liberation lies of the vagina.

last week, i sat in a classroom and my professor talked about "conduct literature". conduct literature in the Victorian era taught women ... "how to be women" . There were pamphlets about how to be an effective housewife, a maiden, and even daughter. My professor explained how women were expected to uphold certain characteristics like humility, spiritual devotion, purity and selflessness. to be honest, my professor spoke in a tone that could only be described as disdain and sarcasm. Clearly, she (as well as some other 'feminists' in my class felt like this was a ridiculous notion). i could see why they would be upset. who on EARTH would want to be humble? pure? pious? or selfless? what a catastrophe that would be.

Similarly, there is conduct literature today: one word ... COSMOPOLITAN.
someone in my class said that COSMO is "different" from traditional conduct literature because it "liberates" women. i almost choked on my own breath. have you read comso?

"how to get approached by men"
"11 ways to keep your boyfriend from cheating."
"guidelines for no tan lines"
"best sex tips to keep him satisfied"

So, is casual sex and pulling men the only way for women to feel liberated? Cosmopolitan magazine enslaves women to social constructs of gender roles identical to ones in the19th century. -- an obsession with perfected appearance (even more impossible than before) & keeping "men" satisfied (as if they are all the same with no specific personalities). Cosmo has painted women into a small box of promiscuity.

some feminists are so concerned with defeating sexism that they cannot understand their own values as individuals. Yes, it is wrong for men to impose their ideas on us about what we should be without holding themselves to the same standards. Nevertheless, if we get caught up in neglecting those values out of spite ... who will we be as humans? before anything .. gender, race, class .. i'm human.  I'd never want to be an arrogant, selfish, "lost" human just to combat some chauvinistic ideals from the 1800's. My goal is to simply hold on to my values and ultimately, (some day) i'll probably commit to a person who has the same ones.

everyone wants "liberation", but ask yourself what's enslaving you?