Not that I expect anything different from Pope Benedict, but c'mon dude. It would be nice if around the Christmas holidays you could show a little more compassion and demonstrate that you're not completely out of touch with real-world problems. But no.
Gay groups and activists have reacted angrily after Pope Benedict XVI said that mankind* needed to be saved from a destructive blurring of gender. Speaking on Monday, Pope Benedict said that saving humanity from homosexual or transsexual behaviour was as important as protecting the environment.And a note to the TimesOnline: why oh why have you decided that now is the time to re-hash this tired old story about inter-generational feminist conflict?
"One of the most unappealing things about the feminist movement right from its inception was its tendency to judge other women," says Roiphe. And, given the polarising of opinion between old-school feminists and modern young women engaged with popular culture -- which, like it or lump it, is obsessed with celebrity, consumption and youth -- there is much room for judgment. (See The Guide Association's new manifesto on the sexualisation of young girls and Germaine Greer's recent berating of Cheryl Cole as "too thin to be a feminist" as yet more proof.)It drives me crazy that news stories like this don't recognize the irony in painting young feminist women as paragons of openness and multiplicity when they turn around and cherry-pick quotes from young women willing to dismiss their elders as has-beens. This does not have to be an either/or proposition. The existence of young feminist activists does not mean that it's time for women older than, say 25, to give up, be silenced, or silence themselves. As Deborah Siegel argues in Sisterhood Interrupted, this persistent narrative of feminist in-fighting does more harm than good, obscuring the many valuable contributions women of all ages have -- and will continue to make -- in the realm of feminist activism."I do feel it's time for those feminists to step aside," says Frangoul. "It's like, we're grateful for what you did, but it's time for you to hand over. We've got a different world-view, and we might have something different to say."
At least they linked to the F-word, which is one of my favorite places to get UK-based feminist analysis. In fact, speaking of: here's the F-word on Pope Benedict's speech.
Cross-posted at Future Feminist Librarian-Activist
*I guess we womenkind get to enjoy the blurring of gender as much as we like. Ecological disaster be damned!
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"And, given the polarising of opinion between old-school feminists and modern young women engaged with popular culture -- which, like it or lump it, is obsessed with celebrity, consumption and youth -- there is much room for judgment."
You know I love it how everyone tells me exactly what I should be. I'm 27 years old and apparently I should be engrossed in popular culture and celebrity consumption and click my high heels. I'm not like that. I love how this article makes it seem like there is only one type of young feminist women when there's no single feminist type. We are not a single breed.
I also love how it pits us against each other. It seems the "old" feminists are something to laugh about while we should get down with the cool feminists who wear retro-clothing and bright red lipstick.
Is this healthy for anyone? It just seems like the same old divide and conquer regurgitated again.
Also this quote: "Ask any woman if she minds being judged on her looks, and she will say yes. But ask her if she would like to look better, and she will also say yes to that."
I'd say that's a problem with our society. I would much rather live in a world were people worry more about their inner qualities than their looks. But of course don't mind me. I'm just one of those mutant feminists who doesn't go crazy over shoes or mascara.
"Jordan may have fashioned herself as a caricature of male fantasy, but she is also an extremely rich and successful working mother — and what is unfeminist about that? "
Because being rich is being good? Feminism and capitalism are related how? So being unfashionable makes me a commie?
I'm officially a pariah.
I read the article the first time it was linked on here and I still can't be bothered to get upset. A lot of feminist publications and such are owned by second-wave feminists who are old and have money, and so that's a lot of what gets posted. Of course, second-wave feminism doesn't really understand a modern outlook, so it doesn't speak to anyone. I understand that being a third-wave feminist and being dismissed because you're young can get frustrating. Remember in the primaries when all the second-wavers thought all the third-wavers were being ungrateful for not endorsing Hillary?
Her phrasing might have come off as a little bit disrespectful, but I don't actually care. I get what she's saying. If Germaine Greer really is saying that someone is "too thin to be a feminist" she does need to step aside.