RE: [personal] Re: [microsound] war

["mark" <mark@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"Being German I am not "forced" to cover 95% of my body.  But to be
honest; often I would prefer to do that rather than be forced "

You make some extremely good points - however the issue here is the word
"forced". You 
have a choice (including to protest against it) in your reaction to the
portrayal 
of the female form - you can help educate people you can try and change
things. You 
will not be imprissoned for this or ostracitzed by the people you
consider family and friends.

Unfortunately this is NOT the case for those living under more millitant
Islamic law. They
truly are second class citizens and have no choice in the matter - being
forced to 
cover up is only the outward sign of something much deeper (and
something you clear understand 
as your points about western culture reflect). 

The question here is choice - no matter how much we would like to change
things here in the west 
and how bad our govnerments are percieved to be - we do have one vital
thing - the power to 
protest without worrying about imprisonment or torture or ostracization
(often just as powerful 
a tool as the others.)

Democracy is not the power to vote - it's the power to protest.

cheers 

mark 

-----Original Message-----
From: dbuchwald [mailto:dagmar.buchwald@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] 
Sent: 07 April 2003 10:32
To: microsound
Subject: [personal] Re: [microsound] war

spw wrote:
> 
> 
> When people are forced to believe in a religion and women are forced 
> to cover 95% of their body that's stone age mentality BULL SHIT.

A humble female opinion:

Being German I am not "forced" to cover 95% of my body.  But to be
honest; often I would prefer to do that rather than be forced to cope
with the tons of artificial female bodies on screen, in mags, in
commercials and so on.  No, they are not covered at all, but the
pictures are 'enhanced' to make them ever more perfect, surgery for
'beauty' almost seems to be a 'must' these days.  They do not appear as
individuals but as 'types'; there is no selling of cars, tools,
computers, wenches, screwdrivers whatever without a barebreasted girl
presenting them, smiling like bambi in Disney.  As a woman in the
Western world you should better not grow older than 19, because after
that you are no longer 'dainty' and 'cute.' Have you read the latest
statistics about the ever-increasing rate of aneroxia and bulemia in
Western countries -- everything just to 'live up' to the standards of
cartoon ladies, models and starlets.  Why don't you just accept that
there are women in the world whose bodies are not exposed to your
scrutinizing glances?  Women whose social status gets higher once they
become older than teeny age, not lower as in our model world?  Woman who
bear children without caesarean operation (that this operation becomes
more and more common is due to two facts: a) women getting slimmer and
slimmer so that they can no longer birth children in the natural way; b)
for beauty reasons: better a scar than growing a little bit rounder
around the hips).  Why don't you accept that there are countries where
women are still allowed to keep some secret about themselves rather than
being always 'on full display'? 

In countries where women are veiled there is an old tradition of
expressing your sould and desires through the eyes.  Eyes as windows of
the sould -- does that ring a bell at all?  At least they are granted a
soul and are not reduced to long legs and dainty tits.

Even the feminist movement has stopped wailing about the shador and
tried to see that phenomenon more differentiatedly.

I hate it when people assume they know what is best for others (stuff
which is in truth just better for them).

Dagmar
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