It all started with three posters that were created by a New Delhi advertising agency, built around the tagline of "Dowry. It's the dirtiest word." I'll submit the posters under the cut, but that's only where this post began.

In an effort to learn about the group that sponsored the signs, which I understand haven't really been installed in a lot of locations because of their language; I did a Yahoo! search and though I didn't find a website for them, I did see a link to an editorial in the student newspaper at Washington State. The piece was written by a woman named Brielle Schaeffer and it begins by making reference to something one of her "liberated males friends" said, "Just a few degrees warmer and the clothes start coming off".

It was from this jumping-off point, her friend simply saying that he liked it when girls wear less clothing, she launches into the objectification of women and by the third paragraph, she makes the leap to female genital mutilation and the dowry system. I didn't have a lot of luck with their internal search, but I was interested in what she has to say, so I consulted both Yahoo! and Google to find some other editorials she has written on similar subjects; "Study Today - Marry Tomorrow", "Defining Feminism in the 21st Century", "Women Lack Voice in Government" and "The Social Downfall of Female Empowerment".

After reading through many of her opinions and agreeing with some, but wanting to take issue with her jump from enjoying the sight of female skin to genital mutilation and on to sexual harrassment, I thought about making a post. I'm sure that I've said something similar to her friend and I may have even said it in this forum. After all, yesterday I posted a couple of pics and linked to a plethora of sexually-suggestive sites and photos of scantily-clad women. I also know that as I've said before, I marched for the ERA and have done many other things, including building my career around that of my wife's, so I also consider myself liberated and enlightened.

In the past, I've mirrored a few of my posts into an appropriate community on a delayed basis. I really don't do it often, because it usually results in people agreeing or a bunch of trolls making uninformed judgments about my beliefs. I've long belonged to the feminist community, it is lumped under my "Politics" filter and I have posted to that community in the past with good results.

But, last time I visited feminist, it was "closed for remodeling". So, I went back to see if it had reopened and what changes had been made. The userinfo has certainly been revamped, but what struck me as I clicked through the recent entries was a sameness of opinion. A good example would be the response to a post about the Burger King commercial, which parodies the old Helen Reddy song; "I am Woman". I've personally found the ad amusing and I like it, but it appears that not only do many of those in feminist find it offensive, but when others disagreed, they were shot down and issued "Mod Notes" or "Mod Warnings".

The first person who disagreed in the 113 comment thread was hooper_x. As I told him in a note yesterday, I've seen him around and we have mutual lj-friends, so I wanted to offer my support. As those who know him might expect, part of his response was direct and to the point; "Honestly, if I'm gonna get banned from some LJ comm I've been posting in for a good three years, a fucking hamburger commercial is probably the most ironically beautiful and appropriate vehicle by which to achieve banishment."

Unfortunately, I've never before seen the other person who said they liked the ad, but really that's all she said before she was attacked and forced to defend herself. Her very first comment was answered by a link to hooper_x's "Mod Note".

Needless to say, I'm probably not going to mirror this post in that community and I may even be risking my membership by posting this to my own journal. The whole thing is a bit discombobulating, but I'm not going to quote Limbaugh because I don't believe him. Though, if the next generation of feminism isn't capable of loosening-up, I predict others agreeing with his disparagement.

I'm an enlightened male, who remembers that the sexual revolution coincided with the civil rights and feminist movements. I like looking at pretty people and as Ms Schaeffer wrote; "Women have always been viewed as the 'fairer' sex, more beautiful than their male counterparts". I also find the Burger King and anti-dowry ads amusing, so I must be disgusting.

I know it's a slow weekend and this was a bit disjointed, but if anyone would like to jump in on any of these points, please feel free.

( The Posters which Started it All (Language Warning) )