a shyness that is criminally vulgar

ok so i went to bed at 9am this morning. i woke up at 3.30 and am now just killing time till it's bedtime again. wow i have no thought processes at ALL today.

the divine ms u and i went to see miguel migs at the station last night. now the station is a cool LOOKING space, but the acoustics suck. the last time we saw him was at the red room and it was so much better - more intimate, better sound. but whatevs.

that whole seo buzzbox thing just keeps going. it's totally got a life of its own, now. people are chiming up with their opinions and everybody thinks that they've got the definitive answer on what is right for everyone else.

for example, mrs loquacious wrote: "Feminism and empowering the female gender are NOT about using our sexuality to gain attention or respect or equality. Feminism is about using everything *but* our sexuality to gain these things."

to me feminism has always been about the right to choose how you represent yourself to the world. the whole point is that women should not have to be dictated to by men OR other women regarding their choices, their body image, who they fuck, or what they do. women should have the right to choose whether to be stay at home moms, working moms, or never have kids at all. women should have the right to drink, smoke, vote for whomever they support, or not vote as they see fit. women should have the right to choose to cover themselves from head to foot or to dress in a way that makes them feel sexy and beautiful without fearing censure from men or women.

it really frustrates me when people make easy judgements - like 'women who take pictures of their body are insecure'. you can't possibly make statements like that and expect to be taken seriously. there is a long tradition in art and photography of posing nude, or nearly nude, in poses both erotic and not. i don't think you can make the assumption that every one of those women were insecure and seeking validation from men by using their sexuality to attract attention - positive or otherwise.

feminism is about being empowered to choose what face YOU want to put forward to the world - about choosing to wear a mask or to bear yourself fully. feminism is NOT about other women telling you how you can or can't behave - how is it better to have your freedom taken away by another woman than by a man?

society does sexualize the human body - it's one of our base drives and instincts. to deny this is delusional. however, if you don't want to put pictures of yourself then don't. if you don't want to wear tight pants or a tight tshirt or a sheer skirt on a summer day, then don't. but don't feel that you have the right to make my decisions for me and don't feel that you have the right to make rash character assumptions about me without ever taking the time to get to know me. that's what feminism is to me - the right to choose how to live your life and conduct yourself without fear; to accept people - men and women - and the decisions they make, provided they do not cause harm to anyone else.

anyway that's about as much brain activity as i can foster, at the moment.
xo