Copacabana

Mistaken identity

I had one of the master's kids tell me last week that she takes a drink coozie out with her to bars as an assertion of her independence from her ex-boyfriend who used to make sure he had one for her wherever they went. She told me this story and said that I would be proud of her for asserting her feminist independence, or something like that. It was kind of weird because I'm absolutely not a feminist but it's remarkable how often I'm mistaken for one. Don't get me wrong -- I definitely believe that women are just as capable as men, should be paid the same salaries for the same jobs, and generally respected for their choices as much as men are -- but I differ in one very important way from feminists: I like being a woman and enjoy and celebrate the differences between the sexes. I'm pretty forgiving that women are undervalued because I know that trying to equalize a playing field that is so radically different is very difficult, for men and women both. I adore men and keep looking for the ones that understand this mindset and don't just pretend to (which is anti-feminist -- or anti-sensitive guy -- behavior as it's all simply for show). And, most importantly, I cannot subscribe to any whole set of ethics when there are parts of that set I do not agree with. I mean, how much would the feminists who glorify The Vagina Monologues chafe if there was something published called Cock Talk? Hypocrisy sucks and there's a lot of it in the feminist movement.

What's more, I saw Borat this weekend and thought it was funny as hell, and it was decidedly un-PC. Oddly, I haven't heard a peep from the radical feminists about this movie. Principle is apparently negotiable which is why I'm very careful about what I subscribe to on principle. Which is further why, despite my friend's assumption, I could never be a feminist.

I've been listening to Billy Joel a lot lately, which is totally unhip but I really don't care. This song is great.

posted by Lola @ 3:12 PM