Feminism With A Punch
According to the Jerusalem Post, a member of the Saudi religious police found himself on the receiving end of a righteous pounding from a lady who is evidently fed up with this whole repression bit. A member of the euphemistically-titled Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice approached the lady and a man not related to her, as the two were seen together at an amusement park in violation of the law. The Saudi daily Okaz reports that when the religious policeman asked the couple for some identification, the young man promptly collapsed, at which point our heroine began punching the absolute sharia out of the religious cop, necessitating his trip to the hospital.
I saw an interesting indicator of growing weariness with this religious police business years ago when I was in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A religious cop evidently thought a woman was showing a bit too much wrist from beneath her cover and thwacked her hand with a stick. She dutifully pulled her sleeve lower and waited until he turned his back to her before displaying the single-fingered universal sign of defiance. While it elicited an appreciative chuckle from my colleagues and me, it was a very risky gesture for a woman in such a society.
My hat is off to the lady for standing up to these thugs. She has done more to advance the cause of human rights in that wretched area than the NOW gang, the ACLU, or our Apologists in Chief combined.
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Re: Feminism With A Punch
I love that woman. Yep, while feminist-lawyers in San Francisco are busy, busy, busy trying to sue the entire Walmart chain because 4 out of 30,000 women employed by them say they didn't get promotions because of their genitalia, the real feminists are trying to help the truly oppressed women in our world. This woman included. A blessing on her head.
May '10
Re: Feminism With A Punch
This reminds me of the time I got accosted by a bellboy at a hotel in Sinai, Egypt. We'd been told by our college archeology director that we could wear shorts and t-shirts on this part of the trip because we weren't going to be around many of the more conservative Egyptians.
But apparently, the bellboy didn't get the memo. His first offense was leading me to the wrong room. Then he tried to lay on some amorous moves. I wasn't having ANY of it! In the tussle, my water bottle had fallen out of my overnight case. I quickly snapped it up and began beating him with it while screaming at him to take me to the correct room, punctuating each syllable with a well-placed blow. He took me to my room. Ah, to be 20 again... :-)
May '10
Re: Feminism With A Punch
Each day I check Drudge, I expect to see "Rima Fakih victim of honor killing."
Re: Feminism With A Punch
After seeing the previews for "Sex and the City 2," I decided that I wouldn't be shelling out the $10.75 to see it in theaters this week. The original movie was all in all a disappointment, and the plot of the sequel -- which places the four main SATC characters in Abu Dhabi (of all places!) -- seemed nothing short of ridiculous. But after reading the following at THR, I must confess I'm intrigued:
May '10
Re: Feminism With A Punch
Felicia Jenkins Birney:: This reminds me of the time I got accosted by a bellboy at a hotel in Sinai, Egypt. We'd been told by our college archeology director that we could wear shorts and t-shirts on this part of the trip because we weren't going to be around many of the more conservative Egyptians.
But apparently, the bellboy didn't get the memo. His first offense was leading me to the wrong room. Then he tried to lay on some amorous moves. I wasn't having ANY of it! In the tussle, my water bottle had fallen out of my overnight case. I quickly snapped it up and began beating him with it while screaming at him to take me to the correct room, punctuating each syllable with a well-placed blow. He took me to my room. Ah, to be 20 again... :-) · May. 24 at 9:25am
Wait, doesn't this mean your director was right? Doesn't sound like one of the more conservative Egyptians to me!
May '10
Re: Feminism With A Punch
Wait, doesn't this mean your director was right? Doesn't sound like one of the more conservative Egyptians to me! · May. 24 at 3:07pm
Well, as it was explained to me by my director: The reason the bellboy attacked you, Felicia, is because you were dressed so immodestly! You were essentially telling him, "Come and get me!"
I won't share my response to my (female) director. She may have been my favorite professor while back in the U.S., but there were some pretty tense moments with her the rest of the 2 month trip.
May '10
Re: Feminism With A Punch
It is to the discredit of any feminist organizations that do not vigorously oppose and protest the treatment of women in the Islamic world. Those feminist who remain silent prove themselves to be simply political organizations, whose focus is to only challenge conservative women and views.
The following recommendation is on the subject of abused women in the West, Sweden to be exact. The movie 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' has Salander the female lead, avenging her male abuser. Short of killing her tormentor, Salander's method of dealing with the abuser is sweet. Highly recommend this movie and/or the book of the same name. Movie is with sub-titles.
May '10
Re: Feminism With A Punch
Ah, yes. I remember reading that part of the book thinking, "No, stinkin' WAY!" I'm over half way through the second book The Girl Who Played With Fire. Interesting to see how that scene from the first book will fit into the second story...
May '10
Re: Feminism With A Punch
Ah, man. I forgot to turn off the boldfacing and italics...
May '10
Re: Feminism With A Punch
Felicia, did you beat your director with your water bottle, too?
May '10
Re: Feminism With A Punch
The second movie, The Girl Who Played With Fire, will be showing in my area next month. Looking forward to the further adventures of this cast of characters.
Re: Feminism With A Punch
oleneo65:: It is to the discredit of any feminist organizations that do not vigorously oppose and protest the treatment of women in the Islamic world. Those feminist who remain silent prove themselves to be simply political organizations, whose focus is to only challenge conservative women and views.
I recently was subjected to a speech by Gloria Steinem. She fit this description perfectly. She could only attack the great inadequacies in our society. Take a look around sister. Our inadequacies are minor inconveniences next to most of non-Western civilization.
May '10
Re: Feminism With A Punch
If I read the feminist movement correctly, they will always complain about inequality until men have become the oppressed class...I mean until women and men are completely equal and yet women are free to exert their femininity in any way they choose while men are allowed to embrace their feminine side in ways the feminist deem non-patriarchal.
Does this seem right?
May '10
Re: Feminism With A Punch
Okay, Andrea. You just made me laugh. :D Let's say I verbally assaulted her... No, I didn't use the unapproved Ricochet words, but I did put my college education and acting studies in action by using big words very forcefully with some hand flailing.
My director was more upset that the bellboys (yes, there were two assaulters who attacked two of us in or near our rooms) were going to go to prison (or so she thought).
May '10
Re: Feminism With A Punch
John Boyer:: If I read the feminist movement correctly, they will always complain about inequality until men have become the oppressed class...I mean until women and men are completely equal and yet women are free to exert their femininity in any way they choose while men are allowed to embrace their feminine side in ways the feminist deem non-patriarchal.
Does this seem right? · May. 24 at 7:54pm
Yep. Leftist feminism has completely ignored the intrinsic differences between men and women. It's like they're trying to turn men into butch looking women instead of letting men be who they're meant to be... men. It's also a power struggle. Leftist feminists tend to view the world in terms of who is winning or losing instead of cooperation.
May '10
Re: Feminism With A Punch
The most recent wave of feminism has wedded itself to political correctness. Ridiculous statements like the one alluded to by John can only exist in a climate where even the most obvious response is impermissible. Radical feminists cannot criticize even the most abusive foreign cultures because to do so would undercut their own authority; it would be politically incorrect.
May '10
Re: Feminism With A Punch
I'm a week late on this thread, but, hopefully this isn't too deeply buried to be archived just yet. Felicia, I don't think I would have been half as gracious as I'm sure you were. John, you are dead right. And that is why most well-adjusted, self-confident women I know do not, and would not, affiliate themselves with any of the feminist movements today. To be honest, I don't even know what's out there beyond Gloria Steinem, because I find my own way in life just fine and have no problem proving my worth in the current system. I'm sure I should thank someone for having paved the way for me to be able to say that, but I live in the year 2010, now, and can't think of any profession a talented woman couldn't conquer if she put her mind to it. To me, the feminist movement is about choice and opportunities...the choice to either stay at home and raise children or have a profession in the work force. The opportunities should be available to women who are qualified and they should have the social acceptance for the choices they make. That's it.