So much to think about here; I'll have to spend some time thinking about this one. Out of curiosity, could you post the original Alternet article?

Sure! The original article is The Cult of Nature Worship and my response to it is under the same title on my blog. The questions I posted here grew out of my thinking about that response. I'm really interested to see what people think about these things when you put them into context.

i think that one of the main purposes of feminism, and one that somewhat gets lost or pushed to the back burner, is to educate women, as much as fighting for our own equality. sadly, for every intelligent, opinionated, "authority"-challenging woman, there are plenty more who seem to be only content with the status quo, but also who buy into every beauty the male-dominated market throws our way.

eh, maybe this is going off into an unrelated rant, but i think what i am trying to say is that Yes, we are getting in our own way, but in some ways that IS what we are fighting for. i want to fight for the rights of women to choose stupid things for stupid reasons, because i hope that in the end, the fight will show that we don't need surgery to be beautiful. it isn't us who needs to change.

does that make any sense at all?

I'm looking at this question through two lenses, I guess. First, I believe that our pharmaceutical culture has gotten so far out of hand. Balding? Impotent? Take a pill. "Overweight"? Unable to pay attention? Take a pill. Rather than accepting ourselves or dealing with our problems by living in some kind of reality, this pharma-culture pushes us to just have a surgery or get a prescription. Secondly, as a feminist, I think that the technology "solutions" that Morgaine refers to are simply one more way that body image problems are manifested.

On BC specifically...it's popular for reproductive control, obviously, but there are side effects that are, for some, worse than the alternative.

Comment's up here. It's interesting how a conclusion forms after writing about something for a little while.

WARNING: Pet Peeve!

Yes, little girls in Africa and the Middle East are systematically mutilated but we don't have to look across the ocean and use other cultures as examples. Little boys in Christian countries are systematically mutilated. In fact, men are by far the largest group of victims of genital mutilation.

I don't remember ever having been whole. I suppose that's a good thing. I would probably be even more pissed off if I remembered it.

I, personally, find body modification abhorrent. Doing it to yourself is stupid. Having it done to you is a crime. (Well, its not, at least not in my case, but it should be.)

If you are really concerned about "IV. Genital surgery", then look around, you are standing in a sea of victims, most likely, you could even stretch out your arm and touch a victim, right now.

Hey, Subversity-

I actually agree with you that circumcision is a barbaric practice and should not be allowed. While the process is not nearly as horrible as what is done to girls, it is still unnecessary pain with no real benefit. If I had a son, I would never allow it, and I have let most everyone in my sphere of influence know what I think of it.

I did know a guy who had a Bris performed on himself at 18 because he chose to convert to Judaism. I believe that all religious rituals, from baptism on to circumcision, should only be performed on adults who can provide informed consent. No one younger than late adolesence is able to function on the more advanced levels of moral and intellectual development, though most never do even after. Lately, I'm starting to think that parochial education should not be allowed for children, either. A free culture is dependent on a populace with a liberal education.

Finally, I finished this response. It's on my blog. I'd try to summarize, but there were so many aspects of this one...

We live in a free society, and therefore can't tell adults what to do with their own bodies.

Birth control is a necessity in a world where there are plenty of people, each women could potentially have at least 20 kids, and most of them would survive to adulthood. Limiting the number of children we have is a boon to everyone.

I don't like elective cosmetic and genital sugery (for adults), but I don't think that it should be illegal. We need to try to fix the problems that are producing such high demand. As far as children are concerned, I don't think that it should be allowed. Let them make their own choice about it when they're able to.

I've bought uncomfortable shoes that are pretty or on sale, but I always end up getting rid of them. I never want to wear them.

Finally got a response up here. I was so far behind on these posts I decided to do them all at once!!

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