Posted by A Twitter thread by @Aisha__Hashem
It’s a bit disturbing how quickly mainstream fauxminism has managed to outpace thousands of years of the more traditional forms of patriarchy.
Traditional patriarchy imposed feminine gendered constraints on female people. Fauxminism kicks it up a notch by erasing the object of that projection entirely. We’ve gone from overshadowing to utterly overwriting. Female people don’t exist, feminine people do.
Still prioritising male ideas of femininity, only much more so. An entire movement based on making those objectifying, degrading stereotypes available to male people as well (the group that created them) – rather than questioning why they were ever linked to female people at all.
Keeping them linked to female people by tying them intrinsically to the only words we have to describe ourselves – while erasing any reference we can make to actual, specific needs that have to do with being female.
Projection and assumed essence to be fetishised, material needs and oppression to be ignored. Which is of course, the other function of patriarchy this new wave does better than the old.
Traditionally we were told we weren’t oppressed. It’s in our nature to need guidance and control. To be sexualised and shamed. Now, the sexualisation and assumed desire for control are part of the fetish of femininity. Which, again, is all that’s left of women.
Traditionally, our specific needs were ignored. Now we’re told they don’t exist at all. None of that icky material talk of menstruation, medical neglect, physical and sexual exploitation, exploitation of reproduction and caregiving. It interferes with the fantasy.
Leading to the final part, on which new and old waves agree. If you mention being female, mention that you’re different from males, mention your own needs as a group and that they’ve been neglected and still are – you calling yourself inferior.
Because claiming a body that differs from the default male, that doesn’t do the same things, that does some things all its own, that has its own needs and strengths and weaknesses-is claiming all the dehumanising things men have projected onto that kind of body throughout history
Claiming the stereotypes they’ve projected, the essences, is a different thing, of course. That’s empowering.
Or your can reject them, but only if you reject being female as well. Because we still can’t conceive of female people just existing – untethered to gender stereotypes.