Tau Ceti HQ

I recently became aware of one of the funniest, most gruesomely astute blogs on the Internet. It's about heartwarming nature crap and savage death-islandism (formerly known as feminism).

Twisty, self-declared spinster aunt, comments on the mechanisms of oppression, male privilege, and the questionable female empowerment implicit in the availability of power tools in the colour pink.

Also, her posts never fail to inspire interesting discussions among her readers. It is the smartest place I've been in a long time.

She has - among many, many others - the following points to make about the bogus notion of femininity and the system that enforces it:

'Behold the neat trick. First, you make women act like simpletons, broodmares, janitors, mannequins, and sex slaves before you grant them social approval. You call this behavior “femininity” and explain that it is their essential nature, and that any deviation from the program will be punished. Then you infantilize and ridicule the ones who get it right, and vilify and abuse the ones who get it wrong (you can also vilify and abuse the ones who get it right, because, let’s be honest; the world is your oyster).'

'Femininity, in fact, can’t even be practiced without stuff (which is one way of debunking the argument that it is an inherited sex trait). It is simply not possible for a woman without makeup and deodorant and lingerie and kitten heels and diet pills and clothes without pockets and anti-wrinkle cream that promises “glowing skin” and self-help books explaining the best ways to suck up to men and jewelry and razors and tweezers and lemon-scented cleaning products and boxes of Lean Cuisine in the freezer — all stuff that must be bought — to be fully feminine.'

Well, spank my ass and call me... Humphrey(?), I've never come across greater eloquence.

Woman-hating fanficcers - just to mention one group that springs to mind like an overstretched rubber band - should go to Twisty's site post-haste and start their much needed brain-un-washing now. The truth may hurt, but it hurts in such a good way.

The amazing thing is, she manages to make her deliberations on the many difficulties of battling misogyny truly hilarious, without ever making her insights feel any less important for it. I must give birth to her children immediately.