Guest post by Josh Spokes.
I have some thoughts on femininity, women, and my relationship to these as a gay man. For months I’ve stewed on this topic wondering how to express it. This may or may not be an elegant exposition. It’s also full of “I” statements, which is tedious and unfortunate. I know no other way to make it clear my subject is my own impressions, not generalizing statements about what other people ought to do or be motivated by.
Caveats:
1. As a man I’m never going to grok what it is to live as a woman. Please know that nothing I write is meant to suggest or imply that.
2. This is not a cookie-seeking project; I’m not going for Best Man Feminist merit badges.
Violence against and denigration of women has always been viscerally emotional for me. It affects me in nearly the same way that my horror of homophobia and anti-gay violence does. Misogyny so upsets me that I worry I sometimes look like that guy who’s SUPER INTO FEMINISM in a way that’s annoying or invites skepticism. [Read more…]