Male Control of Public Space
Aug. 1st, 2014 09:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stormdogMy sweetie ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lisagems posted this comic elsewhere on the internet.
I love the attitude toward male harassment of women demonstrated by this poster/comic from Robot Hugs. It's a discussion of the function (and I say function in the sense of a causative element, not necessarily implying conscious, conspiratorial intent) of mild sexual harassment in exerting male control over women in public space. I agree, and I want to be part of changing the prevailing atmosphere.
I have trouble doing this in a few respects. First, because I want to see the best motivations in people's actions, and because I think I can be overly sensitive to issues of gender relations, I don't know that my perception of whether an action is harassment is always valid. Secondly, I also don't want to behave as though women I am with need my protection; that can be patriarchal in itself. (That, though, I can discuss with the women I am with. It also is not a factor if I am with men who are behaving this way about women who are not part of the group.)
Thirdly, I have a hard time discerning whether there are forms of objectification that are acceptable, and where the line is between acceptable and unacceptable forms. I enjoy being objectified myself from time to time. I don't necessarily dislike the idea that people might be looking at me and making comments about my appearance, especially (but not exclusively) within certain contexts like sci-fi/fantasy cons or ren faire. So asking myself whether a situation would make *me* feel like an uncomfortable recipient of an active, objectifying and/or controlling gaze does not give me an answer that applies to everyone else who is being so observed.
There are also muddied issues of gender; what if women behave in these ways? You could argue that this is some kind of internalized, self-destructive patriarchal beavhior, but that takes away women's agency as people who can choose for themselves how to behave and makes them tools of the system.
Don't misunderstand; I fully agree that the sort of behavior explained in this comic is hugely problematic. There is no doubt that it *is* a symptom of a patriarchal society based on unexamined assumptions about male power and control. I don't think there are absolutes to be followed in fighting this system though; like so many other things, it is contextual. And I want to be part of the fight against it, but it's hard for me to know when I should and when I shouldn't, and since I'm really conflict avoidant anyway, it's hard for me to act.
lisagems posted this comic elsewhere on the internet.I love the attitude toward male harassment of women demonstrated by this poster/comic from Robot Hugs. It's a discussion of the function (and I say function in the sense of a causative element, not necessarily implying conscious, conspiratorial intent) of mild sexual harassment in exerting male control over women in public space. I agree, and I want to be part of changing the prevailing atmosphere.
I have trouble doing this in a few respects. First, because I want to see the best motivations in people's actions, and because I think I can be overly sensitive to issues of gender relations, I don't know that my perception of whether an action is harassment is always valid. Secondly, I also don't want to behave as though women I am with need my protection; that can be patriarchal in itself. (That, though, I can discuss with the women I am with. It also is not a factor if I am with men who are behaving this way about women who are not part of the group.)
Thirdly, I have a hard time discerning whether there are forms of objectification that are acceptable, and where the line is between acceptable and unacceptable forms. I enjoy being objectified myself from time to time. I don't necessarily dislike the idea that people might be looking at me and making comments about my appearance, especially (but not exclusively) within certain contexts like sci-fi/fantasy cons or ren faire. So asking myself whether a situation would make *me* feel like an uncomfortable recipient of an active, objectifying and/or controlling gaze does not give me an answer that applies to everyone else who is being so observed.
There are also muddied issues of gender; what if women behave in these ways? You could argue that this is some kind of internalized, self-destructive patriarchal beavhior, but that takes away women's agency as people who can choose for themselves how to behave and makes them tools of the system.
Don't misunderstand; I fully agree that the sort of behavior explained in this comic is hugely problematic. There is no doubt that it *is* a symptom of a patriarchal society based on unexamined assumptions about male power and control. I don't think there are absolutes to be followed in fighting this system though; like so many other things, it is contextual. And I want to be part of the fight against it, but it's hard for me to know when I should and when I shouldn't, and since I'm really conflict avoidant anyway, it's hard for me to act.
