The Honest Courtesan

Created by me, at Some E-cards.

A writer at Salon, Mary Elizabeth Williams, decries  celebrity women who vocally disavow any association with feminism or identifying as a feminist.  She specifically names singer Katy Perry and former supermodel, former First Lady of France, and singer Carla Bruni-Sarkozy as women who apparently shame all of our lady parts by not identifying as feminists.  In the case of Bruni-Sarkozy, who bluntly stated that, “We don’t need to be feminist in my generation.”  She later recanted part of her statements, which were apparently taken out of context.

Next up is Katy Perry.  Let me say out front, I can’t stand Katy Perry as I think she completely lacks talent or any artistic merit and is over-hyped to boot.  I literally feel my brain turning to mush and my soul dying just a little more every time I hear one of her songs or see her face.  I long for the day a black hole swallows her along with Chris Brown, Rihanna, Britney Spears, Justin Bieber, and most of the people who have ever been on American Idol.  That said, I am definitely defending her right to not identify as feminist.  Katy believes in the strength of women but doesn’t identify as a feminist.  MEW and most of the comment thread is up in arms and can’t understand how Katy can think of the two as not mutually inclusive.

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How could anyone not want to be feminist?!  I mean, sure, there are a couple (several) of vocal (disproportionately so) feminists (actually misogynists and misandrists) who give the rest of feminism (mainstream and many of its tributaries) a bad name (by openly stating what many prefer to whisper, ideally behind fans and handkerchiefs), but who cares about them (besides the politicians and lawmakers and journalists who give them the time of day)?  That was pretty much the reaction of MEW and the comment thread.  There were a few voices of reason that tried to point out the imperialist attitudes of mainstream Western feminism (predominantly white, middle-class, college-educated, north of the Mason-Dixon line) and how they regard women of color/non-white women within their own countries as well as abroad.

Hell, ask any Muslim woman who decides on her own to don the traditional coverings and is told by a Western feminist that she can’t possibly be making that decision freely within the ever oppressive Patriarchal context.  You know, the one where all women are children unless anointed otherwise by the Great Wise Council of Feminists.  Of course, ask any sex worker who is fully aware and in control of herself and her life choices, even if some of those choices are ill-advised.  We’ve been told that we don’t exist.  Or if we do, we’re not representative– one of those rare occasions where the voice of a minority is not championed.  You know how feminists like to say and support the concept, in other contexts, that the majority should not dictate the freedoms of the minority.  Yeah, not in the case of us “non-representative” sex workers, who are some elite cadre of Super Whores (thanks for the compliment).  No…we just need to shut up and stop interacting with people like we’re human or some shit.

Created by me, at Some E-cards.

The first cry given on the feminist defensive line is, “We’re not all man-hating, femininity-hating, frumpy activists!”  No, of course you’re not all like that.  But all of your derisive comments about male sexuality (primarily heterosexual males), all your bitchy comments about women who enjoy feminine trappings, all your sneering snits about women who have cosmetic surgery, and just general patronizing twattery certainly indicate otherwise.  It is one thing to say, for example, I don’t understand why I would need to wear makeup; it is quite another to say, feminists don’t wear make up and any woman who does is merely slavishly following the dictates of Patriarchy.

The second cry is, “You just want to please teh menz!”  The implied inverse being, “Since you are not aiming to please us, the Great Wise Council of Feminists.”  This is particularly hilarious because the men we’re supposedly betraying the sisterhood to please are apparently the same raging, misogynist, douchebags who wouldn’t respect a woman’s opinion no matter what it is.  So, how would disdaining mainstream feminism bring about this machismo happiness?  That’s right, not at all.  And yes, I have made plenty of men happy and I am not ashamed to say so; but it was with my boundaries and self-esteem and individuality (and stubbornness!) firmly in tact and I dare say such traits were a turn-on for the men, not a turn off.

The general No True Scotsman mentality of feminists like MEW prevents any ability to seriously consider the objections of women who have very specific reasons to reject the label of feminist.  To do that is to admit flaws, guilt, and yes, collusion at times with the very structure they claim to be raging against.