Truly Uncensored

Maybe it's because I had a rough week regarding my relationships with members of the opposite sex, but I truly enjoyed Valerie Solanas' SCUM Manifesto. Recently, I have had the discussion with my peers regarding the stereotypes our male friends have no problem sharing. My biggest pet-peeve is when I am voicing a dissenting opinion and it is quickly discarded with either me being an "emotional" woman or speculation whether I am on my period. I had always wondered with maybe men were just too simple to have complex thoughts mixed with emotions.

I called several of my friends to read certain exerts from the article. While some liked it, others questioned the article's stance saying it was too dramatic. My experience at Spelman College has shown me two things. Women are very quick to look at both sides of an issue (especially if it pertains to men) and Men have the luxury of enjoying male privilege. I have yet to hear any of my male peers say anything is to sexist or patriarchal. Whether the author truly believes that The male is no longer needed in our society or that he "is a biological accident' (Solanas) is irrelevant to me. I like the play on supposed gender ideologies and supposed gender strengths and weaknesses.

In English I learned about the Freudian concept, meaning that every little girl wishes she could be a boy. However, I remember thinking how great it was I could wear pants, shorts, skirts and dresses while boys could only wear pants or shorts. I liked being a girl because I did not know or understand yet the societal limitations of being a female. The whole can be summed up with the quote, "Women, in other words, don't have penis envy; men have pussy envy." The examples of women being able to bear life and why we have vigorous work weeks were intriguing and something I had not really thought about. But why after reading all these progressive and revolutionary thoughts are women focusing on the fairness on how men are portrayed? Is that the forefront issue. Since I too am socialized in this world I started to focus my attention on that "injustice" but I had to stop and think what was the overall message or point of this article. I don't think it was to protect the already overvalued male gender.