Who are you?

[East Coast Hustle]

editors note: I didn't write this, and I don't know who did. I found it in one of the booths at my store and decided it needed to be shared with the world. although it probably could have been edited for clarity, I have left it untouched.

Comparisons. holding one object, idea, or action against another to discern differences and similarities. Hatred, fascism, self-criticism, jealousy, and arrogance are rooted in comparisons. One will compare oneself to another to ascertain whether the subject is advatageous over the comparing self. People who percieve others as stronger, smarter, or superior will often have a stron emotional response to that situation. They may become hateful, angry, or jealous. they may resent those whom they have deemed "better" because it makes them more aware of their own flaws. As a result of the previously stated response, one may becomre driven by the need to supercede those who they had made the comparison to. granted, the second half of this course of action may seem to be the more constructive and positive in it's methodology; it is still a misguided way of self-improvement. Self-improvement is something that must be accomplished through the individual's own volition, not fueled by a feeling of inferiority. To do so out of a feeling of inferiority is an attempt to exert power over another individual. Self-improvement should be done for one reason: to improve one's own state of being. Why do human beings insist on making themselves superior to their peers? Why must we compete? Everyone wants to fit into this cookie-cutter definition of the ideal person, and yet no one does. We just end up obscuring who we are to facilitate our efforts to fit the mold closer than the next person. This is what we call self-improvement. The definition has changed. No longer is it a positive effort to better one's state of being; it is the destruction of one's true self. How are we improving ourselves by struggling ot reach something that we will never even come close to in our lifetimes? Why not just accept who you are? Why not realize your strengths and flaws? If you want to improve yourself, do it for yourself. gaining knowledge and forming your own perceptions because you want to be more aware of your world is a far nobler pursuit than trying to look like a supermodel. Idealizing what Calvin Klein, Fred Durst, and the Gap present to you as perfection is a flaw in and of itself. The simple reality is: you are not what you own, you are not what you wear, you are not your car, and you are not your money. You are your choices and your words. There are two paths before you. Break the mold and be yourself, or fit the corporate ideals and be a product.

It's your decision.

[Mangrove]

i think the kid with the soapy sandwich wrote it..........perhaps.


what if being the product is actually what a person wants? why assume that wearing calvin klein is somehow, a betrayal of the true self? what if someone buys a pair of gap jeans and has a revelation?

it was an admirable effort, but the author ended up falling into the dualism that he/she was trying to avoid by setting up 'products' vs 'self improvement'.

C +
See me after class. Must try harder to attain non-dualistic transcendence by disolving all ideas into their complimentary opposites, crossing the abyss and being absorbed into pure nothingness.

[agent compassion]

Way cool.

[DJRubberducky]

what if being the product is actually what a person wants? why assume that wearing calvin klein is somehow, a betrayal of the true self? what if someone buys a pair of gap jeans and has a revelation?

I have a similar problem with a lot of people who call themselves "feminists".  It's like they can't comprehend the fact that some women *want* to stay at home and raise children and *not* also try to launch some multi-millionaire career.  Or that some women *like* working in the sex industry.

To me, the real spirit of feminism is the notion that women have the opportunity to do what they want to do with their lives.  But these wack chicas then accuse you of betraying the movement if they don't like what you want to do.  They're every bit as guilty of enforcing an idea of what a woman "should" do; they just think theirs are better because they're different.

Fuck that shit.

[Mangrove]

what if being the product is actually what a person wants? why assume that wearing calvin klein is somehow, a betrayal of the true self? what if someone buys a pair of gap jeans and has a revelation?

I have a similar problem with a lot of people who call themselves "feminists".  It's like they can't comprehend the fact that some women *want* to stay at home and raise children and *not* also try to launch some multi-millionaire career.  Or that some women *like* working in the sex industry.

To me, the real spirit of feminism is the notion that women have the opportunity to do what they want to do with their lives.  But these wack chicas then accuse you of betraying the movement if they don't like what you want to do.  They're every bit as guilty of enforcing an idea of what a woman "should" do; they just think theirs are better because they're different.

Fuck that shit.

Interesting point you raise there DJ. The feminist argument against pornography is (with a big spadeful of irony) inherently misogynist. It goes something like this:

  Women are coerced into the pornography industry and it degrades them.

 Naturally someone will say: Hang on a minute, there are plenty of women who went into the industry of their own free will and, god forbid, actually enjoy the job!

  The counter to this is: Aha! But they've already been brainwashed by the patriarchal society and therefore they don't really take it up as a career path by choice and it still degrades them......even if they make lots of money, are more famous than most male porn stars....or have their own successful magazines, production companies, websites, books etc

It is, with all puns intended - fucking nonsense.

And I'll throw in 2c extra and say that if there's any degradation going on, it's not the imagery so much as it is in the vocabulary used. Basically take 2 copies of any picture of (for this example anyway) of a man & woman having sex. Label pic 'A' something exotic ( eg: the widest yawning congress) and you get a typical example from the Kama Sutra. Label identical pic B with 'XXX Milf Slut Cum Factory' - hey presto, you've got most porn.

Again it's another unresolved duality - those feminists (so-called) who are hating on the porn industry have created a dissonance they can't resolve easily: It's ok for me to perform sex act 'A' but if she performs sex act A on screen for money, then that's a betrayal of my principles.

In summary?    :P

[Cain]

Alot of those sort of arguments cant be falsified anyway, whch should set alarm bells ringing.

[Ghost In The Machine]

They fooled women into wanting to work a job, and now they (women) have no choice.

You really can't win, you know.

[fluffy]

i know someone
sort of
who is a therapist

he says that the women he has worked with
in the "sex entertainment" industry
(strippers)
all have issues of control

they do it because it gives them control over men

he says you have to understand that
to be able to get at the issue of why they do what they do
which is always at the root of the problem they say they have

i am not sure what to do with that
but i do think
that those who say
women in porn are manipulated and used
have a valid point
even if the women say they want to be there

just like everybody in prison is innocent
everybody in porn is happy to be there

rrrriiiight

[LMNO]

i know someone
sort of
who is a therapist

he says that the women he has worked with
in the "sex entertainment" industry
(strippers)
all have issues of control

they do it because it gives them control over men

he says you have to understand that
to be able to get at the issue of why they do what they do
which is always at the root of the problem they say they have

i am not sure what to do with that
but i do think
that those who say
women in porn are manipulated and used
have a valid point
even if the women say they want to be there

just like everybody in prison is innocent
everybody in porn is happy to be there

rrrriiiight

The bunny has a point.

In my younger years, I knew (and still know) women who were strippers or did the net porn thing.  When I initially met them, they were all sex-positive, and cheerful, and proud, and I though, "hey!  Looks like there actually are feminist strippers," etc.  Sadly, almost ever single one of them dropped out, became disguted with it, or had multiple "issues" with themselves and who they were (read: "fucking psycho").

The only one who is still in it runs a lesbian S/M website, and is artistic and committed to the scene enough that it can only vaguely be considered Porn.

[Eldora, Oracle of Alchemy]

They fooled women into wanting to work a job, and now they (women) have no choice.

You really can't win, you know.

It has only been middle class to upper middle class that ever had a choice.  Poor women have always had to work.

[Eldora, Oracle of Alchemy]

i know someone
sort of
who is a therapist

he says that the women he has worked with
in the "sex entertainment" industry
(strippers)
all have issues of control

they do it because it gives them control over men

he says you have to understand that
to be able to get at the issue of why they do what they do
which is always at the root of the problem they say they have

i am not sure what to do with that
but i do think
that those who say
women in porn are manipulated and used
have a valid point
even if the women say they want to be there

just like everybody in prison is innocent
everybody in porn is happy to be there

rrrriiiight

The bunny has a point.

In my younger years, I knew (and still know) women who were strippers or did the net porn thing.  When I initially met them, they were all sex-positive, and cheerful, and proud, and I though, "hey!  Looks like there actually are feminist strippers," etc.  Sadly, almost ever single one of them dropped out, became disguted with it, or had multiple "issues" with themselves and who they were (read: "fucking psycho").

The only one who is still in it runs a lesbian S/M website, and is artistic and committed to the scene enough that it can only vaguely be considered Porn.

A friend of mine worked as a stripper while she was in college.  Didn't bother her because she was a nudist, so running around naked didn't mean anything one way or another.  She is married with 2 kids now.  Very well adjusted, but she seems the exception.  She has interesting stories to tell, including the time she broke a guy's nose, and for the life of me I can't remember the rest of that story.

[Irreverend Hugh, KSC]

They fooled women into wanting to work a job, and now they (women) have no choice.

You really can't win, you know.

It has only been middle class to upper middle class that ever had a choice.  Poor women have always had to work.

Ouch! Now there you go bringing up that dirty idea known as "class." Shhh! We're supposed to be all equal nowadays. With equal opportunity and justice and freedom for all. Don't mention poor people. They're not supposed to exist.

[Irreverend Hugh, KSC]

what if being the product is actually what a person wants? why assume that wearing calvin klein is somehow, a betrayal of the true self? what if someone buys a pair of gap jeans and has a revelation?

I have a similar problem with a lot of people who call themselves "feminists".  It's like they can't comprehend the fact that some women *want* to stay at home and raise children and *not* also try to launch some multi-millionaire career.  Or that some women *like* working in the sex industry.

To me, the real spirit of feminism is the notion that women have the opportunity to do what they want to do with their lives.  But these wack chicas then accuse you of betraying the movement if they don't like what you want to do.  They're every bit as guilty of enforcing an idea of what a woman "should" do; they just think theirs are better because they're different.

Fuck that shit.

That's cool. Women should do as they wish, even if it means not staying at home, not being a feminist, and not sleeping with you.

The only problem is that you equate feminism, a huge social movement which exists in many countries and has many broad viewpoints and traditions, with some imaginary "feminazi" caricature. Who are they? Where are they? Even if they can be said to exist somewhere, to color all of feminism in that light is simply wrong.

[Sidewaysview]

Why is it I always hear about strippers getting married, having kids and being well adjusted? What about all the married women who start stripping after having kids, are they maladjusted?

And working in porn (prostitution) robs women of their self esteem and is psychologically damaging over prolonged periods.

Not that I care, anyone can do whatever they want as far as I'm concerned especially if they have a good chance of getting full blown AIDS in the name of giving something for men to whack off to.

Dumb cunts.

[Sepia]

MY EYES ARE BLUE IN THE MORRIR