I remember “On Our Backs” magazine. That seemed pretty ok.

So to extend your argument, are all means of earning money equally fine if money is required to survive?

My only argument here is that until men and women are making the choice to stay home equally, instead of mostly women making it, we’re still stuck in the same patriarchal pattern.

I’m talking about the fact that not working makes you economically dependent (assuming you’re not independently wealthy) and affects future advancement and earnings and keeps women out of the upper levels of management and positions where they can change the system. That said, I am a WAHM who has intentionally taken a…

I think the original essay argues that the “cunts who like money” are doing feminist sex work.

I know it’s a trap! I’m a mom and I have explored every option for my own family. I’m not saying SAHMs are bad. I’m saying that in the current structure, staying at home ends up (unintentionally) reinforcing the patriarchal system. This is not our fault, but it is the natural consequence. But at the end of the day,…

You did what was right for you. Good for you, and serious congrats on getting out of that abusive relationship. You also participated in and profited from an industry that hurts women (and men, in different ways). Doesn’t mean you’re not a feminist...other things took priority at that time. I wear makeup when I go on…

Actually, I agree with a caveat. I actually think “white feminism” is pervasive, given how we white people are trained from birth to think of ourselves and our concerns as the default norm. So as a shorthand expression to encompass all of the ways we haven’t shown up for women of color, lesbians, poor women, etc., I…

I haven’t invented a new term. I know that I’ve been called a TERF because I don’t believe that “The Vagina Monologues” should be banned from the stage. And while I voiced support for my all-women’s alma mater granting admission to pre-op trans women, it’s apparently TERFy to object to erasing the use of “she” as the…

I agree. But I don’t think calling yourself a “cunt who loves money” is pro-feminist. We all have ideals that we fail to live up to for various reasons.. I’m an environmentalist and I. should be vegan, but I’m not.

Agreed.

Do you think pornography that women create is meaningfully different? I’m honestly interested. I’d hope so. I just haven’t seen it.

I don’t think that holds up. Some industries are more inherently damaging to women than others. Participating in that economy may benefit you personally, but you can’t say it’s a feminist profession.

Incidentally, I call bullshit on any acronym that uses “radical feminist” in a pejorative way. Obviously people are free to make them up, but I won’t co-sign anything that demeans the importance of fighting for women’s rights.

Sure, there are shades of gray. You can tidy up one corner of a flophouse, you know? I don’t mean that snarkily. I’d say the sex industry, overall, is a pretty awful place. But there can be women broadening a man’s view, perhaps, if she doesn’t conform so tidily.

Another point of agreement: I think the worlds of fashion, modeling, and beauty should have their feet held to the feminist fire WAY more than they are. Talk about enforcing the codes. “We’re just helping you be your best self...according to totally external norms that you must comply with and go into debt to pay for!”

Sorry...I didn’t think we were really arguing. I think it was sort of a “The sky is blue!” “No, the grass is green!” thing. I agree that I can’t be so arrogant as to judge a woman’s circumstances and what leads her to choose sex work. I’m really limiting my argument to slapping the feminist label on it, just as it’s…

Are other jobs as directly at odds with the vision of a world in which women are valued for something other than their bodies? (besides modeling, which I hold in a similar mental category).

Opting out of the work world is, on almost all fronts, a regressive choice. It doesn’t advance women’s standing in the world, it leaves women economically marginalized (my mom is now regretting the retirement savings she doesn’t have because she didn’t have a career), it allows workplaces to remain male-normed, it is…

Yes, just like I can say, “I care about the environment, but sometimes I eat at Wendy’s and drive when I could bike.”