feminist real talk corner (boys' body image, phallic art, and shame edition)
- Feminist Friend #1: I have figured out what is so fucking annoying about dudes talking about body image or their diets or weight gain or whatever--they are always talking about it with WOMEN. They go to a woman who then has to not only deal with her body image crap but comfort him for his. I WANT TO KILL OVER THIS. next time Im gonna be like, hey, talk to your dude friends about it
- Me: They don't talk to their dude friends about it, do they? Such a good point and so infuriating. Guys are always discussing their body issues with me and I try to express that it's roughly 5000 times worse for women, but I'm not sure they even have the capacity to understand that.
- FF1: I know! I mean, I don't want to hear about it from most women either, but FOR SURE not from a guy. And yeah that they only talk to women about it, not their guy friends has suddenly made me nuclear. And it's like why me? because I am fat? No. Do not want to discuss. With you.
- Me: I think the worst is when it's from a crush or someone you're newly dating and you're still on good enough behavior you don't want to scream THE PATRIARCHY at them.
- FF1: Or someone who has just played a show to a gazillion adoring fans. Oh poor you, you don't feel sexy? Why dont you go on your facebook page and look at all the groupies?
- Feminist Friend #2: i want to say that i totally support all you both say and ALSO it is somewhat parallel to my class today, in which we watched a male artist spend 10 minutes trying to violently pry open his girlfriends eyes while her face bruised and she struggled. then we saw him put his penis between his legs, backwards, into his mouth. oh, and ps, this is feminist, and this is what it is like to be a white postmodern hetero male.
- FF1: Wait, he put his penis into his own mouth?
- Me: Ew! God! The worst!!!!! Yeah, you really do need to channel that rage into some yonic territory.
- FF2: the artist puts his penis between his legs, but facing backwards, so it looks like he has a vagina (um....kinda, sorta). But the penis goes into the mouth of the woman behind him. the feminist reading is all "it shows that the phallus is transferable!" and I'm all, "it shows that it isnt! he is just playing around with gender games, meanwhile, he still has the penis, hes still the famous artist, no one even knows who the woman is!"
- Me: I think I need to post this convo sans names on my tumblr. Anytime I post something feminist I lose like 5 followers, which is so depressing. Not that I'm losing "followers"--whatever!--but that feminism is such a turn-off.
- FF1: You should start a list of FEMINIST DROPOUTS.
