Quotes
Quoted excerpts from articles
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On white people’s self-esteem
“This is a racist society, and part of what this means is that, generally, the self-esteem of white people is deeply influenced by their difference from and supposed superiority to black people. White people may not think of themselves as racists, because they did not own slaves or hate blacks, but that does not mean… Continue reading
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On how sexism teaches women to oppress
“It is sexism that leads women to feel threatened by one another without cause. While sexism teaches women to be sex objects for men, it is also manifest when women who have repudiated this role feel contemptuous and superior in relation to those women who have not. Sexism leads women to devalue parenting work while… Continue reading
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On women bonding over their shared strengths
“Women who are exploited and oppressed daily cannot afford to relinquish the belief that they exercise some measure of control, however relative, over their lives. They cannot afford to see themselves solely as ‘victims’ because their survival depends on continued exercise of whatever personal powers they possess. It would be psychologically demoralizing for these women… Continue reading
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On liberation and freedom
“Liberation is thus a childbirth, and a painful one. The man or woman who emerges is a new person, viable only as the oppressor-oppressed contradiction is superseded by the humanization of all people. Or to put it another way, the solution of this contradiction is born in the labor which brings into the world this… Continue reading
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On how subordination and oppressioned are learned
“It is in this form of the family where most children first learn the meaning and practice of hierarchical, authoritarian rule. Here is where they learn to accept group oppression against themselves as non-adults, and where they learn to accept male supremacy and the group oppression of women. Here is where they learn that it… Continue reading
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On individual change versus collective change
“The ethics of Western society informed by imperialism and capitalism are personal rather than social. They teach us that the individual good is more important than the collective good, and consequently that individual change is of greater significance than collective change. This particular form of cultural imperialism has been reproduced in feminist movement in the… Continue reading
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On feminism as a political commitment
“The willingness to see feminism as a lifestyle choice rather than a political commitment reflects the class nature of the movement.” bell hooks, Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center, 1984, p. 31. Continue reading
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On ending sexist oppression
“Many feminist radicals now know that neither a feminist that focuses on woman as an atonomous human being worthy of personal freedom nor one that focuses on the attainment of equality of opportunity with men can rid society of sexism and male domination. Feminism is a struggle to end sexist oppression. Therefore, it is necessarily… Continue reading
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On human nature and oppression
“Another basic characteristic of liberalism which constitutes a formidable obstacle to an oppressed social group’s emancipation is its conception of human nature. If selfishness, aggressiveness, the drive to conquer and dominated, really are among defining human traits, as every liberal philosopher since Locke tries to convince us, the oppression in civil society – i.e. the… Continue reading
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On what gender equality means
“Most people in the United States think of feminism […] as a movement that aims to make women the social equals of men. This broad definition, popularized by the media and mainstream segments of the movement, raises problematic questions. Since men are not equals in white supremacist, capitalist, patriarchal class structure, which men do women… Continue reading
About Me
I’m a 23-year-old history student living in the Netherlands.I grew up in Brussels, where I still go back to from time to time. On here you’ll find thoughts about the pop culture I consume, the articles I publish and a plethora of other things.