Comments on naijablog: Feminist blogs

@ the last anon (and man, why are there so many an...

2008-02-23T00:16:00.000+01:00

@ the last anon (and man, why are there so many anonymous comments on this blog - weird) - first, reread what i said...please feel free to read it twice or even three times - it's very short and to the point. Maybe you may get it on the third or fourth read. If not, I'll try and make it a bit simpler.
As to the topic I am on, I was simply responding to what I saw when I visited the link. Sorry if I did not comment directly on African feminism and dildos, but rather on the topic at hand - which was the posted link. If you want my thoughts on feminism, you can check out my blog. But for now I will comment on some of the postings I saw on the "Good feminist blogs collective site here."
Ummm, maybe it was just me, but it seems like when i visited the link, (yes actually visited the link - try it...), and actually went to some of these blogs listed (which I thought was the goal of this original posting), a number of them seemed to denigrate Obama, in order to promote Hillary. Just my take on things - simply an opinion. I never said that all Hillary supporters are automatically racist, just like one cannot say that all Barack supporters are sexist. And if my original response suggested otherwise, forgive me. But, I just couldn't help but notice some instances of implicit racism on some of the postings in the name of feminism. Implicit racism is a very real phenomenon (in employment practices, health outcomes, presidential races, etc.). In the United States, it has been estimated that a sizeable majority of white Americans hold aversive racist attitudes. I can possibly forward you some recent papers on it once you unveil your anonymity - or I could make it easier for you by giving you my email address - nnwachuku (at) gmail (dot) com
I hope this has made what I was saying clearer...but again, if you're still not able to get it, let me know again, and I will try to break it down as simply as I can...okay?

nneoma huh?! ba-who? how did you get there, pray t...

2008-02-21T20:39:00.000+01:00

nneoma huh?! ba-who? how did you get there, pray tell? is any one who's anti- barack, or shall we say, pro-hillary racist? i dont even understand what topic you're on, or frankly what you're saying.

C'mon now, does feminism equal anti-Barack-ism. I ...

2008-02-21T15:35:00.000+01:00

C'mon now, does feminism equal anti-Barack-ism. I am all for feminism, but honestly, it seems like the feminism I saw on most of these blogs doubles as a guise for racism.

Anon2,All well said. In my defence I did not reduc...

2008-02-20T21:29:00.000+01:00

Anon2,

All well said. In my defence I did not reduce African Feminism (at least not intentionally), I simply followed Jeremy's link and that was what seemed to jump off the screen.

Maybe it's just me - Freudian slip??!! :-)

Anon, I don't think anyone will disagree with you ...

2008-02-20T16:19:00.000+01:00

Anon, I don't think anyone will disagree with you on what the issues are at all. They are very important issues. The issues you have outlined have been the mainstay of African feminism forever. I feel that there are emergining different African feminism(s) and they will speak and com from a plurality of subject positions and opinions. Some will see you positions are important and we should leave the 'talk of lesbianism, dildos' to another moment in the future when we have achieved all that we are fighting for. Others, like me feel that these issues are interlinked and we cannot dilute our voices or concerns just to please some fundamentalists.

So, I don't think talking about women's sexualities is sending out the 'wrong message' Whether we like it or not the issue of sexuality is everywhere. It permeates all the important issues you have already outlined. We cannot escape from it. Even when African women achieve all the things you have outlined, we'll still have to come back to issues of and the reality of sexualities. And it is interesting to note that you reduce African women's sexualities (and note I am talking in the plural here) only to lesbianism and dildos . Of course, it is part of our sexual universe and much more than that and we should explore all of these issues and not wait to some deferred moment in the future when everything we'll be ok and we'll be able to talk about dildos, cunnilingus, SM, vanilla sex, ménage à troi, rimming etc.

What we must bear in mind is that, there will never be a good or right moment unless we start now. There will always be people who will have a problem with. Just the mere fact that some of us call ourselves feminist is a threat to patriarchy.

African women are probably the most disempowered a...

2008-02-19T15:04:00.000+01:00

African women are probably the most disempowered and poverty-stricken group in the world. Africa is the most economically backward region, women are disproportionately disadvantaged and children the worst off.

That probably makes the African girl-child the most disadvantaged demographic in the world. So, a 'feminist' response is over due.

Bravo.

However if we are to do justice to this most worthy cause, then the movement needs to be appropriately pitched. Talk of lesbianism, dildos and so on are the 'wrong' message, when even 'respectable' married women cannot get a fair deal in the divorce court or even an equal chance of basic education and job opportunities.

If we mean well for African/Nija women, the message needs to be clear, firm and devoid of headline-grabbing 'vagina monologue'-type sensationalism. If we try to bolt-on 21st Century International Feminism to traditional (read 18th century) African society, we will end up muddying the water needlessly. It will simply cause a backlash and the promotion of unhelpful Senator Ekaette-like idiocy - which will be pounced upon by the Fundamentalist Christian and Islamic 'Taleban'.

Let's keep it real, if we want to make a real, lasting difference for women's rights in Africa.

So what are the issues that should be promoted? Parity in education, employmenmt and political representation, economic empowerment, access to credit, legal and land ownership rights and so on.

Waving dildos in peoples faces is not helpful, at this stage.

Ejoo, oh!