RE: [OPE] horizontalism and the socialist intelligentsia

From: GERALD LEVY <gerald_a_levy@msn.com>
Date: Wed Apr 08 2009 - 12:21:11 EDT

> So women are still getting a bad deal from men, eh?
 
 
 
Jurriaan:
 
I didn't say that at all. I simply mentioned the very real ways in
which gender inequality exists and is manifested.
 

> Sorry, Jerry, but that does not speak to the "feminization of culture", in
> a scientific, objective sense, that's your moral viewpoint talking.
 
 
Well, actually, I only mentioned socio-economic indicators which can be -
and have been - objectively and scientifically studied and
measured empirically (inequality, occupational segregation, gender violence).

 
> What "feminization of culture" refers to, is that
> behaviours, attitudes, dispositions, methods and norms which were
> previously exclusively associated with women are becoming "mainstream" [...]
> and also "normal" for men.
 
 
This is by no means uncontroversial or clear in meaning. For instance, Ann
Douglass's _The Feminization of Culture_ (1977) refers to an alleged
"feminization" of mainstream culture in the US which occurred in the *19th
Century* but which has been ongoing since then.
 
 
The expression "feminization of culture" has been miss-used, imo, in
much the same way as the expression "politically correct" (the latter
expression was pushed by right-wing ideologues intent on changing the
alleged "liberal" bias of journalists, the alleged domination of
universities by "Marxists", et al.). Nowadays, I think, there are
a lot more male chauvinist (especially right-wing Christian fundamentalist)
voices talking about the alleged "feminization of culture" than
any other group. That is not a 'moral' statement - it is an observation
which I think can be supported (or refuted) by empirical study.
 
 
In solidarity, Jerry
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Received on Wed Apr 8 12:25:21 2009

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