February 14, 2015
(Cross-posted from Smash the Patriarchy)
Valentine’s Day heteronormative bullshit is so dangerous.
It teaches women that love is more important than boundaries, self-confidence, and self-preservation.
It tells us that our intelligence, our goals, and our health are less important than whether we’ve secured a man to manifest his value through us.
It tells women to stay in unfulfilling or abusive relationships because their self-worth is best realized in relation to /subordination to a man.
It tells us to ignore our partner’s bad behavior, his lack of attention to housekeeping or the kids, his “occasional” use of woman-hating propaganda (aka pornography), and his selfish sexual practices because at least we’ve “snagged a man”.
I know railing against Valentine’s Day is cliche, and I actually wasn’t going to. But another instance of “love conquering all” has come to my attention and it is so sad to see women being told that giving up their safety and their values for the sake of having a dude around is a good bargain.
Hey you women out there: happy I-don’t-need-a-man day!
Smashes the P: Woman’s Liberationist: I’m a woman’s liberationist who blogs about many topics relevant to women. My feminism puts women first. My blog covers feminism, radical feminism, women’s liberation, women-only spaces, prostitution, the Nordic Model, pornography, anti-BDSM, PIV criticism, female friendship, women’s health, Stockholm Syndrome and patriarchy, male-pattern violence, women’s culture, hormonal birth control/contraception, criticism of MRAs, anti-essentialism, gender, gender critical philosophies, shared girlhood, patriarchy, rape and victim-blaming, pro-feminist men, feminist activism, plastic surgery, feminist media and literature, social media and feminism, family roles, and feminist philosophy. (@smashesthep)
