True Feminism - Female Mozarts, Male Bashing, and Camille Paglia
Part I, or, Why are there no female Mozarts?
Photo Credit: Pixabay
Why are there more male geniuses? Yesterday, when I posted about The Autodidact and the Talent Stack I went to Wikipedia to search for autodidacts. There is a Wikipedia page for that, after all. Perhaps because I'm a woman and self-labeled feminist, I noticed that out of the over 100 names on that page there are maybe 5 women.
I also recently posted about the books I've read since graduating. Of the 9 books on that list, 1 is authored by a woman. I read an article on Medium about the must-read books of 2016. Not a single one was authored by a woman, I fact I noticed as I scrolled through the list of rather stellar-looking titles. Indeed, a woman commented on this seeming omission, and the author replied that no book written by a woman made his list for this past year.
Part II, or, Why all the male bashing?
Another trend I've been noticing lately is male bashing. So-called feminists don't want to be equal to men, they want to be superior, which I find rather disturbing and disgusting. After all, I don't choose books or heroines or heroes based on biological sex. I choose books to read and people to emulate based on merit. I've been watching a lot of the Rubin Report lately, including this video of him interviewing a female Men's Rights activist.
Now, while I disagree that men are more oppressed than women, I think it's very important to point out that men face discrimination in the workplace (talk about a ceiling if you're a white male!) and in divorce courts, which default to the mother, no matter how unfit she may be. My platform for feminism, by which I mean I want equal freedom, is this: We are all just humans struggling through this life.
Part III, or, Enter Camille Paglia
Let me preface Part III by saying I've not yet read anything by Camille Paglia. A page I follow on Facebook mentioned her today, and this is the first time I've ever heard her name. I have to say, though, after watching this YouTube video, that I think I've found a home for my feminism.
I've often commented that wars are started by men, most rapists are male, and most violence is perpetrated by men. Camille Paglia says this is exactly why there are no female Mozarts. Genius, she argues, takes obsession, which produces good and bad talents and skills. Women fall in the middle of the IQ spectrum and men on the ends. There are no female Mozarts because there are no female Jack the Rippers.
While I don't agree with all the points she makes in this video there are interesting points and food for thought. I've added her books to my ever-growing list and am off to watch more of her YouTube videos.
Interesting observations. I'll admit I haven't thought deeply about this. I view sexism as just another form of bigotry, and racism is also a form of bigotry.
I am kind of anti-bigot.
I like the idea of equality. Meaning that the opportunity is not being artificially restricted from someone. All have the equal opportunity with no restrictions that were created by other people. Geographical, Genetic ability, and other things beyond our control may create situations where some opportunities may not be available, and others may be available there that are not elsewhere. So when I say equal I am referring to OPPORTUNITY that is not restricted by things that our IN OUR control.
With that said a statement I believe is true...
You either want equality, or you want special treatment. You cannot have both because they are mutually exclusive.
The feminists who want to be viewed as superior. This can happen with any form of bigotry. It happens in racism too. People yelling about racism, but actually wanting special treatment not available to those they are yelling against.
This is not always the case. There are sexist groups, and their are racist groups. The problem is that HOW people often choose to challenge these groups does not end up being about seeking equality, but instead flipping the gun around. Instead of the gun being aimed at them, they don't want to get rid of the gun, they want to take it out of the person's hand that is aiming at them and be able to point it back. It is just an endless cycle.
I'm for equality. That's it. Simple. I've defined what I mean by equality.
I am against special treatment and caste systems.
For me, a matter of important semantics is freedom vs. opportunity. In other words, saying equal opportunity leads down a slippery slope where you have things like affirmative action, the definition of which is "positive discrimination." Still discrimination. Whereas equal freedom is laws saying things like "equal opportunity employment," meaning, no discrimination. At least, that's what those things mean to me in my mind, or what they should mean. If I'm reading you correctly I think we are in agreement.
I completely agree. That's why I was careful to say equal freedom, not equal opportunity. Per the slippery slope argument I outlined above.
I like your points, all.