Stigma in the Name of Feminism

Posted on February 11, 2006 in Stigma

Disclaimer: The use of the terms “feminist” and “feminism” in this article do not constitute a summary rejection of female rights and feelings. On the contrary, I feel very strongly that the Feminist movement has done a great deal of good. What has happened is that in the interest of including everyone, some feminists have adopted some pretty bizarre attitudes. We’ve seen before about how my fellow leftists often stigmatize the mentally ill. Guess what? Some of them are at it again.

The real story comes out of the Nia Predicariment. Is it proper to worry about a young woman gaining 42 pounds or not? Shrinkette and I, for two, feel that it is as long as the focus is upon health. But hand this question over to the anonymous author of Blame the Patriarchy and you get a singeing rant with the title “To Be Hot and Nuts”. Yes, that’s right. The woman who BTP claims to defend is caricaturized as “nuts”. I said “excuse me….”

Judging from the commentary, I will probably be roasted. It seems that along with the fat rights activists (I keep telling them that fat is not a feminist issue — it’s a health matter), they’ve jumped on the Myth of Mental Illness wagon. Consider the leavings of Donna (not Psychperson) who writes in sarcasm:

You see, the problem with mental illness in females is that it so often renders them unable to devote all their psychic energy to fulfill their sexbot roles. And this hurts other people, you know. Won’t you all think of the poor, poor, dudes in their midst who not only might have their tender retinas assaulted by the sight of a woman who is not only FAT, but *gasp!* isn’t even aware that she should be deeply ashamed of it. The horror! /sarcasm off

We do need compassionate support and we do need advocates who will help us stand up to our current crop of elected officials and the drug companies (e.g. how much are you paying for Abilify) but these people are not our friends. Not when they use the language of mockery, not when they deny the adverse health effects of excess cellulite, and not when they deny mental illness.

We who suffer from mental illness almost need to start a new party: the one is downright cruel and the other too histrionic for our good.

Dr. Maria and Shrinkette offer rational evaluations of the Nia article.