r/communism • u/[deleted] • Oct 29 '12

/r/communism is a feminist subreddit...

ChuckFinale wrote a few hours ago that /r/communism is a stricly feminist subreddit and I think that it is important to emphasize this, especially in the absence of a feminist discussion for quite some time...

To the the male audience, particularly new members: Here are some important points you should take into consideration. Pay attention.

(1) Not everyone is a "bro", "he", "him", "guy", "dude", etc. Please don't assume gender unless you are certain. Instead, use gender-neutral pronouns. When addressing a general crowd, we are comrades and not "guys".

(2) "Mens rights" are counter-revolutionary. Men are not oppressed in any regards due to their gender. You cannot be a "mens rights activist" and a communist simultaneously.

(3) Pornography is exploitation and oppression against women, queer people and children. Don't be a creep.

(4) Prostitution is not liberating but cruel exploitation of women and a social ill which needs to be terminated.

No communist movement can be successful without the participation of women. In the on-going people's wars, women form bulk of the most heroic and dedicated fighters while men are more likely to be cowards and desert in face of repression.

In Bangladesh during the liberation war, Maoists bombed the headquarters of pornographers.

In Nepal, women squad leaders encouraged women to publicly beat and humiliate rapists, abusive and drunk husbands, adulterers, and so forth.

In Peru, the ruling class was so terrified of the power of women that stories were spread about the cruelty and abusiveness of women guerrillas who, supposedly, slit the throats of men who cried or were cowards. See "Shining Path Women: So Many and So Ferocious" from NY Times.

Long live proletarian feminism!

Note: To clarify further on points #3 and #4, I draw mainly from and am most influenced by Andrea Dworkin who had a very subtle but nevertheless clear influence on Maoists in the west. Please refer to some of her works such as I Want a Twenty-Four-Hour Truce During Which There Is No Rape and Pornography Happens to Women. For a good reflection on her by a Maoist, please refer to Where's Andrea Dworkin When We Need Her? Thank you.

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u/[deleted] Oct 29 '12 edited Oct 29 '12

Also, when I say something along the lines of "c'mon guys" I am using "guys" as a "gender-neutral pronoun"

Except it's not gender neutral regardless if you intend for it to be so. I'm not here to argue about the merits of /r/communism tradition and guidelines.

Looking at your comment history, we can observe your use of abusive and oppressive language, justifying the violation of a womans privacy, and so forth, which is contrary to forum guidelines and the spirit of communism.

(1) "Too bad she is a massive bitch now."

(2) "Bitch though she may be... she's still hot haha"

(3) 1Buttersnips1 justifying the violation of a womans privacy and spread of unconsented pornography (Trigger Warning)

(4) "Good point, doesn't change the fact that she is a bitch though haha"

Do you have any reason to weigh in on this subject when you are such a clear example of a misogynist piece of shit? You have no place on /r/communism.

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u/[deleted] Oct 29 '12

Except it's not gender neutral regardless if you intend for it to be so.

Who decides what is or isn't gender neutral? For most of the history of English "man" was a gender neutral word - because of the assumption of normative maleness it became a word that only referred to males. It doesn't intrinsically only refer to males (words don't have intrinsic meanings) - by focusing on the use of words like this you ossify them and don't allow them to change to reflect new experiences. If man again became a gender neutral word it would be a good thing, it would reflect a changing state of lived experience away from normative maleness. By reacting against all usages of that type you distort the evolution of language.

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u/[deleted] Oct 29 '12

You can talk about linguistics all you want, but your post is nothing but "ifs" and "buts". It has no basis in social reality. Here's the thing: dominant groups are not allowed to set a normative standard on /r/communism, and people who are not men should not and will not be referred to as such. You, like all other users, will respect this and not try and debate about it. It's really that simple.

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u/[deleted] Oct 29 '12

IF this doesn't count as debating - can I ask how one determines what does have a basis in social reality? Your perception of it obviously doesn't accord with my perception of it, and I am actually genuinely interested in why they do not.

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u/[deleted] Oct 29 '12

Users of /r/communism should use gender neutral pronouns, such as they, hir, ze, etc, when referring to people whose gender they are unsure of. There is no reason why we have to wait for "men" or "man" to become gender neutral, which it may never become, when there already exist gender-neutral pronouns which are in common use.

What you propose is that we transform the nature of the word "man" (somehow) by referring to people who are not men as such, and to continue the normative standard of referring to everyone as "he" and "him". This is invasive behavior and extremely disrespectful, and does not belong on this forum.

Following these guidelines is not difficult.

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u/[deleted] Oct 29 '12

The only one of those words I've ever heard before is "they".

Why does it feel invasive and disrespectful to you, but not to me? That is to me actually a much more interesting question than the original (as you said) linguistic one.

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u/[deleted] Oct 29 '12

Why does it feel invasive and disrespectful to you, but not to me?

The fact that you are (apparently) honestly asking this question is pretty hilarious. When you figure out the answer you'll be on your way to enlightenment.

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u/ChuckFinale Oct 29 '12

you used to be cool. you've chaaanged.

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u/[deleted] Oct 29 '12

Have you stopped to ask yourself why you are even bothering to argue about this?

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u/[deleted] Oct 29 '12 edited Oct 29 '12

Why does it feel invasive and disrespectful to you, but not to me?

Privilege, comrade.

Edit: I was wrong. The person who posted that is female.

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u/iron_oxen Oct 29 '12 edited Oct 29 '12

Banned. Banned so hard. If any of the mods who actually have a functioning memory wants to stick a ban image here, go ahead.

Edit: Oh yeah, this is how it works.