Everyone is a number in this dystopian near-future where cameras track your every move. Score above 90 and you’re set for life. Score below 75 and you’re on your own, kid.
The Cycler Series
The Cyler Series: What would you do if you woke up one day as a member of the opposite sex? For Jill McTeague, this is no hypothetical question. It’s real life!
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Recent events have demonstrated that some members of our society have gotten the impression that they can hurl me and my sisters back to the dark ages. In short: nuh-uh. I shall elaborate. 1. To religious leaders: Any organization that consistently threatens women’s freedom, health or privacy will no longer be given a free pass simply because its philosophy is rooted in religion. Magical thinking is no excuse for corrupting civil society or eroding basic human rights. We fought long and hard for our equality and we’re not going back. As you are unelected and do not even represent the views of your own members in many cases, we will no longer offer you a seat at the public policy table. 2. To the men who can’t stop talking about our uteruses, our sex lives, or our use or non-use of contraceptives: Having non-procreative sex is something the vast majority of people do. You are free to forego this pleasure. But you are not free to impose your largely defeated worldview on those of us who have rejected it. We are going to go right ahead and organize society–including the delivery of healthcare in a more cost-effective and inclusive manner–with the presumption that birth control is a non-controversial and, in fact, basic element of women’s health. We take the pill for a variety of reasons, some of them sex-related, others not. You are free to complain about this, but any attempt to deprive us of this medicine or shame us for using it will be crushed. 3. To women: The existence of women who are different from you is not an existential threat so you really can relax. No one is trying to force you to burn your bra, abandon your children, pursue a high-powered career, breastfeed your child, not breastfeed your child, abort your fetus/embryo/baby/zygote/blastocyst or whatever you choose to call it, marry, not marry, gay marry, fornicate, procreate, or engage in an “open marriage.” So please, just go on living your life the best way you can and feel free to inform us on Facebook about how it’s going. But do stop insisting that my somewhat different existence is a violation of your freedom. I promise you, it is not. 16 Responses to “A Feminist Manifesto in 3 Parts”Leave a Reply |
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HOT DIGGITY.
Short but to the point. Live and let live, in other words. Very commendable.
Is there an expanded version that deals with issues like discrimination and systems theory?
APPLAUSE.
Amen, sistah!
A million thank yous for saying, so eloquently, that which has been burning my insides up for weeks.
Just, thank you.
Preach!
Thank you.
Thank you. And your right,we are not backing down. Not now not ever. When I am 90 I will stand up with a cane if I have to to stand for the.rights of all women. And I hope I manage a 10th of your grace.
Thanks, everyone. We must keep up the good fight because no matter how much we win, the losers still think they can recapture the future and make it look like the past. It’s our job to remind them of the folly of their vision.
Dark Matter Fanzine, I love your handle, and, no, sorry, there is no expanded version for now. In my college days when I was steeped in theory, I would have been able to deliver page upon page. Right now what I have time for (and what events have reduced me to, I’m afraid) is this particular rant.
How long do you think it would take to tattoo this on my body somewhere?
You are amazing.
@ heather petty, tattoos=painful. Just scream it at people as you go about your regular daily business. That’s what I do.
This is a great article! Well said.
I agree with you. I, as a woman, am not going back to the past.
I absolutely love this! Especially the third point! I get so frustrated with people when they insinuate that by guaranteeing others freedom they are somehow being deprived of it themselves. Thanks for writing this!
I have never met you, but I think I might love you. Or at least your way with these words. I’ve been shouting at the walls for days this very sentiment, sadly with less eloquence. Thanks.
THANK you for recognizing that not all religious people agree with their leaders’ stance on this issue! Great post.
Thank you for saying so well that we will not go back and that the freedom we have is freedom for all.
You’re welcome, Linda! And you’re right, women’s freedom is freedom for all people. Men have benefited just as much from the women’s movement as women have. I think most of them know this. But the minority who don’t are awfully noisy.
Catherine, I hope the latest insane screechings from religious leaders will convince people of faith to chip away at their authority. It is surely undeserved. One doesn’t need an intermediary to have a relationship with God.