The confusion is probably my fault for not having been more specific. I've
been using "normative" to mean something like "engaged in making standards or
upholding standards of behavior or ideas". Maybe a synonym would be
"moralistic". I realize that "normative" is often used to mean "standard
behavior", and I should have clarified that I've been meaning it in the
former usage, more as adjective than as a noun.
>What is 'normative'? Who gets to say?
And, what do feminists say are good and bad morals or norms, and how does
that differ from what non-feminists say are good and bad morals or norms?
> Common women are dealing with virulent forms of essentialism, and I don't
> see feminist critiques of this fundamental patriarchal essentialism as
> partaking of it.
Now I'm lost.
I *think* most of us can probably agree that rape is something uniquivocally
evil, but I'm not sure that Annie Sprinkle would agree. I'm really
mad at her, you may have noticed. Maybe it's because I think her
promotion of prostitution is her primary identity.
I made up a short list of things that I thought all self-proclaimed
feminists could agree on and sent it to that list. I was struck by how
mainstream the values looked, though. I took that as a sign of feminism's
success. Here's the list I'd made (criticisms welcomed):
Equal pay for equal work. Private disputes, when they involve physical
harm, are a matter of public importance, even if they happen in the home.
Both men and women should be taught to be and expected to be adults. No
one has the right to violate another person's body without permission (I
make exceptions for forcing children to bathe and wear jackets). Women are
fully humans, as fully capable of reflecting/being divine as men might be.
Both parents should HAVE TO take care of their kids. Both women and men
should enjoy the benefits and accept the responsibilities of full
citizenship.
I wanted to put something about abortion rights, but I have a friend who
believes that abortion rights are actually a way for men to avoid
responsibility, and she thinks that fetuses are full human beings and
deserving of all human rights. Is there room for those ideas in feminism?
Carolyn
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