In Larry Mitchell and Ned Asta’s The Faggots and Their Friends Between Revolutions, Mitchell and Asta tell the stories of oppressed peoples such as ‘faggots’ and queer men, who must live off of what little possessions they have due to the inequalities of the society they live in. In Shulamith Firestone’s The Dialectic of Sex, Firestone details the possibility of a feminist revolution in the modern era which frees women from the natural and societal inequalities that they experience. In both texts, the effects of inequality in society are discussed. However, Mitchell and Asta detail the effects of inequality with respect to ‘faggots’ and queer men, wherein Firestone explains the effects of inequality in relation to women. While Larry Mitchell
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When speaking of the way women act in society, Firestone emphasizes the way in which their behaviors are used as a defense against men. Women’s clinging behavior is one defensive behavior that Firestone mentions. Firestone states, “Women’s ‘clinging’ behavior is required by the objective social situation. The female response to such a situation of male hysteria at any prospect of mutual commitment was the development of subtle methods of manipulation, to force as much commitment as could be forced from men.” Because men refuse to show the same commitment to women that women show to them, women are forced to act “clingy” in order to force as much commitment from men as possible. Additionally, defensive behavior advice is passed down through generations of women. Firestone states, “Over the centuries strategies have been devised, tested, and passed on from mother to daughter in secret tête-à-têtes, passed around at ‘kaffee-latsches’, or, in recent times, via the telephone.” In order to teach their daughters how to defend themselves from men, mothers often pass defensive advice on to them. Even women’s love is used as a defensive mechanism. Firestone states that, “Assuming that a woman does not lose sight of these fundamental factors of her condition when she loves, she will never be able to love gratuitously, …show more content…
In The Dialectic of Sex, Firestone details the ways in which some women have been convinced to stop exhibiting the aforementioned defensive behaviors in order to be thought more highly of by men. Firestone explains, “By convincing women that the usual female games and demands were despicable, unfair… a new reservoir of available females was created to expand the tight supply of goods available for traditional sexual exploitation, disarming women of even the little protection they had so painfully acquired.” Although the women mentioned in The Dialectic of Sex have, in general, developed defensive behaviors as a result of the unequal society they live in, some women have been convinced that these defensive behaviors harm their image in the eyes of men and should therefore be avoided. While these women may abandon these behaviors for some time, they ultimately realize later in their lives that the behaviors have a purpose. Firestone details, “Eventually they are forced to acknowledge the old-wives’ truth: a fair and generous woman is (at best) respected, but seldom loved.” Hence, although some women may temporarily abandon their defensive behaviors, they ultimately realize that these behaviors are important and resume exhibiting
When speaking of the way women act in society, Firestone emphasizes the way in which their behaviors are used as a defense against men. Women’s clinging behavior is one defensive behavior that Firestone mentions. Firestone states, “Women’s ‘clinging’ behavior is required by the objective social situation. The female response to such a situation of male hysteria at any prospect of mutual commitment was the development of subtle methods of manipulation, to force as much commitment as could be forced from men.” Because men refuse to show the same commitment to women that women show to them, women are forced to act “clingy” in order to force as much commitment from men as possible. Additionally, defensive behavior advice is passed down through generations of women. Firestone states, “Over the centuries strategies have been devised, tested, and passed on from mother to daughter in secret tête-à-têtes, passed around at ‘kaffee-latsches’, or, in recent times, via the telephone.” In order to teach their daughters how to defend themselves from men, mothers often pass defensive advice on to them. Even women’s love is used as a defensive mechanism. Firestone states that, “Assuming that a woman does not lose sight of these fundamental factors of her condition when she loves, she will never be able to love gratuitously, …show more content…
In The Dialectic of Sex, Firestone details the ways in which some women have been convinced to stop exhibiting the aforementioned defensive behaviors in order to be thought more highly of by men. Firestone explains, “By convincing women that the usual female games and demands were despicable, unfair… a new reservoir of available females was created to expand the tight supply of goods available for traditional sexual exploitation, disarming women of even the little protection they had so painfully acquired.” Although the women mentioned in The Dialectic of Sex have, in general, developed defensive behaviors as a result of the unequal society they live in, some women have been convinced that these defensive behaviors harm their image in the eyes of men and should therefore be avoided. While these women may abandon these behaviors for some time, they ultimately realize later in their lives that the behaviors have a purpose. Firestone details, “Eventually they are forced to acknowledge the old-wives’ truth: a fair and generous woman is (at best) respected, but seldom loved.” Hence, although some women may temporarily abandon their defensive behaviors, they ultimately realize that these behaviors are important and resume exhibiting