 |
|
|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Morrigu 
Joined: 11 Aug 2001
|
| Post subject: |  |
|
^ no it is not highly unusual in Australia at all - a rather large obstetric hospital is part of my work place - highly unusual to be reported or prosecuted yes!
_________________
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” |
|
|
|
 |
David 
I dare you to try
Joined: 27 Jul 2003
Location: Andromeda
|
| Post subject: | |
|
What sort of prevalence are we talking here? 100 cases a year?
_________________
All watched over by machines of loving grace |
|
|
|
|
pietillidie
Joined: 07 Jan 2005
|
| Post subject: | |
|
| David wrote: | | pietillidie wrote: | ^Unless there's plainly some Norsca-based oppression going on, someone has to demonstrate that this is actually an "ill" beyond any other mundane thing we do in life because it works okay in context.
I for one am not lamenting that I don't toil in the fields, have parasite-infested hair and wear deer skin; deodorant for crowded elevators, passenger vehicles and confined spaces seems like a small price to pay.
Of course, throwing in the adjective "obsessive" makes everything in any culture an ill! IMO you're confusing spending 20 seconds applying a ubiquitous product to your armpits with somethinganythingthat matters in our context. |
I think it's easy for us blokes to shrug this off as irrelevant - what does society expect us to do, really? OK, shaving is a pain in the arse (not literally!), but generally speaking we only have to spend a small amount of time on personal grooming in order to pass the base level of social acceptability. So what's two seconds of putting deodorant on? Sure, in that context, it doesn't seem like such a big deal.
But for most women, it's a small part of a much wider phenomenon; of regular time and effort required to transition from their natural appearance into their socially demanded roles (in some cases, the whole performance of makeup, nails etc. is actually literally demanded by their employers). That might be fun for some women, and others may have the self-confidence and political bent to not give a stuff. But for the rest it's a sacrifice of time and money that could be spent in other ways - a kind of 'female tax', I guess you could say. That makes this a more serious issue of gender equality than some might think.
It's kind of like wearing a burqa - many women may be happy and relaxed while wearing it, but what are the consequences when they want to take it off? That is the true measure of oppression, I feel.
On this issue, I'm fully on side with the radical feminists. |
Deodorant is mundane in our culture. I agree with everything else you mention on control of the body of as an extension of an authoritarian control which is frequently sexist, but there's no need to start chasing these things to such inaccurate resolutions.
The dislike of BO in one's space is universal in our culture, even if that dislike is overridden by some other form of discrimination (e.g., tolerating BO on a white sportsman but not women or people of colour). Heck, we even tolerate BO without judgement when it comes to the weakest members of our society, such as kids (only a mother could love 'em!), the elderly (mothballs and old people's smell!), and the disabled. The main victim of targeted discrimination in this category are perhaps immigrants who are yet to adjust to the local cultural expectations.
Turning the mundane for otherwise able men and women into the controversial is the stuff of fundamentalist religion. The serious things such as the double shift, lack of maternity leave and childcare support, bullying of single mothers, and serious body colonisation (rape, harrassment, discrimination, ostracism, etc.) need all the focus they can get without feminism being turned into hills cult with deodorant laws.
_________________
In the end the rain comes down, washes clean the streets of a blue sky town.
Help Nick's: http://www.magpies.net/nick/bb/fundraising.htm |
|
|
|
|
pietillidie
Joined: 07 Jan 2005
|
| Post subject: | |
|
Fundamentalist time wasters occur in any ideological/political/religious context. The decision to idealise only major problems and to not over-catalogue the trivial is a matter of psychological wellbeing and general wisdom: The more you try to define social phenomena, the less accurate you get and the more you start losing the original concern.
_________________
In the end the rain comes down, washes clean the streets of a blue sky town.
Help Nick's: http://www.magpies.net/nick/bb/fundraising.htm |
|
|
|
|
think positive
Side By Side
Joined: 30 Jun 2005
Location: somewhere
|
| Post subject: | |
|
| pietillidie wrote: | | Fundamentalist time wasters occur in any ideological/political/religious context. The decision to idealise only major problems and to not over-catalogue the trivial is a matter of psychological wellbeing and general wisdom: The more you try to define social phenomena, the less accurate you get and the more you start losing the original concern. |
- uh huh, the original concern like whether or not women feel pressured to shave their pits and pins!
_________________
You cant fix stupid, turns out you cant quarantine it either! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You cannot attach files in this forum
You cannot download files in this forum
|
|
The Rules
FAQ
Usergroups
Calendar
Search
Log in
Register
