I was taken aback while reading The Woman-Identified Woman and coming to the realization just how encompassing and suppressing the role of gender can be. I’ve witnessed on several occasions just how the accusation of being a “dyke” has the power to stifle many women’s actions. It’s disheartening to read how we as women are not only willingly conforming to the acceptable role of women in society but also disengaging and abandoning our sisters who can’t or won’t fall in line and follow as well.
The subjugation of women is unfortunately worldwide but I wonder if women would be more proactive about the gender situation if there were some example to follow or precedent already set. Women being disconnected from being able to wholly identify with oneself isn’t some the can be swiftly remedied, being that the foundation our alienation is deeply apart of all of us. Are we just so complacent and unwilling to try? Combating this oppression appears so daunting, hopeless to even attempt. But even something as little as acknowledging that we’re all “real” women, authentic despite how society would want us to label one another is a good first step on our way to achieve “maximum autonomy in human expression.”
1 comment:
It can seem hopeless but just think about the progress we've made up to now. Your very exposure to this material would not have been possible a few decades ago. Think of these texts, films and conversations as examples. Maybe you can get something started within the context of your activist practicum?
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