post was that sexism, despite what the pop culture media force portrays, still exists. I thought I was clear that this had no bearing on whether or not racism still exists or whether or not racism is a bigger, smaller, equal, or non-comparable problem. If that didn't come across, I apologize.<br /><br />I think that the way sexism is accepted in society is different and that, in this post-modern (or whatever it's called era) it's far more subversive than some of the outright racism we still see on a day to day basis. More or less there... not too sure. <br /><br />I pass as white, my sister passes as Latina, Arabic, or Indian, depending on what part of the summer it is, and two generations ago, my family was considered Other - Jewish on the ticky boxes that have now been changed. My point is that my own racial identity is complicated, but I am completely aware of my white privilege and how it colors the way I see things. I am also aware that I pass as straight, pass as binary gendered feminine, pass as Christian, and that the only way I don't pass, really (besides as someone of non-obese weight) is as a female. <br /><br />I do appreciate your comments - and most especially the civil tone with which you make them - but I can promise you that I wasn't trying to imply that sexism is more common or more accepted. It's different, that's all, and I think it's more prevalent than the mainstream talking heads are willing to admit. I wasn't trying to negate the effects of racism on people (especially not women of color), only to use the jumping off point of chromatic casting as a way to discuss what I think is a prevalent, and not often discussed, topic. <br /><br />I absolutely welcome conversation about this (and any other topic). I hope I don't come across as defensive, I'm just trying to explain why this blog post says what it says, and not some of the other things it could say.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02405019346861244737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489915595496337926.post-56476781296449386322010-02-02T09:32:47.146-05:002010-02-02T09:32:47.146-05:00I like your blog and I am a relatively new reader....I like your blog and I am a relatively new reader. I agree with most of what you say here but I think that you should be very, very careful about suggesting that:<br /><br />"I think it's a lot easier to be offended by racism, because racism is still considered a Big Problem, whereas sexism is something that got fixed in the 70s so we should get over it."<br /><br />What you are straying dangerously close to here is commonly known as the Oppression Olympics and it is unhelpful for a number of reasons.<br /><br />Firstly, you are making invisible those that suffer from both sexism and racism. You are also missing the point that women of colour don't experience racism and sexism as 2 seperate entities. They experience BOTH at the same time and it can often be different than the sexism a white woman will experience. <br /><br />Secondly, you are creating a heirarchy of oppression and therefore catagorising who has it worst. This is unhelpful and diminishes the importance of recognising racism.<br /><br />Thirdly, I am guessing you are white. You say people take racism more seriously than sexism, but is that true? I imagine people of colour have a very different experience of this. Your white privilege will protect you from seeing most examples of racism.<br /><br />Honestly, I'm not trying to have a go - I just think you should think about all the things you are implying when you suggest that sexism is more common or more accepted than racism.JenniferRuthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02440540179659912231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489915595496337926.post-73911409112130553522010-01-31T10:49:27.252-05:002010-01-31T10:49:27.252-05:00I think a gender swapped Kirk could be fantastic.
...I think a gender swapped Kirk could be fantastic.<br /><br />Think about the qualities that make Kirk. His confidence, bravery, charisma, and ability to make split-second decisions all the while hitting on anything in a skirt?<br /><br />These qualities could easily belong to a female. After all, the only thing that stands in the way of this working is our conceptions of what makes a man/woman, correct? Simply remove a lifetime of sexual indoctrination, and voila! Jane Tiberius Kirk!Quinnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08517490667833927692noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489915595496337926.post-16372488469408347012010-01-28T15:48:41.414-05:002010-01-28T15:48:41.414-05:00@Magnetgirl My mom IS awesome! ;)
For me, I hav...@Magnetgirl My mom IS awesome! ;)<br /><br />For me, I have a non-traditional gender identity. It gives me a different viewpoint, I think, so I get interested in how characters would change were they to be a different gender. I know you don't like swapped!Kirk, but I think if it were written well, with a good backstory, it could be pulled off. But Kirk is an inherently masculine archetype, so the swapper would have to be pretty creative and careful.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02405019346861244737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-489915595496337926.post-36261684029113849042010-01-28T15:36:58.858-05:002010-01-28T15:36:58.858-05:00Your Mom sounds great! Sexism is absolutely alive ...Your Mom sounds great! Sexism is absolutely alive and kicking and I get loud about it to prove feminism is, too. But perhaps not publicly or seriously enough. <br /><br /> I personally don't really like the idea of gender-swapping, probably because a LOT of my own identity is wrapped up in the fact that I am female...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com