I invoke Godwin: Nazi nazi nazi...
Nov. 22nd, 2004 12:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
catsidheMim and I were talking last night about an article in the most recent Fortean Times about a mystic 'philosopher' who was influential amongst both Mussolini and the original Fascisti, and the later neo-Fascists in Italy.
His 'philosophy' was pretty much what you would expect a fascist to get excited over. Lots of 'Master Race' this, and 'sub-human' that. His fundamental (emphasis on 'mental') theory was that the original Golden Age was when the original Aryans lived in the North Pole (thus the name 'Hyperboreans') where they practiced racial purity, had a rigid social hierarchy (which had noo need to be flexible, because it was perfect), worshipped the Sun, and wreaked bloody war on all who crossed them. Lots of Arean (as in 'of Ares') masculine joy. Literally so, as the Male was the benchmark of goodness. Unfortunately, the climate changed, and the Hyperborean Aryans had to move south ... to Atlantis, which was already inhabited by another race from the further south still, probably Lemurians. These Lemurians were a corrupt feminine (which in this theory is a tautology) race, which worshipped the Earth, were humanistic, democratic, peaceful, you know — evil. Extended contact with these corruptors weakened the pure Aryans, and the result was several waves of degeneration, until 'now' (the 1930's) when the cycles would come around to the Golden Age again, when the Aryans would take their rightful place at the top again, and all would be Good.
Thislunatic Deep Thinker based at least some of his theory from a Viennese Jew who came up with the theory that Male is Good, no, strike that, that Male = Good, and only Man (vir, not homo) was spiritually aspirational. Woman, on the other hand, is defined as a corrupter, pulling the pure down to Earth, denying the spiritual, generally ruining it for the blokes. Masculine and Feminine traits could also, he theorised, be seen in races, specifically, he thought that Jews as a race were feminine, and therefore = evil. A sexually tormented, literally self-hating Jew, he committed suicide at the age of 24.
All this psychosocially pathalogical philosophistry got us to talking about the stereotype of the Pure Male and the Corrupting Female. Mim said that it was insulting towards women. I disagreed, and came up with the theory which I am about to propound unto you, Dear Reader. *A-hem*:
The misogynistic view of the corrupting influence of women, as exemplified in such practices as the Orthodox Jewish practice of hiding a married woman's hair, or the Judeo-Christian tradition of woman as the reason for the fall from Grace, or the Moslem Hijab (at one extreme) and Burka (at the other) are all insulting to men, and implicitely give women a power far above anything men could aspire to. The basic principle at the root of all these is that men are so weak that the mere sight of a woman's hair will drive them into paroxysms of lust, in which they have no control over what they do. Women, by this paradigm, have the power to decide men's actions, to the degree that Adam had no choice in eating the apple, and that a rape victim is responsible for her own rape by virtue of being too beautiful. How much more power could you give a person?
Of course, by corollary, if women are just people, then this becomes an even more potent insult to men. How little self-control does 49% of the population of the World have, if the sight of some hair, or an ankle, or bare skin can cause them to revert to ravening beasts, where none of their actions are of their own will?
Of course, when you look at it this way, it shoud quickly become obvious that neither the insult nor the praise is accurate. Women are just people. Men have a choice in what they do. But the power is with the men, who not only protect themselves from the horrors of a patently insulting non-threat by hiding women from their ever-so-delicate eyes, but make women complicit in their own subjugation by persuading them that it is right and proper that things be so. I imagine that the implied power would be an attractive reason to accept this world-view, combined with the duty and responsability of protecting men from their own weaknesses by hiding, but it has been going on for so long that there must be a straightforward social conditioning as well. "It is your own fault that you must hide your [hair|face|self] from the eyes of men. If you were not a woman, then you would be fine, but as you are a woman, then you provoke men by your appearance. Be ashamed that you provoke this reaction."
Hmm. I think I need to have more coffee. There was more, including a short digression on why the Italian philosophist was fully compatible with Fascism, whereas Nietzche was horrified at the use to which out-of-context quotes of him had been put.
Whatever. Discuss.
His 'philosophy' was pretty much what you would expect a fascist to get excited over. Lots of 'Master Race' this, and 'sub-human' that. His fundamental (emphasis on 'mental') theory was that the original Golden Age was when the original Aryans lived in the North Pole (thus the name 'Hyperboreans') where they practiced racial purity, had a rigid social hierarchy (which had noo need to be flexible, because it was perfect), worshipped the Sun, and wreaked bloody war on all who crossed them. Lots of Arean (as in 'of Ares') masculine joy. Literally so, as the Male was the benchmark of goodness. Unfortunately, the climate changed, and the Hyperborean Aryans had to move south ... to Atlantis, which was already inhabited by another race from the further south still, probably Lemurians. These Lemurians were a corrupt feminine (which in this theory is a tautology) race, which worshipped the Earth, were humanistic, democratic, peaceful, you know — evil. Extended contact with these corruptors weakened the pure Aryans, and the result was several waves of degeneration, until 'now' (the 1930's) when the cycles would come around to the Golden Age again, when the Aryans would take their rightful place at the top again, and all would be Good.
This
All this psychosocially pathalogical philosophistry got us to talking about the stereotype of the Pure Male and the Corrupting Female. Mim said that it was insulting towards women. I disagreed, and came up with the theory which I am about to propound unto you, Dear Reader. *A-hem*:
The misogynistic view of the corrupting influence of women, as exemplified in such practices as the Orthodox Jewish practice of hiding a married woman's hair, or the Judeo-Christian tradition of woman as the reason for the fall from Grace, or the Moslem Hijab (at one extreme) and Burka (at the other) are all insulting to men, and implicitely give women a power far above anything men could aspire to. The basic principle at the root of all these is that men are so weak that the mere sight of a woman's hair will drive them into paroxysms of lust, in which they have no control over what they do. Women, by this paradigm, have the power to decide men's actions, to the degree that Adam had no choice in eating the apple, and that a rape victim is responsible for her own rape by virtue of being too beautiful. How much more power could you give a person?
Of course, by corollary, if women are just people, then this becomes an even more potent insult to men. How little self-control does 49% of the population of the World have, if the sight of some hair, or an ankle, or bare skin can cause them to revert to ravening beasts, where none of their actions are of their own will?
Of course, when you look at it this way, it shoud quickly become obvious that neither the insult nor the praise is accurate. Women are just people. Men have a choice in what they do. But the power is with the men, who not only protect themselves from the horrors of a patently insulting non-threat by hiding women from their ever-so-delicate eyes, but make women complicit in their own subjugation by persuading them that it is right and proper that things be so. I imagine that the implied power would be an attractive reason to accept this world-view, combined with the duty and responsability of protecting men from their own weaknesses by hiding, but it has been going on for so long that there must be a straightforward social conditioning as well. "It is your own fault that you must hide your [hair|face|self] from the eyes of men. If you were not a woman, then you would be fine, but as you are a woman, then you provoke men by your appearance. Be ashamed that you provoke this reaction."
Hmm. I think I need to have more coffee. There was more, including a short digression on why the Italian philosophist was fully compatible with Fascism, whereas Nietzche was horrified at the use to which out-of-context quotes of him had been put.
Whatever. Discuss.
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(no subject)
Date: 2004-11-21 06:56 pm (UTC)BTW, when I lived in BrisVegas we used to have Fort Times Readers Meets... actually, that's a lie, we used to have Fort Times Pissups... anyone do anything like that in Melbourne?
The best and most reliable way of getting your hands on FT.
Date: 2004-11-21 07:10 pm (UTC)You might have some little luck with Borders, but don't hold your breath.
Re: The best and most reliable way of getting your hands on FT.
Date: 2004-11-22 02:45 am (UTC)It occurs to me that such topics as you raise are best discussed over beverages... *hint2*