These days, I seem to keep stumbling upon items which astound and boggle the mind, provoking the thoroughly depressing reflection that the establishment of the last mid-century, so commonly criticized for materialism, conformity, and anti-intellectualism, today looking backward seemed so optimistic and healthy and rational when compared to its totally-deranged contemporary replacement.
When you read this item blithely celebrating the implausible notion that women can separate themselves from Nature and Biology by a simple exercise of existential choice, you might think that NBC News these days is recruiting its editorial talent straight out of the looney bin, but no! Dr. Marcie Bianco is “an associate editor at the Stanford Social Innovation Review. She was formerly the Editorial & Communications Manager at the Clayman Institute for Gender Research at Stanford University, where she served as editor-in-chief of the monthly newsletter, Gender News, and the annual print publication, upRising, in addition to being the founder of the Clayman Institute Feminist Journalism Writing Fellowship.”
It’s not just NBC News, the crazies are running Harvard, Yale, and Stanford.
Over the past week, an assortment of trending stories — from Jeffrey Epstein to the Dayton and El Paso mass shooters, to Miley Cyrus’s separation and Julianne Hough’s declaration that she’s “not straight†— together have laid bare the strictures of an American patriarchy on the edge of a nervous breakdown. As the status quo, heterosexuality is just not working.
As a snapshot of 2019 America, these stories present a startling picture: Men continue to coerce, harass, rape and kill girls and women — and go to extreme lengths to avoid responsibility for their actions. On the other side of the issue, girls and women are challenging heterosexuality, and even absconding from it altogether.
Framed differently, the picture is this: Men need heterosexuality to maintain their societal dominance over women. Women, on the other hand, are increasingly realizing not only that they don’t need heterosexuality, but that it also is often the bedrock of their global oppression.
Patriarchy is at its most potent when oppression doesn’t feel like oppression, or when it is packaged in terms of biology, religion, or basic social needs.
Patriarchy is at its most potent when oppression doesn’t feel like oppression, or when it is packaged in terms of biology, religion or basic social needs like security comfort, acceptance and success. Heterosexuality offers women all these things as selling points to their consensual subjection.
Historically, women have been conditioned to believe that heterosexuality is natural or innate, just as they have been conditioned to believe that their main purpose is to make babies — and if they fail to do so, they are condemned as not “real,†or as bad, women.
Celebrities are not always at the vanguard of feminist thought, but both Julianne Hough and Miley Cyrus have recently spoken out about sexuality in ways that puts the power — and responsibility — back into their own hands.
What can one possibly say? If heterosexuality has really stopped working, we obviously don’t have much to worry about, since in ten decades or so, there will simply be no more people at all.
OneGuy
“Men continue to coerce, harass, rape and kill girls and women”
This was stated after mentioning Epstein. I have no desire to defend Epstein but the stories are all intentionally wrong and that statement is just more of the same. To hear the lawyers and pundits you would think Epstein kidnapped young honor students to rape them. What he really did is to hire girls who were already prostitutes at wages and conditions much better than they were already receiving. These weren’t innocent young ladies they had already made their choice about drugs and sex and their decision to do it with Epstein and friends was a huge step up for them. Was it right or moral on Epstein’s part? Of course not but it was NOT what the media would have you believe. In fact probably the single reason these “girls” now older 30 somethings, are still alive to sue Epstein’s estate is because they choose to work for Epstein instead of work the street. But the story touches all the right heart strings and is so useful to further “certain” agendas.
IMHO this is like: You find a mechanic working in a crappy junkyard dismantling cars 12 hours a day. You hire him to maintain your Mercedes and quadruple his wages and improve his living conditions and take him with you on world tours. Then years later after he has left your employ he sues you because he got his hands dirty when he worked for you.
Schill McGuffin
To the extent that a substantial number of these “young ladies” were in their mid-or-early teens when they went on Epstein’s payroll, I’m a bit squeamish about referring to their “decisions about drugs and sex”. If they were too young for their signature on a contract to be binding, then they’re too young to be turning tricks.
I can accept, absent further revelations, that “high-end” exploitation by Epstein was far less physically dangerous and brutal than working street corners would have been. I’m not sure what the girls’ actual compensation was beyond getting to be whores in a tropical paradise, but I can’t find too much fault in giving them bonuses now.
OneGuy
But, if we really cared about sex trafficking we would worry about those who were not able to get a multimillion dollar judgement. Lets face it this is about the attorneys getting rich not justice.
With very few exceptions girls of this age who are turning tricks got into the business because they are hooked on drugs. Many got hooked by unscrupulous pimps and many got hooked on their own simply because the drugs are there to be had. Once hooked getting the drugs is easy for the girls, they simply use their god given talents in exchange for drugs or money. IMHO THAT situation is far worse than traveling around with Epstein and friends. If you ever get the opportunity to talk to women who did drugs and spent time in drug houses you will agree with me. One such lady who is now 40 something and the mother of my niece tells me that basically you screw or suck every man in the house either to get drugs OR (more likely) because you are already high on drugs and that is what is expected of you. And THAT is my point. Not that Epstein was a good guy. Not that doing 15 YOs is OK. Not that the girls were unharmed. But simply that they were on a far worse track before Epstein. And there are literally millions of them doing this right here in the U.S. and perhaps many times more than that millions in Asia and Europe. Where is the justice for all those girls? There is none because their “tricks” aren’t rich.
Long after Epstein’s name is forgotten there will be millions more 15 YO girls turning tricks because of drugs and unless they are involved with a rich guy AND it makes the news, no one will care enough to do something about it.
Mike-SMO
NBC has an interesting collections from which to make judgements about “normality” and “heterosexuality”. I bet 3rd shift in an NBC newsroom is a real hoot.
Schill McGuffin
@ONEGUY —
I think this just comes down to a basic shortcoming of civil, compensatory “justice” — That it all revolves around “deep pockets”. The fact is that if a multimillionaire’s limo drives over and breaks your foot while you’re walking in the street on a rainy night wearing dark clothing, you’re likely to get a lot more compensation than if some broke jerk cripples you for life driving his junker through the wall of your house ’cause he thought it would be good for a laugh.
That public perception is so focused on Epstein rather than objectively worse perpetrators is simply a function of human nature. I recognize the irony you’re pointing out, but I think it’s indicative of a larger fault in the assumption that the civil justice system really has much to do with “justice.
Fishlaw
If you follow the link to the NBC site and read the article, it talks about Miley Cyrus giving “deep thought” to her life. What a hoot.
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