AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[lirazel]

This day has been so full of fail. I cannot have a conversation online without someone failing horribly. Work has been more relaxing and soothing to my soul, and we all know how I feel about that.

Like this:

Having a conversation on whedonesque (duh), which is full of fail on other levels (like this gem: "I'm not sure to what extent critical gender theory is an ideal tool for analysing individual texts as opposed to identifying trends in the medium as a whole" embedded in a bunch of pseudo-intellectual stuff that basically boils down to, "You're wrong, and my privilege lets me say so"), and then the most faily thing ever is said:

Other person:

I haven't got as far as the glowy sex, but aren't you arguing the (in my opinion impossible to objectively define) line between seduction and rape? Sounds like she got the horn and went irrational, as anyone can. I think if she's fine with it afterwards then you have to allow her the empowered choice to be so. Even if it ruins the story.

Me:

No, we don't, fraac, though you certainly can if you want to. But we don't have to because Buffy isn't a person. We can ask why the writers needed to include it at all and say we think they should have thought about it more. Which is what we're saying.

AND THEN.

Other person:

Surely if we're talking about her rights then for sake of argument she's a person? Otherwise you could do anything to her.

I think that, in the same way freedom of speech means defending to the death your worst enemy's right to verbally attack you, the ultimate expression of feminism is to defend a woman's right to enjoy being raped. In both cases it's about accepting (i.e. loving) our fellow humans for all they are, even where their existence is at odds with our deepest fears. So it's about courage and self-awareness.

[eta]

AND THERE'S MORE!

What if the character of Buffy spoke to the writer, as (previously) well-formed characters often do, and said she enjoyed the coercive universe aspect of sex? Either she's a person or she isn't, can't have it both ways.

[eta 2]

FOR FURTHER PROOF THAT THE UNIVERSE IS FAILING AND FAILING HARD TODAY, PLEASE TO BE LOOKING AT THIS POST.

But perhaps not if you value your sanity and your faith in humanity.

Please read that last link I linked to (once again, here) and report the hell out of this guy. I know the superpowers of my awesome feminist flist can shut this guy down.

Comments

[penny-lane-42.livejournal.com]

You are me. Seriously. I went over there and became so obsessed with it and I want to marry a Scotsman, too, and I want so badly to go back over there but I have NO IDEA how to do it since you can't search for jobs. If I ever do become a writer and can make a (probably meager, but who cares?) living off of it, I am moving there immediately.

Yeah. It's such a struggle with my mama cause I never know what it's gonna be that she gets when it comes to social justice-y things. Like, I explained gentrification and white flight the other day, and she actually didn't argue with me! She kinda understood! But then she thinks that racial profiling is totally okay. WHAT. And she's like the most generous, loving person in the world, and so I come in the room and she's watching Fox News and I'm all NO NO NO I DON'T UNDERSTAND.

I know what you mean by brainwashing.

[anythingbutgrey.livejournal.com]

let's go husband hunting. OKAY. cool. also - yeah, how do people even find jobs? i tried to stalk idealist and it was like LOL LIKE PEOPLE IN THE UK USE THIS SITE. sit down. you could try working for a publishing house or something?

siiiiggghh. i don't know what's going on. it's like no one gave them the tools to analyze the world well so they don't. thank god(dess?) for feminism, okay. seriously. the world is so much clearer with it.

[penny-lane-42.livejournal.com]

Husband hunting should definitely happen.

Well, I've kinda looked into it, and you can't actually look for jobs there. The company has to go to the government and say, "We need this person, and this is why." So it's really, really hard to get a work visa unless you're doing an internship through your college/university or sometimes through a charitable organization. But I haven't found one of the latter that doesn't require you to pay your own way.

That is so true. So. True.

I have stolen your icon.

[anythingbutgrey.livejournal.com]

cool. i am stalking all of the masters programs as far as the eye can see in the uk, so if i get in somewhere we'll take a field trip.

seriously? that's so fucking rude. you can't even send in a resume and then they can decide they need you? stupid uk and their stupid immigration bullshit fail.

i approve of icon stealing.

[penny-lane-42.livejournal.com]

...I might consider grad school if it could get me over there.

...

I'm gonna think about this. Maybe I need to take the GRE.

Nope. Can't do it at all. It's illegal to enter the country to job search, too.

[eilowyn.livejournal.com]

I so want to be in whatever club of awesome you and anythingbutgrey are talking about now.

[penny-lane-42.livejournal.com]

You are totally invited to the club. There's probably gonna be a post.

[anythingbutgrey.livejournal.com]

YOU DON'T NEED THE GRE FOR THEIR GRAD SCHOOLS.

LET'S GO! ISOBEL WANTS TO DO THIS WOMEN + LIT MASTERS AT ST. ANDREWS.

DO IT.

[ava-leigh-fitz.livejournal.com]

OH MY GOD DO SO. AS ELYSSA ALREADY SAID, THERE IS NO NEED FOR THE GRE HERE. A+ BRITAIN. ALSO YES, THERE IS THE MOST PERFECT COURSE EVER AT ST ANDREWS THAT I AM ACTUALLY OBSESSED WITH.

PLZ 2 B LIVING HERE SOON?

slash, I need to get myself to Tennessee stat.

[penny-lane-42.livejournal.com]

WE'RE GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT THIS.

slash, yes, you should come. It's very pretty here right now. I was driving down the road and admiring how green everything is. Of course, it might be a bit warm for your tastes.