jeblue:

Aus Rotten - Sexist Appeal

Saturated with sex stereotypes gender roles reinforce inferiority
Exploiting anatomy, exploiting sexuality, preying on insecurities
Force fed proper mannerisms, treated different from the date of birth
Raised as men’s servants who should never question their own sense of worth

Conditioning children with anorexic plastic of ‘perfect’ feminine traits
Learning how to hide any blemishes, meeting standards men create
Painting flesh like painting a picture that subliminally suggests
To equally conditioned men that women are just there for sex
Striving to achieve the super model image the media project
Spending countless hours enhancing a look instead of self respect
Eating disorders insuring beauty and endangering health
When living life behind a mask you cant expect to know yourself
When women are taught one way to act and men are taught another
The ability to accept and tolerate is absent from each other
Without understanding or communication the result too often is
Bigotry by ignorance unintended prejudice
Any man that would treat a woman as property you keep
is nothing but an ignorant bigot that can only see skin deep
having a relationship of inequality, treating a woman as a possession
taking advantage of devotion using emotions as a weapon
violating another’s personal rights as if they never mattered
every day that begins with this conditioning ends with another woman battered
taught how to act, taught how to think
taught how to feel, told by another gender
sexist appeal dehumanizes women molding an image
making the body more important then what the person is
taught to pretend, taught to please
taught to conceal, told that you must surrender
sexist appeal demoralizes men, distorting their view
making the body the most important part to pursue
initiating a chase that relies on deception
hoping persistent efforts will overcome rejection
conditioned by images lusting for sex
haunting men’s thoughts of who they’ll bed next
taught how to act, taught how to think
taught how to feel, told by another gender
sexist appeal dehumanizes women by abusing sexuality
another person’s body shouldn’t be viewed as a trophy
taught to pretend, taught to please
taught how to feel, told that you must surrender
sexist appeal demoralizes men, encouraging rape
another persons body is never for anyone else to take
treating a fellow person without any respect
condemning behavior as if the woman asked for it
society’s distorted our judgment with what they suggest
why take no for an answer when no really means yes


We’ve heard it all so many times before
stop treating women like some trashy cheap whore
or a virgin that must lead to a sterile life
a surrogate mother under the disguise of the word wife
they make the rules but yet they don’t play fair
forcing sexual stereotypes that make us all aware
of every single one of our failures in the eyes of society
telling me that I’m not quite what I’m supposed to be
I’m not married with two children or single with a career
I’m not drowning in some mortgage or living in financial fear
I don’t cower as I walk home all alone throughout the streets
I refuse to be treated like a piece of trumped up meat
I turn away from the billboards that extol the latest fad
Of looking like a junkie in the Calvin Klein ad
Now its time to get beyond all of our rage and pointing fingers
To see through the lies no matter how much it lingers


As long as I can remember ive been a victim of mans lies
And in turn ive victimized women through ignorant naive eyes
When overlooking personality in the person im seeing
Then my attraction becomes the exploitation of another human being
In my heart I know equality but conditioning affects my brain
So without complete understanding oppression will remain
For as enlightened as I may consider myself I still have much to learn
And since actually achieving equality still is a concern
I must open my mind to the opinions that women would suggest
Because they’re the ones who understand sexual oppression best
As a man I’m part of the problem that’s something I must accept
Unless through education I can evolve towards a mutual respect
Everyone of us should realize how our struggle now relates
And how as equals we can destroy what society dictates
We can hopefully find a way to respectfully co-exist
And then eliminate the biggest prejudice that exists

[Both together]
because this is not about man vs. woman or woman vs. man
but human to human as we struggle to understand
were living life suspiciously believing there’s no one we can trust
they’re dividing the population the system is destroying us
profiting from this division and the line of thinking that’s been bought
if equality is ever to exist we have to unlearn what we’ve been taught
bigotry by ignorance unintended prejudice

(via anti-teen-deactivated20111218-d)

If You’re Not a Feminist, Then You’re a Bigot | Gloria Allred | Big Think

Question: How is feminism today different from the way it was 30 and 40 years ago?

Gloria Allred:  I’m not sure how different they are actually because I’ve been practicing 35 years.  I mean, as a feminist I believe the legal, social, and political economic equality for women with men.  I often say if you’re not a feminist then you’re a bigot.  I mean, there is nothing in between.  It’s like being pregnant: you either are pregnant or you’re not.  What else is there?  There is no in between. 

So either you are for first class citizenship—that means you’re a feminist—or you’re for second class citizenship for women, which means to me you’re a bigot or you’re in support of insubordination or women instead of full equality, full partnership for women in each and every aspect of life.  So feminism is about improving the condition in the status of women and vindicating their rights.

Conservatives usually say, “Look how far you’ve come, looking to back to where you are now. Isn’t that great progress?”  But as a progressive person I don’t look to see where we’re come from.  I look to where we should be.  And so no I don’t think we’ve come far enough, because I’m judging by the gold standard and that is equality.  And we should be at the level of equality political, economically, legally, emotionally, socially.  We’re not there.  And so we still have a long, long way to go.  And we need more activism. 

Legally, politically, in the streets, everywhere, to make this happen.  As I say no one ever gave us our rights, including the right to vote.  We had to fight to win it. 

Question: Do you think we will “get there” in the next 50 years?

Gloria Allred:  Well I don’t think there’s revolution, I do think it’s evolution.  But it’s not going to happen unless women stand up and demand it.  It’s as simple as that, because no one gives up power without a struggle.  And there is a huge struggle going on for power and for control over women’s lives.  So I would like to think that both my daughter and my granddaughter will enjoy equality in their lifetimes.  I’m sure that I will not in my lifetime, but it’s not going to happen unless women demand it.  Unless our daughters say: “This is what we have a right to and we are going to force the rights we have. And we are going to demand more rights.  And we’re not going to be satisfied until we win those rights.”

That’s how change is won and there are just so many women and girls around the world who do not yet enjoy that equal educational opportunity.  Some of them can’t get any educational opportunity at all… do not enjoy employment opportunity, do not… I mean, they are just living desperate lives.  And some of them are being trafficked as sex slaves and exploited in sweat shops.  Some of them are literally prisoners in their own home.  We have so much more work to do.  The work really has just begun.

Recorded on June 9, 2010
Interviewed by David Hirschman

I think the bold part (added by me) rings true for all oppressed groups. It’s an obvious point, but one that needs to constantly be made, IMO.

(via femonster)