Arquette Won An Oscar But Lost In The Identity Politics Race
Shikha Dalmia explains at The Week that feminism's oppression obsession undermines women. First, her def of "identity politics":
Identity politics instructs people to define their politics not by reference to general moral principles of justice and rights, but some shared experience of oppression.
Dalmia writes about Arquette's Oscars speech:
First, during her acceptance speech, she suggested that women deserve wage equality with men because they give "birth to every taxpayer and citizen of this nation." But where does this ova theory of value leave non-procreating women who fail to secure Uncle Sam's future revenue stream?Then, backstage, she went into full Joan-of-Arc mode, demanding that "gay people, and the people of color" join her fight to end wage discrimination against women "once and for all." This is a very odd statement coming from a lady so rich that she actually chooses to forego wages. One can debate whether Hollywood's pay scale discriminates against female actors, but that's pretty irrelevant when it comes to Arquette. She has joked that she got paid less for Boyhood, a brilliant indie movie 12 years in the making that won her the Oscar, than she paid her dog walker. Why did she do it? Because it was a satisfying role that she could amply subsidize with lucrative gigs on TV shows such as CSI and Medium. In other words, she willingly traded monetary income for psychic income, a "luxury" -- her word not mine -- that the vast majority of men in the world -- white, Asian, black, Latino, native American -- can't afford, forget about women. If anything, instead of complaining, she should be marveling at a system that gives her such options.
But of course, feminists are not criticizing her for under-appreciating what she's got, because that would be tantamount to endorsing patriarchy. They are instead accusing her of "structural erasure," "intersectionality failure," and other feminist sins that are all fancy ways of saying she spoke out of turn.
In the feminist critical theory dogma, there is a hierarchy of oppression that Arquette apparently failed to respect when she asked "gay people and people of color" to support her fight for gender wage equality, given that the oppression they face is greater than hers. Also as per the dogma, she failed to appreciate that curing wage discrimination against (white) women like her would do little to cure it against, say, Latinas or black women, since it is compounded in their case by their racial membership. So suggesting that they drop their struggles and join hers bespeaks a tinny self-absorption, they accused.
Feminists may be right about that. But what they fail to understand is that if Arquette has fallen prey to what might be called the narcissism of oppression, it's their fault -- or at least the fault of the identity politics that feminism has encouraged.
Today, we're all "oppressed" (see her note about white men and affirmative action) but it's stylish and feminism-approved to be a member of some groups (generally those who can get grants for tuition not available to white men and often white women in the same income bracket).
If anyone ever used the word "intersectionality" in conversation with me, I'd fart out loud. Then piss in their coffee.
Y'know, college ninnies don't realize how obvious it is to the rest of us that they've never done anything in their lives... That they've never been part of a venture that built anything, or created any wealth, or grew food or attracted talent or moved matériel or healed illness. They don't know. You could walk them across the room to a mirror and point out their soft palms and tepid fashions and retiring, incurious posture and everything about them that clues the rest of us in to the vacuity of their lives, but they just wouldn't see it. They think words like "intersectionality" are a contribution.
These are indoor people with misshapen sexuality and crippled egos.
It's important to hurt their feelings when you get the chance.
Crid [CridComment at Gmail] at March 1, 2015 8:09 AM
If anyone ever used the word "intersectionality" in conversation with me, I'd fart out loud. Then piss in their coffee.
I'd pay good money to see that...
I R A Darth Aggie at March 1, 2015 9:04 AM
Dood... Are there people in your life who use the word "intersectionality"?
Do they have college degrees?
Can they change their own oil or fix a running toilet or get the kids to soccer on time or lead a construction project at work or perform well at group sex?
Dood.
Crid [CridComment at Gmail] at March 1, 2015 9:27 AM
"Intersectionality" was LITERALLY created to fudge the 3rd wave feminism question:
Who is more oppressed
+ a white lesbian with her master's degree,
+ a Puerto Rican heterosexual maid?
+ a black gay man?
By answering:
Straight (white) men oppress us all.
jerry at March 1, 2015 11:09 AM
Dood... Are there people in your life who use the word
"intersectionality"?
That would be a *no*
Isab at March 1, 2015 11:31 AM
Patricia Arquette in a Porsche as described by David Foster Wallace below. She sounds oppressed. Adam Carolla mentioned it in passing while telling a story about her appearance on Loveline. She had dirty laundry in the back seat (another sign of oppression).
https://books.google.com/books?id=qN9Z9UQWwsgC&pg=PP142&lpg=PP142&dq=patricia+arquette+in+her+maroon+porsche&source=bl&ots=AhtQxztkaa&sig=vdknSIiBqqKTGcXI_B0ATP4UIRc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=wpLzVP2OJ4udygT_34DQCw&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=patricia%20arquette%20in%20her%20maroon%20porsche&f=false
CatherineM31 at March 1, 2015 2:33 PM
This is why speech codes and so on are such a disaster. You can never ever be politically correct enough. No matter what you say, you're offending someone or demonstrating "privilege". The left wing speech police want to make life into a verbal minefield that no one can ever walk out of.
Mik at March 1, 2015 9:17 PM
We have a lot of 'intersectionality failure' here in SW FL, mostly because our traffic "engineers" don't get the basic concept that signals are supposed to enhance the flow of traffic, not impede it. But I digress.
I kinda like 'structural erasure'. That's how you lose at Jenga.
DrCos at March 2, 2015 3:51 AM
"'structural erasure'"
If I'm ever in another band, this is totally going to be the name of it. Vince Clarke would be proud.
Cousin Dave at March 2, 2015 7:42 AM
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