Feminist Warrior Princess

nanlawsketch: Joel and Clementine

Tue, 29 May 2012 20:51:41 -0700

Joel and Clementine

On the Fetishization of Women-Presenting Asians

Tue, 29 May 2012 20:49:05 -0700

AKA get a new fetish. “I hear feet and urine are popular,” or so says a Youtuber who I follow, but whose name I forget.

Look, it’s not a compliment when white people say things like, “Asians are hot,” or “I want an Asian wife.”

Because let’s face it, you’re not actually attracted to us. You’re attracted to the delicate, China-doll, lily-blossom, submissive and subservient stereotype of what we should be. You’re attracted to the “traditional” values of male dominance, misogyny, and patriarchy you would supposedly enjoy with an Asian partner.

And that is very deeply racist (and sexist, but we’ll get to that later) not only because you are clumping an entire population of highly diverse and different individuals together, but also because of the historical context of it. And because of the way the sexualisation of FAAB Asians have led to all manner of things to be done to us, including a disproportionately high rate of sex trafficking. What’s problematic about fetishizing Asians (and other groups, like the Roma or Native Americans, but since this is a blog about China and pan-Asiatic issues, I’ll leave that to a more erudite & educated person to talk about, because I speak mostly from my experience and the experiences of other Asians) is that you are stripping them of their humanity. You are stripping them of their identities. They become objects to you — to own, the possess, to dominate, to treat however you wish.

And this comes from a long, long history of Western nations and people seeking to exert power and dominance over the East. As a direct result of this fetishization, we are seen as being Not Suitable for Things Like Marriage — we’re to be used and then dumped as the hero of our story shacks up with a more virtuous (white) lady — see Puccini’s Madame Butterfly and just about every film Anna May Wong was ever in. We’re not seen actual people. This leads to the complete removal of our agency (that’s not to say that any sex with an FAAB Asian is sex without consent — it is a different type of nonconsent in that our bodies have been sexualised and eroticised for us — that we have no say in the way we want ourselves to be presented — our bodies are not sexual when we want them to be sexual, they are sexual, in essence, all the time, and our bodies are not our own — they are seen, more or less, as public property), especially in the media.

(Honestly, I do want to talk about the virgin/whore dichotomy and how both stereotypes — the Lily Flower and the Dragon Lady — are severely sexist and racist, but I can’t quite gather my thoughts about it, nor can I write it in an organised manner and without a significant amount of cussing.)

Now, why is it sexist? Because it sexualises an entire population. A sexual individual is no problem whatsoever. But impressing sexuality on a group that may or may not want to be identified as such, that may or may not want to be sexualised is not, in any way, okay.

Because it is reaffirming the idea that in order to be desirable, one must be submissive and subservient to the men in their lives.

Because it tells FAAB Asians that their worth is not in their individual person, but rather in how they look and how much they can be defined by a sexual context constructed by outsiders who have little to no understanding or respect for their culture. Because it confines them to a sexual identity that is forced on them rather than one that they adopt for themselves.

Because it expects that FAAB Asians would actually be willing and accepting of these sexist and racist sentiments.

Because it maintains that we should be passive actors in our own lives, that we live to serve and please. Because it wants our mouths shut for everything but blowjobs. Because it demeans our sense of self, because to be called “exotic” is anything but an ego boost, because we’re not supposed to have brains or opinions of our own.

So to you, the Asian fetishist, I say, fuck you, fuck you, fuck all of you.

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Tue, 29 May 2012 20:45:00 -0700

rubywhiterabbit: My little brother got into outer space and stuff so my step-mom bought him a place...

Tue, 29 May 2012 20:43:20 -0700

rubywhiterabbit:

My little brother got into outer space and stuff so my step-mom bought him a place mat with all the planets on it. When I first saw it, I was upset, because it was newer and so Pluto wasn’t labeled. I was about to say something when I noticed something…

Pluto is there.

The artist remembered Pluto.

Guys…

The artist drew Pluto crying.

"Here is the thing, okay? Coming into a feminist conversation with, “Have you considered that..."

Tue, 29 May 2012 20:41:45 -0700

“

Here is the thing, okay? Coming into a feminist conversation with, “Have you considered that sometimes women acquire free drinks at bars?” is like walking into graduate school during Philosophy finals and saying, “Have you considered that the color blue that I see may not be the color blue that you see?”

Imagine you are the guy who just walked into that Philosophy class and laid that shit down. Imagine the class full of students who have worked very hard and committed themselves and sacrificed to be here, students who have spent several years of their lives learning about this subject. Imagine now their feelings when you go to the head of the classroom with a smirk on your face and demand the professor give you an A for effort. Imagine now that they think you are a douchebag asshole, because they do, and because you are. You are a douchebag asshole because you are obviously so self-centered, arrogant, and completely ignorant of the world around you, that you thought you could walk into a high-level course with no background and no work and say something profoundly simplistic and totally unrelated and also everybody should congratulate you for having done this thing, so brave, so provocative.
[….]
You are not asking us a real question. You are simply illustrating, for all to see, your own ignorance. You are saying, “I have not considered the implications of the question I have just asked. I have not taken the time nor effort nor commitment to sit down and ask myself this question. Instead, I have come into your philosophy classroom/office/feminist blog and shat out my question with a smirk, because I believe that my two seconds of thought are worth more than your long-term analysis, because I believe I am worth more.”

”

- Fugivitus: A few things to consider when you find a feminist blog (via absolutely-spiffing)

In my experience, the men who are most likely to come into feminist groups to criticise them are self proclaimed ‘intellectuals’ who turn up to demonstrate to people just how oh-so-clever they are, to masturbate over their ‘logical’ arguments, to incite ‘new and stimulating’ debate about subjects that have been done to death, to willfully ignore how they are erasing experiences and silencing people, just so that they can have a few moments of ‘thrilling’ discussion in their otherwise dull, highly privileged lives. And when this brief adrenalin rush is over? They can go home, safe in the knowledge that they have shown all these silly hysterical women exactly what’s what, safe in their privilege which means that they do not have to give this encounter more than a passing thought. Believing that they have made a difference. And this makes me sick.

So, this is actually a pretty good example to use. Perhaps these men will read it and we can get it through their pseudo-intellectual heads that this is not ok. This is harmful behaviour and contributes absolutely nothing of worth to anything at all. Feminism has enough flaws as it is. Feminism is, by and large, racist, transphobic, ableist, homophobic, and classist. We do not have time to pander to these individuals too. If men really want to help? Commit to being a good ally and give us the opportunity to solve these problems without this almost constant hindrance.

Omg this is perfect.

(via angrybanette)

"I’ve seen a ton on the Facebooks about ‘thanking veterans for their service’. As a veteran, let me..."

Tue, 29 May 2012 20:38:13 -0700

“I’ve seen a ton on the Facebooks about ‘thanking veterans for their service’. As a veteran, let me just be very straightforward and honest with you: We didn’t ‘serve our country’; we don’t actually serve our brothers/sisters or our neighbors. We serve the interests of capital. We never risked our lives or spent months on deployment away from our family and friends so they can have this abstract concept called ‘freedom’. We served big oil, big coal, Coca-Cola, Kellogg, Brown and Root, and all the other big Capital interests who don’t know a fucking thing about sacrifice. These people will never have to deal with the loss of a loved one or the physical and/or psychological scars that those who ‘serve’ and their families have to deal with for the rest of their lives. The most patriotic thing someone can do is to tell truth to power and dedicate yourself to building power to overthrow these sociopathic assholes. I served with some of the most real and genuine people I’ve ever met. You’ll never see solidarity like the kind of solidarity you experience when your life depends on the person next to you. But most of us didn’t join for that; we joined because we were fucking poor and didn’t have many other options.”

- An anti-capitalist veteran (via xvxavier)

But you still risked your life and deserve the thanks you get. Yes, it is true that America has become corrupt since the last great war worth fighting (WWII), but this is currently still somewhat of a war on terrorism. Thank you for enlisting and being in the military, regardless of the goal of the capitol. You fought. You risked your life.

(via thenightisbitter)

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Tue, 29 May 2012 20:37:08 -0700

thetaylordetroye: jerry you are literally a perfect person

Tue, 29 May 2012 20:37:06 -0700

thetaylordetroye:

jerry you are literally a perfect person

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Tue, 29 May 2012 20:37:04 -0700

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Tue, 29 May 2012 20:19:49 -0700

comediva: girlyoulovetothrowaway12: hellyeahchandlerbing: ALL...

Tue, 29 May 2012 20:18:23 -0700

comediva:

girlyoulovetothrowaway12:

hellyeahchandlerbing:

ALL THE AWARDS TO MATTHEW PERRY

one of the many reasons to love him

Chandler was always the best Friend!

h3len: ok underwear and tiaras make a great outfit

Tue, 29 May 2012 08:54:10 -0700

h3len:

ok underwear and tiaras make a great outfit

rightsandwrongs: feministdisney: einsteinonacid: I really...

Mon, 28 May 2012 19:40:09 -0700

rightsandwrongs:

feministdisney:

einsteinonacid:

I really tried to capture his facial expression.

hahaha boy in outer space

maybe they just rub me wrong since they’re always explained by some pouty faced dude, but these posts always seem to roughly translate to,

“Dear girl, I know you must be insecure not because the world has told you a lot of specific instructions about how you have to dress and look a certain way in order to be happy and beautiful and to have people like you that is reflected and reinforced in all the tv and movies we watch, the magazines we buy, the commercials that air-

I know the real reason for your insecurity must be that not enough men have told you today that your face looks good no matter what you put on it. Now you feel better, right?”

SO GOOD.

every-sound: always feel like i have to reblog this

Mon, 28 May 2012 19:40:03 -0700

every-sound:

always feel like i have to reblog this

"Sometimes a question can hurt more than an answer."

Mon, 28 May 2012 19:38:37 -0700

““Sometimes a question can hurt more than an answer.””

- Sarah Dessen, Along for the Ride (via 4mbivalent)

doyouwantahug: Debra Morgan, queen of eloquence..<3

Sun, 27 May 2012 00:09:59 -0700

doyouwantahug:

Debra Morgan, queen of eloquence..<3

historicalslut: ireallylikegaryoldman: You know what this...

Sat, 26 May 2012 23:13:04 -0700

historicalslut:

ireallylikegaryoldman:

You know what this adultery needs? SANDWICHES.

My god, how many affairs do they think people are having? That is a lot of sandwiches for one affair.

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Sat, 26 May 2012 22:55:43 -0700

What you said: I like Japanese anime.

Sat, 26 May 2012 22:53:55 -0700

What you said: I like Japanese anime.
What they heard: I like animated porn and wish I was Asian.

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Sat, 26 May 2012 22:30:34 -0700