Hello and welcome to my blog. Brutal Language chronicles my experiences as a radical feminist gentleman in a misogynistic society and traces the development of my own feminist political theory. One of the central themes of Brutal Language holds that patriarchal societies are defined by male hatred towards and political violence against women. While this may seem self evident to some, the ways in which male hatred towards women manifests itself is so deeply entrenched in society that it is often imperceptible. To make things a little more enjoyable, I will also include accounts which celebrate the Spirit, lives, and voices of strong women in herstory. And I am sure I will find a great many more things to write about as time goes by.
Perhaps I shall begin by outlining how I have come to qualify myself as a radical feminist gentleman, as this admittedly seems to be a contradiction of terms. Radical feminism is a school of thought which advocates fundamental, thorough, and drastic political, economic, and social reforms with the goal of securing equal rights and privileges for women. Unlike liberal feminists, who seek to work within existing political institutions, radical feminists believe that true equality cannot be achieved within power structures which are founded on a base of inequality.
A gentleman may be characterized as a civilized, educated, and well mannered man. Granted, there have been times past when a gentleman would be anything but civilized in certain contexts (as in the gentlemen's agreement or the stereotypical olde tyme southern gentlemen). However, I would postulate that a true gentleman is cognizant of and seeks to minimize power imbalances in personal relationships; this would certainly also be true of a radical feminist. I should also like to point out that I take no issue with referring to individual persons as ladies or gentleman, for both describe people of graceful comportment.
Thus, I would characterize myself as a gentleman who is constantly dismayed by the outright disdain for the experiences of women which shapes everyday life in patriarchal societies. Throughout my blog, I willl be exploring ways in which this has shaped my world view.
For the moment, I will leave things where they are; for my next entry, I shall discuss the significance of the title Brutal Language.
