November 7, 2008

Religious and Civil Rights

    I can't help wondering about the motivation of the blacks who voted against homosexuals' civil rights. Was it religion or misogyny?
    (Of course, it can be hard to distinguish between misogyny and fundamentalist religions.)
    But the video url posted to the right makes it clear that not all abominations elicit the same gut revulsion that motivated these voters. Then what is so disturbing?
    I believe it is unconscious misogyny, which is a fancy way of saying those men hate or fear women. 
    To a fundamentalist man who thinks women should be subservient to men like the church is subservient to Christ, I am sure the mere idea of men as lovers means one of those men must be subservient. Patriarchal men (and women) are emotionally allergic to this idea.
    What evidence do I have that fundamentalist men think they should always be tops and never bottoms? The difference in their reaction to gay men and their reaction to lesbians. It's always ok for women to be bottoms. 
    (Of course, the main cause of any modern feminization of men is all the organic industrial chemicals that we have inserted into our environment since 1945.)
    Anyway, it is not totally surprising that black people, whose ancestors were enslaved, might be more allergic to the idea of their men being subservient. But I say to them that oppressing homosexuals tells me they are not yet completely free.
    Women, who are the mothers of all sons, cannot be oppressed and abused without also oppressing and abusing sons, whether those sons are gay or not.

1 comment:

coco loco said...

muriel,

i think you are a great figure here in sacramento. however, i do think that you should stick to issues of sustainability, and leave the gender issues out of your blog. i am a huge fan, but as a black woman (with degrees in women's studies and black studies), i find your comments on prop 8 troubling and surprising.

blacks account for less then 10% of the population in california. i understand the disheartening irony inherent to many blacks voting in favor of prop 8 (but all the black folks i know voted against it, including myself), voting in favor of discrimination. however, the bottom line is that blacks did not swing this vote. most independent or closeted repub voters (white white white voters) who swung for obama voted yes on 8. even still, with latinos making up almost 40% of the state population, the media (and folks like you) fail to address this other segment of brown voters. women make up at least 50% of the state's population, and they voted for prop 8 too.

this focus on the black voter is decisive and unproductive. it also has very real consequences. i have been involved a few negative interactions with angry gays who seems to think that directing some hostility at me is warranted-- what the fuck? so your discussion only adds to the problem, and it is not all that productive anyhow.

i think that your attempt to discuss race and gender in this fashion-- unsuccessfully-- really undermines your more important message of sustainability. stay on topic, yo.