crazyml
Posts: 5568
Joined: 7/3/2007
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Really good question and one which I know you're expecting to produce a pretty mixed bag of responses.
<blather>
I get the (very subjective) impression that there's a general backlash against feminism taking place within society as a whole. While I dread the thought of an interesting thread like this descending into "politics and religion", there are a number of very outspoken anti-feminist (often but not always from the political <and sometimes the religious> right).
I think the backlash occurs when the people that fought for freedoms become disconnected from the people that subsequently enjoy those freedoms. There's a, probably understandable, "what was the fuss all about" sense that seems to appear. In an earlier thread I made the point that my grandmother dreamt about having choices, my mother fought for them, and my female cousins are enjoying them. Gen Y Women can be forgiven for wondering what the fuss was about - they were born after the major battles had been fought and won.
Personally I think that this is the most dangerous time for any movement - whether it's one that champions equality on the basis of gender, race, or sexuality.
When my cousins sneer (well, one of them in particular) at the marches my mum went on, I try to remind her that a) Even in the liberal west women still earn very significantly less than men (even accounting for career breaks) and that b) Feminism and women's rights are a distant dream in many countries.
I have the same worries about Racism and discrimination against gays and lesbians - The battle is so far from being over in these areas too.
Without wishing to come over all Che Guevara - "there are still battles to be fought and wars to be won on the road to equality" <Comrades!>
</blather>
The derision, by some, that is focussed on women who identify as both submissive and feminist is a legacy of an older orthodoxy, in which to be sexually submissive (or overly feminine for that matter) was seen as heresy, and women who admitted to enjoying it were branded as simply "victims of the patriarchy".
I personally think this is utter bollocks - but the arguments that say "porn degrades women" or "prostitution is fiscal rape" aren't that easy to throw away.
Take me for example - I absolutely believe that feminism is about a woman's right to make choices. Choices about what to do with her body, how to behave, how to dress. And, to accept the consequences of those actions too of course.
But - if a woman chooses genital mutilation (which a tiny number of western woman have done), or to wear the burqa - I'm in there shouting "that degrades women, and you're only choosing to do it because you're a victim of the patriarchy.
So - I'm not entirely consistent in my own thinking...
So back to BDSM.... I don't think that you could properly argue that BDSM doesn't have more than its share of sexist patriarchal men. I'd say it has a considerable number of them. Nor is it possible to argue that BDSM, at least to a casual observer, does much to promote sexual equality - In "classic" BDSM imagery a woman submits, or a man is in some way "feminised". I know that that's not necessarily the truth of BDSM (not entirely), but I'd be hard pressed to argue the opposite hypothesis "BSDM promotes feminism".
Another example is prostitution - On one hand I defend a woman's right to make money by selling sex if she chooses, on the other I would want to defend a vulnerable woman against being forced into prostitution (and lets be clear - women are trafficked, in the vast majority of cases, by men).
The extremes of this are easy - Young girl taken from village, sold in Bangkok for $5 a pop = Very bad. Middle class woman sells her time and sexual services for $500 / hour = Girl Power. But there's a continuum in between... what about the woman who "chooses" to sell her body to feed an addiction to drugs - or better (since I'm sure some would say "serves the druggie right") what about the woman who "chooses" to sell her body to feed her children. Is that right or wrong?
BDSM is such a varied community - on every side of the gender / orientation die you'll find different motivations, level self confidence, and attitudes to gender, race and sexuality.
Personally - I actively look for sane, sorted, independent women for whom submission is a choice. Luckily there are plenty out there. But there are also plenty out there for the old stylee mysogynist as well.
I'll stop now, since I'm still blathering
_____________________________
Remember.... There's always somewhere on the planet where it's jackass o'clock.
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The Anti-Feminism Bias - 
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