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  •  Empowerment (4.00 / 3)

    I think I've already said plenty about the Summers debacle.  

    But empowerment really has nothing to do with that.  I personally consider it the equivalent of women shedding their socialized roles in favor of what they really want to do or can do well.  To me, empowerment is more about things like not being a doormat and not telling myself, "I can't do this because I'm female," rather than preventing rape.  

    Even if Summers had outright said that women are innately inferior, I would have just worked a little harder to prove him wrong.  That's what empowerment is to me, giving a big middle finger to everyone who tells you that you aren't capable of doing something that you love to do and want to do by doing it as best you can without worrying about their stupid standards and nay-saying.

    So I guess I see it as more a personal state of mind that an external course of action, though it can lead to that.

    "If life has no purpose, if it's been given us for its own sake, we have no reason for living." -Tolstoy

    by tryptamine on Sun Feb 20, 2005 at 08:27:16 PM PDT

    •  Gulp (none / 0)

      So the response to sexism is "work harder?"  I can't accept that.

      Everybody dies alone.

      by Armando on Sun Feb 20, 2005 at 08:28:53 PM PDT

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      •  No no. (none / 1)

        Do your best and fuck everyone else.  Show them you are as capable as anyone else, and don't let them turn away from that.  That's what I meant.

        "If life has no purpose, if it's been given us for its own sake, we have no reason for living." -Tolstoy

        by tryptamine on Sun Feb 20, 2005 at 08:43:30 PM PDT

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        •  How's that different? (none / 0)

          Everybody dies alone.

          by Armando on Sun Feb 20, 2005 at 08:59:56 PM PDT

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          •  How else can I say this? (none / 1)

            An example, I guess:  I'm small, as a lot of females are.  I work with my husband, who is a bit bigger and stronger than me.  Our job requires us to carry a lot of stuff sometimes, and there are many times that someone will see things piled up in my arms and offer to help.  (They don't do that to my husband, I presume because he's male and therefore supposedly better able to perform the job on his own.)  But I refuse; I know what my own limits are.  Just because I may look overwhelmed doesn't mean I am, because I know how to handle myself.  

            Maybe this isn't the best example, but I empower myself by proving to myself that I can do this even if everyone else thinks I can't.  Hopefully, this shatters a little of that "women are no good at physical work" myth in other's minds too.

            Does that make more sense?

            "If life has no purpose, if it's been given us for its own sake, we have no reason for living." -Tolstoy

            by tryptamine on Mon Feb 21, 2005 at 05:39:53 AM PDT

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            •  Frankly (none / 0)

              No.  You seem to want to rule out political action on the issue - hence, "try harder" seems to be your only alternative.  I disagree.

              Everybody dies alone.

              by Armando on Mon Feb 21, 2005 at 11:35:23 AM PDT

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              •  Uh, ok... (none / 0)

                He asked what empowerment was about.  I told him what it means to me personally, and went out of my way to demonstrate that this is my personal definition of empowerment, because I consider empowerment to be a personal thing.  Am I not allowed to have my own definitions?

                "If life has no purpose, if it's been given us for its own sake, we have no reason for living." -Tolstoy

                by tryptamine on Mon Feb 21, 2005 at 02:43:22 PM PDT

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                •  Then I misunderstood (none / 0)

                  I thought you were talking about what to do about sexism. My apologies. I'm glad you don't disagree with political action to fight sexism.  Sorry about the mistake.

                  Everybody dies alone.

                  by Armando on Mon Feb 21, 2005 at 02:48:46 PM PDT

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                  •  Heh. (4.00 / 2)

                    I figured it was a misunderstanding.

                    Of course I support political action against sexism!  But I'm an impatient woman, and in the meantime, I do what I can on my own.

                    "If life has no purpose, if it's been given us for its own sake, we have no reason for living." -Tolstoy

                    by tryptamine on Mon Feb 21, 2005 at 03:12:36 PM PDT

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        •  Women have been working (none / 1)


          harder for a long time.  They were insulted by his statement.

          There are many brilliant women scientists and there will be more in the future.

          Tigerbeat | photos

          by ari on Sun Feb 20, 2005 at 11:34:42 PM PDT

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          •  I happen to be a woman. (none / 1)

            Studying to be a scientist, too, thanks.

            "If life has no purpose, if it's been given us for its own sake, we have no reason for living." -Tolstoy

            by tryptamine on Mon Feb 21, 2005 at 05:27:18 AM PDT

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          •  Also, (none / 1)

            I'm not saying women have to work harder.  I'm saying women should do their best and make sure they get credit for it.  If the common thought is that we can't do something because we're female, then all we have to prove is that we can do it, not that we can do it as well or better than anyone else.  So we should focus on those things that we ourselves want to be good at, not the things that everyone else says we should be good at.

            "If life has no purpose, if it's been given us for its own sake, we have no reason for living." -Tolstoy

            by tryptamine on Mon Feb 21, 2005 at 06:00:14 AM PDT

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    •  Thank you (none / 0)

      Your response is likely the most helpful one I have received in this thread.  It seems really to me then that empowerment isn't particularly about gender at all, but rather about differences in general and overcoming them.  It's about feeling good for who you are and what you do, regardless of others.  I still don't entirely get how and why some people express and use it (at least ostensibly), but at least I understand a bit better where it's coming from.

      Thank you for your comment.

      If there is hope, it lies in the proles.

      by Aaron on Mon Feb 21, 2005 at 09:12:23 AM PDT

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