Urgh, I feel like every time this topic is wheeled out (and I've read quite a few more of these threads than I've commented on), for all people involved (feminists, humanists, baconists [that'd be equal rights for bacon, damnit], masculinists, equalists, or whatever you happen to decide you're for) about 50% of them want to have a rational discussion and about 50% of them want to tell their respective opposing faction just how much of an ass they're being, and how the former individual's opinion is right without a shadow of a doubt.
OT: I consider myself a feminist. I like rights for me. I don't like people telling me who I'm supposed to be based on my gender. This has gotten to the point where whenever someone decides what is female, I don't usually fall in the jurisdiction of the standard definition. I mean, I have all the parts. They work (-ish), although I guess I haven't tested my ability to produce children. But I like math, grew up playing with pretend swords, I dislike wearing makeup or revealing clothing, I like video games, I don't like healer classes (I've just started warming up to the medic in TF2, but I've hated every healer in every MMO ever, and this is not from a lack of trying. I just can't get into making health bars go up when it's so damn satisfying to make them go away), I don't like clothes shopping (unless under very specific circumstances, i.e. with exactly two unique human beings), I like Lego shopping/computer part shopping/video game shopping/action figure shopping/comic book shopping/anime convention shopping, I hate shoe shopping (under all conditions. Of course, I've worked in that department before, too. No one likes shoe shopping. No one. It's a hellhole of negativity), and I like collectible card games despite the fact that they eat absolutely all of my money. I could go on. Really. For every list of "girls are genetically predisposed to like X" I can think of at least a few reasons why I must not be a freaking girl.
On that note, as was the conclusion of a 5am argument I had with a friend: yeah, men and women are genetically different. But I don't think we're vastly different. I think a lot of the difference is socially ingrained. I think that's the part we need to change. No need to fix whatever genetic part is different, but it would help to accommodate some of that (like women who want to be firefighters aren't necessarily weaker than men, they might just be more adept at carrying things on a different part of their body from men). As for what, exactly, is the genetic extent of our personalities, I think we'll never know for certain as long as we don't engage in the forbidden experiment (and aren't able to completely unravel the purpose of every gene in our DNA). I could even be horribly wrong and all women are the way they are due to completely genetic reasons and I'm just making myself miserable by fighting against them. But I like to think I actually like the things I enjoy. And I like to think that people's perceptions of things are more powerful than the reality of the actual things (this goes both ways: the fact that men are ignored in custody battles can be downright tragic sometimes; just because men are seen as less nurturing does not make this truth).
As far as terms with negative connotations: "gamer" has those. I take it anyway. I like games. There should be nothing wrong with that. I think I should have the right to be whatever it is I want to. There is nothing wrong with that either; terms be damned.
TL;DR: This post is long and ranty. Sorry for the page dump.
OT: I consider myself a feminist. I like rights for me. I don't like people telling me who I'm supposed to be based on my gender. This has gotten to the point where whenever someone decides what is female, I don't usually fall in the jurisdiction of the standard definition. I mean, I have all the parts. They work (-ish), although I guess I haven't tested my ability to produce children. But I like math, grew up playing with pretend swords, I dislike wearing makeup or revealing clothing, I like video games, I don't like healer classes (I've just started warming up to the medic in TF2, but I've hated every healer in every MMO ever, and this is not from a lack of trying. I just can't get into making health bars go up when it's so damn satisfying to make them go away), I don't like clothes shopping (unless under very specific circumstances, i.e. with exactly two unique human beings), I like Lego shopping/computer part shopping/video game shopping/action figure shopping/comic book shopping/anime convention shopping, I hate shoe shopping (under all conditions. Of course, I've worked in that department before, too. No one likes shoe shopping. No one. It's a hellhole of negativity), and I like collectible card games despite the fact that they eat absolutely all of my money. I could go on. Really. For every list of "girls are genetically predisposed to like X" I can think of at least a few reasons why I must not be a freaking girl.
On that note, as was the conclusion of a 5am argument I had with a friend: yeah, men and women are genetically different. But I don't think we're vastly different. I think a lot of the difference is socially ingrained. I think that's the part we need to change. No need to fix whatever genetic part is different, but it would help to accommodate some of that (like women who want to be firefighters aren't necessarily weaker than men, they might just be more adept at carrying things on a different part of their body from men). As for what, exactly, is the genetic extent of our personalities, I think we'll never know for certain as long as we don't engage in the forbidden experiment (and aren't able to completely unravel the purpose of every gene in our DNA). I could even be horribly wrong and all women are the way they are due to completely genetic reasons and I'm just making myself miserable by fighting against them. But I like to think I actually like the things I enjoy. And I like to think that people's perceptions of things are more powerful than the reality of the actual things (this goes both ways: the fact that men are ignored in custody battles can be downright tragic sometimes; just because men are seen as less nurturing does not make this truth).
As far as terms with negative connotations: "gamer" has those. I take it anyway. I like games. There should be nothing wrong with that. I think I should have the right to be whatever it is I want to. There is nothing wrong with that either; terms be damned.
TL;DR: This post is long and ranty. Sorry for the page dump.
