Do you identify as a feminist?

[opaltiger]

 

[Phantom]

"In Western culture, the practice of assigning pink to an individual gender began in the 1920s or earlier. From then until the 1940s, pink was considered appropriate for boys because being related to red it was the more masculine and decided color, while blue was considered appropriate for girls because it was the more delicate and dainty color, or related to the Virgin Mary. Since the 1940s, the societal norm was inverted; pink became considered appropriate for girls and blue appropriate for boys, a practice that has continued into the 21st century."

Thought I'd bring up that point. I don't mean anything by it; it's just interesting.

 

[Furiianda]

awesome comic

): My friend had his cousins over a few weeks ago and I visited and met them, and they spent aaalll this time with the younger brother teaching him electronics like how to test batteries and things, and like they got the older sister to just do cooking and stuff and well, I guess I can't really say how they were brought up or anything, but it made me kinda sad.
(Also the younger brother spent all this time playing with lego and that uh, that game which I could maybe describe as "junior civil engineering" :B it's called Rush Hour and it is manoeuvering cars in a puzzle probably meant to resemble a traffic jam)

Also, it sucks when your brother gets a N64 game for Christmas and you get a hawaiian looking doll thing. Or uh, one of those weird plasticy makeup-for-kids things. Or some skimpy clothing. At least videogames aren't all for boys any more )<

...To the point, this is bad! But I can't really say anything new or constructive about it, other than that long-winded way of saying it is bad.

 

[goldenquagsire]

while girls are expected to play with minature kitchens, ironing boards and even vacuum cleaners.

It really depresses me that any child should be pretend-playing chores. When you're a kid, you should pretend to be Batman or a t-rex or something, not a forty-something with a mortgage. :(

Men can wear pink, but it's noticed that they wear pink, and they're seen as either being effeminate or subversive.

To be fair, it seems to be getting more acceptable for men to wear pink without causing a fuss. Lots of otherwise heteronormative guys wear pink polo shirts or t-shirts. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to have translated into breaking the taboo on boys wearing pink.

"In Western culture, the practice of assigning pink to an individual gender began in the 1920s or earlier. From then until the 1940s, pink was considered appropriate for boys because being related to red it was the more masculine and decided color, while blue was considered appropriate for girls because it was the more delicate and dainty color, or related to the Virgin Mary. Since the 1940s, the societal norm was inverted; pink became considered appropriate for girls and blue appropriate for boys, a practice that has continued into the 21st century."

Thought I'd bring up that point. I don't mean anything by it; it's just interesting.

This article might be of some relevance.

Also, it sucks when your brother gets a N64 game for Christmas and you get a hawaiian looking doll thing. Or uh, one of those weird plasticy makeup-for-kids things. Or some skimpy clothing. At least videogames aren't all for boys any more )<

On a tangent, when my aunt came over to London last year, she brought us gifts. My parents and brother got books, whereas I got some... perfume? Manscent? Whatever it's called. I know she meant well, but I would've rather had a book. :(

Ironically, my mum hated her present (Murakami's After Dark) and gave up trying to read it. I then nicked it off her and stayed up reading it until the late hours of the evening and absolutely loved it.

Also, in response to opal's comic:

(SMBC is a better webcomic but XKCD still has good strips sometimes)

 

[Pwnemon]

I don't feel like surfing SMBC, but there was another similar comic.

PROBLEM: there are too few women in engineering.

INTELLIGENT SOLUTION: Maybe we should remove the stimulus of engineering as masculine and unfitting for girls.

COMMON RESPONSE: Let's make it pink.

 

[goldenquagsire]

I don't feel like surfing SMBC, but there was another similar comic.

PROBLEM: there are too few women in engineering.

INTELLIGENT SOLUTION: Maybe we should remove the stimulus of engineering as masculine and unfitting for girls.

COMMON RESPONSE: Let's make it pink.

let me fix that post for you. :P

 

[Clover]

feminist-related: my Brazilian English workbook sucks something awful! (bolded relevant bits) (I am Clover because.)

<Clover> "35. Camille Pagila, an intellectual gunslinger who /frequently/ infuriates /frequently/ feminists, proposes common sense for young women on the subject of date rape: Don't get drunk; don't accompany boys to their rooms; realize that sexual freedom entails sexual risks; and take some responsibility for your behavior." this one really ticked me off
<Clover> (the exercise is to circle the correct use of the repeated adverb in the sentence)
<Fluttershy> Clover: what the hell
<RainbowDash> Clover: what the hell is that doing in an English textbook??
<Clover> I
<Clover> yeah
<Clover> it's mildly outdated
<Clover> http://www.otrr.org/4img/data/media/238/A_New_Clock_Radio_with_a_Host_of_Helping_Hands.jpg this is on the opposite page
<Fluttershy> lulls you to sleep with FM music
<Clover> "112. /Mankind/ is not a politically correct term. A better word would be ______." what the hell
<Clover> this coming right after ... that
<RainbowDash> ...
<Walker> Clover: wat
<RainbowDash> I'm assuming "humankind" but like
<Walker> humanity?
<H-land> Humanity > Humankind
* Hiikaru (Hiikaru@71-220-245-100.chyn.qwest.net) entrou no canal #tcod
<Clover> it's sort of completely misleading as to what the grade level here is supposed to be
<Clover> "Women are impenetrable, a void, completely _______ -- they think differently." that probably ranks second in ticked-offness (the word is 'alien')
<Clover> hello hiikaru guess what my english workbook is awful

 

[ultraviolet]

(Also the younger brother spent all this time playing with lego and that uh, that game which I could maybe describe as "junior civil engineering" :B it's called Rush Hour and it is manoeuvering cars in a puzzle probably meant to resemble a traffic jam)

I never thought that was particularly gendered, though; my sister plays it all the time and I've never seen it marketed towards boys?

 

[Pwnemon]

Yeah, I liked that game when I was little, but I never once thought, "Hey this is civil engineering!" I just thought it was a cool puzzle.

 

[Furiianda]

I never thought that was particularly gendered, though; my sister plays it all the time and I've never seen it marketed towards boys?

*shrug* Sure, it's not specifically marketed. But things to do with cars are traditionally "boy things" anyway aren't they?
(And she never had a go at the puzzle ): maybe she already tried and got bored of it though..)

EDIT: OH WAIT NO There's a pink car in it, so clearly it's for girls too

And sorry if it was an unfounded assumption or something, I only saw the actual puzzle part (and cards), not uh, the box or anything to do with the marketing.