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I’m Back!

Wow, has it really been 4 months?  Where have I been?  Sorry about the huge delay, between December and January, I both moved and got a new job, so my whole life was thrown out of sorts, and I’m finally getting some of my bearings back.  So where did I leave off?  Oh yes, I was going to discuss some of the ways that patriarchy is bad news for men as well as women.  In my last entry I was discussing the song Bait a Hook and how it says that the other man basically does not deserve love because he’s not a “backwoods boy” and, as the line in the song says, “He can’t even bait a hook.”  So that was one negative effect of patriarchy on men, the fact that they are molded into the macho stereotype, and if they vary from that, they are looked down on, considered less than a man, and called a woman as an insult.

Another way that men suffer from patriarchy is, thankfully, a topic that is becoming much more widespread and opening up a lot of questions, and it actually is having a positive impact on women’s struggles as well.  When people talk about how women shouldn’t “dress like sluts” because they’re going to get raped, they’re insulting men just as much, if not more, than women.  The idea that what a woman wears causes her to get raped is implying that men have absolutely no control over what they do and how they act, and frankly, if I were a man, I’d be very upset by that.  You are saying that as soon as a woman puts on a short skirt or shows any sort of cleavage at all, men cease to be human beings and turn into either animals completely driven by instinct or possessed by a demon of lust that takes over and controls their every move.

The fact is, saying that women get raped because they’re dressed like a slut is not criticizing women at all.  It’s completely and totally insulting to men, however.  I was never aware that men lose all control over who they are if I show any skin, so I wonder if they are aware of it.  Are they still aware of what’s happening when the Lust-Demon takes over, or do they just wake up to reality hours later not knowing what they’ve done or where they’ve gone.

If, however, there are men out there who can take action and defeat the Lust-Demon, then good for you, guys!  Apparently, not everybody has that power.  For those of us who are not subject to the Lust-Demon, but can see the problem, we still need to keep fighting.  We need to continue this battle against the overpowering Lust-Demon, along with the one who lords over him, the Devil of Patriarchy.

Because that guy…he’s a real asshole.

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Bait a Hook

This song, Bait a Hook by Justin Moore, came out on the radio approximately a year ago, and ever since the first time I heard it, I’ve been completely outraged by it. The entire meaning behind the song is that unless a man is a rugged fisher, hunter, outdoorsman, macho, tough guy, he is unworthy of love and relationships.  This is just one example of how the patriarchal society is not just damaging to women, and the list does not end there.  Women are not the only ones who suffer and are victims of this.  Justin Moore, I lost a lot of respect for you since I heard this song.

And now, to introduce what’s happening next!

Many people judge feminists because they claim that the feminists are ignoring the men’s issues and are just trying to make it all about women.  While this is far from the truth, there’s no way better to prove this than to show it.  So I’m starting a new series of posts.  I’m not saying how long this will run for, but for the next period of time, I’m going to be covering the issues that men deal with in a patriarchal society and how feminism is for all gender equality, and not making women superior.

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My Weekend Off

So I failed my NaBloPoMo.  I made it 8 days, which I guess is decent.  Truth is, I had some stressful things going on this weekend, and it was occupying my brain far too much, and I’m trying not to mix my own personal issues with what I’m doing here.  So there’s that.  I will be getting back to it, and hopefully I won’t miss any more days this month, I’ve really enjoyed this so far, and I don’t want to turn back now.

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Rape in Rocky Horror

Some people call me weird.  This could be for many reasons, but one of the reasons I’ve heard multiple times is that I get up on stage, dance in a corset, and do the infamous Time Warp in my Rocky Horror Picture Show Shadowcast.  While many people call me weird for this, I don’t care one bit.  It’s one of the highlights of my current life.  I have met, and continue to meet some truly amazing people through this, it got me far out of the comfort zone I used to hide in, and on top of all that, it’s just a lot of fun!

Other than the weirdness factor, though, there is another issue that has come up occasionally when I discuss this with people, and that’s the subject of rape in the film.  If you haven’t seen the movie, let me give a slight summary of the scenes I am referring to.  There are 2 scenes that go basically the same way.  The man enters the bedroom of the girl or guy, dressed as their fiancée.  Things start getting heated up, girl/guy pulls the wig off, realizes who it is, freaks out, and the man then coerces them each into having sex with him anyway.  I have heard people talk about how they didn’t like the movie or they didn’t like that I participate in it because of that.

Let me first say that I am in no way trying to justify it or say that this is ok, but I do not think that it ruins the movie or the experience of going to see the show.  The man in these scenes is a sick, twisted, demented man who experimented with people’s brains, killed a man because of petty jealousy, and then later fed that murdered man to the rest of the people.  This is obviously not someone of sane mind.

There are a million reasons to love this movie and the show: the music, the costumes, the chance to get up and dance, or shout things out, or throw things in a movie theater, and the overall frivolity and sexiness of it all.  This show has everything!

In case you have never been to a live shadowcast of this movie, let me tell you a little bit about it, so that I don’t just sound like a raving lunatic.  A shadowcast is where the movie plays on the big screen at the theater, and a group of performers act it out along with the movie, and basically shadow it.  One of the other things that happens at one of these shows is audience participation.  The audience can dance along with the Time Warp, which is probably the most well-known song from the movie and has a specific dance that goes with it, the audience can also shout things out whenever they want, whether it’s something that’s a traditional “callback” or just whatever they feel like shouting, there are opportunities to throw different props or use different noisemakers during the show.  The audience can dress up in costumes if they so choose, or they can just come as they are.  It’s a great chance to get out with your friends and let loose for the night.

Now, I’d like to take a minute to dip into the sappy reason to love this movie.  One of the songs, and one of the main themes of the movie is “Don’t dream it, be it.”  No matter how old you are or what stage of your life you’re in, this is a great motto to live by.  You don’t have to settle for whatever you might think you’re stuck in.  If there’s something you have a dream of doing, just do it.  If there’s somebody you want to be, just be it.  Many people get into this phenomenon as a teenager or young adult, and this is the perfect time for them to hear and remember something like this.  But it doesn’t have to just be for teenagers.  From children to seniors, everybody can hear this message and take something valuable away from it.

So, while there may be a few points in this movie that I don’t agree with and that I have struggled with, there are also plenty of good aspects of the movie and the live show, and I highly recommend not letting the bad ruin the entire experience for you.

I would like to see what other people have to say about this subject, and if you haven’t already seen the show, I definitely recommend doing so.