tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510624476585230434.post9204767630458887910..comments2024-02-11T08:56:42.753+00:00Comments on It's Not A Zero Sum Game: Feminist theory and the blue sweaterMarina Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14449789093721258516noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510624476585230434.post-85954935809771134472013-05-29T19:21:07.389+01:002013-05-29T19:21:07.389+01:00I enjoyed this piece.
With regards to "theo...I enjoyed this piece. <br /><br />With regards to "theory vs personal experience", I believe we tend to treat them as "one vs the other", when as we all know, theory is always based on personal experience. <br /><br />In the case of trans* experience, people tend to argue that those who claim "there's no such thing as gender" cannot know what they're talking about because they are not trans*.<br />But those who claim "there's no such a thing as gender" do have personal experience of gender... it's just that their personal experience indicates that gender is irrelevant. <br /><br />The discussion we need to have is a different one. It's not "theory vs personal experience" but "whose personal experience counts the most?". <br /><br />It's the same when it comes to discussions on prostitution. Sex workers differ from the opinions of women who have exited prostitution. Both of their opinions are based on lived experience... but the conclusions they arrive at are different. <br />So what do we do then?<br /><br />I don't think there are any easy answers... Mary Tracyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07207819303495310169noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510624476585230434.post-24558973754869189842013-05-26T13:44:40.887+01:002013-05-26T13:44:40.887+01:00(whoops) but.... there's the part of our ident...(whoops) but.... there's the part of our identity that is socially and culturally formed, and there is also that bit of us (I believe) that is innate. Which makes things difficult sometimes; a lot of tosh is spoken about how we're 'hard-wired' to behave in certain ways; while I think there is at least something behind that notion, it is expedient to minimise it in order to get things done; so much of gender is oppressive.Dru Marlandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03697874363783821382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510624476585230434.post-575598254612077652013-05-26T13:31:21.250+01:002013-05-26T13:31:21.250+01:00yes, agreed; and theories are ways of modelling ex...yes, agreed; and theories are ways of modelling experience to explain it, aren't they? And we're trying to build a model that is a true one- "the wreck and not the story of the wreck / the thing itself and not the myth"...Dru Marlandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03697874363783821382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510624476585230434.post-76164234546065762982013-05-26T12:48:19.441+01:002013-05-26T12:48:19.441+01:00I completely agree that theorizing without any rec...I completely agree that theorizing without any recourse to relevant facts is nonsense -and pernicious nonsense, at that. and of course when theorizing about gender, the experience of people is a <br />set of relevant facts that must be taken into account. <br /><br />what i'm minded to reject tipping, it's the idea that lived experience it's not connected to antecedent theories. so in the example of the trans* experience, I'm not at all sure that people should be claiming to have arrived at their lived experience entirely independently, and not owe anything of their identity to post-structuralism, queer theory and so on. <br /><br />sorry if this doesn't entirely make sense, I'm on my phone and typingthisout it's taking a lot of my brain power! Marina Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14449789093721258516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510624476585230434.post-55401206368054258572013-05-26T12:47:19.831+01:002013-05-26T12:47:19.831+01:00I completely agree that theorizing without any rec...I completely agree that theorizing without any recourse to relevant facts is nonsense -and pernicious nonsense, at that. and of course when theorizing about gender, the experience of people is a <br />set of relevant facts that must be taken into account. <br /><br />what i'm minded to reject tipping, it's the idea that lived experience it's not connected to antecedent theories. so in the example of the trans* experience, I'm not at all sure that people should be claiming to have arrived at their lived experience entirely independently, and not owe anything of their identity to post-structuralism, queer theory and so on. <br /><br />sorry if this doesn't entirely make sense, I'm on my phone and typingthisout it's taking a lot of my brain power! Marina Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14449789093721258516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510624476585230434.post-33703560056392227812013-05-26T12:35:53.830+01:002013-05-26T12:35:53.830+01:00I enjoyed the clip, but also think that it works i...I enjoyed the clip, but also think that it works in both directions- thinking here of that vexed ol' trans* thing, where in the past there has been an attitude to it in some quarters that 'there is no such thing as gender, therefore transsexuality is a delusional condition' that has led me at times to think that I was being explained to myself, and badly explained at that, by someone who doesn't really know what they're talking about...it's good that there is at least some engagement going on now. I'm all for the lived experience thing, personally, as too much theorising gives me a headache. Still, needs must...(inserts smiley here)Dru Marlandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03697874363783821382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510624476585230434.post-56851183819833705432013-05-25T16:35:16.409+01:002013-05-25T16:35:16.409+01:00Two comments:
My old lecturer loves this quotatio...Two comments:<br /><br />My old lecturer loves this quotation from Keynes which ties in nicely with your post:<br /><br />"The ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed the world is ruled by little else. Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist."<br /><br />Secondly something theory should do is take account of as many facts as possible and as new facts come to light they should be incorporated. As humans we have a limit to the complexity we can handle so nuance can be tricky but we should be aiming to take into account as much as possible. I think the challenge here is less about the academic development of theory and more in the communication of theory to a wider audience.Harriethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01576353402282304284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6510624476585230434.post-72893207057480173822013-05-25T12:19:00.666+01:002013-05-25T12:19:00.666+01:00"And a bit of a template for would-be non-vio..."And a bit of a template for would-be non-violent dictators."<br /><br />I aver that there is no non-violent way to be a dictator.<br /><br />The rest of the article was great. I think that had the plot of the movie gone further in exploring what "choice" is really about, it would have detracted from the sellability of the movie and perhaps kept it from becoming a success. Popular media doesn't become popular by encouraging the masses to think too much. Oh, it'll throw in a tidbit here and there, just to get our attention, but then our attention will be diverted onto something else.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com