Tuesday, February 26, 2008
When did we become SCUM?
WHAT?! SCUM manifesto? I was a little shocked and taken aback by Valerie Solanas's article. I thought that it was very hostile towards men. Yes, of course I get tired of being called a Bitch by a man when I won't give him my number, and yes it is very annoying when a man grabs my ass thinking that is the proper way to get my attention but at the end of the I don't want to get rid of men, and not even because I'm a heterosexual female but because this is not what nature intended. How outraged would we be if there were men that were posing the same ideas, to get rid of all women, to totally destroy us and to think that they could survive without us. Feminist everywhere would be speaking out against this and I'm sure they would not even be able to publish any articles or material on the matter. I think that its amazing that we are now at a point in medical and scientific research where we can reproduce without women or men, so now lesbian women can have children without the hassle. But to propose the downfall and destruction of men is totally inconceivable. She is also asking women to turn away from their jobs, how are we supposed to raise children and provide for ourselves if we are not making any income? How is it possible for all women to commit crimes and not be imprisoned and if we are behind bars than how will we be able to come together? Why does she even choose the word SCUM? I feel that is quite demeaning towards women and I feel that she should have picked a more uplifting word for women. I really did not appreciate the ways in which she referred to gay men as well as to women who did not support her ideas. The whole idea of a SCUM manifesto is completely ridiculous and totally contradicts what I thought was the goal of the feminist movement, aren't we seeking equality? We need men and men need us and not just to have children, or sex, or for them to take out the trash and for us to cook dinner, but I feel that we cannot survive in a society with just women or just men.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I felt the complete opposite about this reading. I very much enjoyed Solanas honesty although I wasn't quite expecting it. I didn't feel degraded by the word SCUM at all, because SCUM is just a acronym for the overarching theme of her manifesto.
I didn't take Solanas' words seriously in terms of actually executing the things she was talking about. What I did take seriously were the points she was making. I felt that Solanas' peace was actually very empowering. By using every possible extreme Solanas attempted (successfully I believe)to show the true strength women posses. She went on to explain that in all honesty, women don't need men to survive by any means. That is not to say that we want a world where men don't exist. Solanas was simply trying to convince the "daddy's girls" that they are selling themselves short and that the roles women play in this society are more important than we are given credit for.
I do believe there are men out there that are writing extreme articles that support this idea about superiority over women. I doubt they are writing about eliminating women because as we read in "The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm" there is a certain physical characteristic that men desire for their own means. I think it is about time that a woman wrote a piece that is just as extreme, eye opening, and controversial as this one.
So as I said, I think this article was great! I think this article supports the feminist movement not by "male bashing" but my attempting to convey that women are strong creatures that can make some serious changes in this world if we band together.
Post a Comment