#postfeminist

Good evening, my beauties! I've been making some homemade pride flags today and I'm stoked to share them and their coined terms with ya'll!

Intersex Feminist / Intersex Feminist Pride Flag

I posted on here a while back that there should be an intersex feminist flag and my looking forward to it being made someday. Well then I decided to stop waiting and make it myself, so here it is! Basically a flag meant for promoting a more intersex inclusive feminism, especially for intersex women/femmes.

Feminist Man Lover / Pick-Me (Reclaimed)

A flag for women/femmes who are intersectional feminists and man lovers who abide by displaying a love, fondness and admiration for men, and is meant for actively resisting and fighting/rebelling against the problematic normalization of sexist, misandristic hatred and dehumanization of men in "feminist" spaces by sexist, hateful misandrist radfemcels and for simultaneously reclaiming the word pick me to spite said femcel misandrists who then throw such hypocritically misogynistic terms at women/femmes who don't agree with, enable or cow tow to misandrist femcel bullies. (This flag's somewhat self indulgent, but what the hey. Plus it's fun ticking misandrist femcel Karens off anyways 😎)

(Disclaimer: this is not to be misused for coddling, enabling or defending sexist, misogynistic, abusive and toxic men. This is only for fighting against misandry and rebelling against misandrist femcel bullies. That is all.)

Fae / Fae-Punk Pride Flag

I've discussed the proposal for this slang and subculture term in length before on a previous post but I'll discuss again here: a fae is slang for a beautiful, mystical, ethereal and stunning intersex woman/interfemme. This is meant for intersex women and interfemmes to claim as a way to build confidence and empowerment in acknowledging and embracing our unique beauty, especially the beauty in intersex womanhood and intersex femininity and intersex queer womanhood and femininity, in a harsh, cruel and nasty world and society that frequently tries to erase, mock, dismiss, laugh at, disrespect and dehumanize us yet also simultaneously and hypocritically objectifying, fetishizing and hyper-sexualizing us. Since "fae" is short for "fairy", this not only is in reference to fae/fairy mythology from fairy tale folklore but also thus overlaps with intersex women and interfemmes reclaiming the trope and idea of being seen as alluring, fascinating, magical, desirable and intriguing but only reclaiming it for ourselves to take back our agency and autonomy, and not for the sake of appeasing or getting approval from interphobes, intersexists and intermisogynists that erase and dehumanize us while also simultaneously objectifying and fetishizing us (ew!). This also parallels some queer folks reclaiming the word fairy. (refererence: @satyrradio's Alluring Intersex flag, for intersex folks who reclaim the Intersex Allure trope)

This slang and subculture aims to empower and uplift black and brown intersex women and interfemmes of color, queer intersex women and interfemmes in alternative subcultures and autistic, neurodivergent and disabled intersex women and interfemmes (especially as I'm a black/brown mixed race and autistic neurodivergent and disabled intersex woman and interfemme). This also incorporates elements of hyperfem, coquette, bimbocore, fairycore, punk, cryptidcore, dark coquette and fairy grunge (though whatever fashion and subculture aesthetic you feel best fits you is welcome, and intersex women/femmes who are masc, butch or futch are welcome to use as well!). Intersex men and intermascs, especially autistic, neurodivergent and disabled intersex men and intermascs and black and brown intersex men and intermascs of color are absolutely welcome to claim the term fae and use this flag, as intersex men and intermascs, especially those of color and who are more feminine and androgynous in expression and presentation are just as likely to face intersexism, interphobia, intermisandry and intermisandrinoir just as much as intersex women and interfemmes face intersexism, interphobia, intermisogyny and intermisogynoir.

Rebellious Bisexual Man Lover

This term and flag speaks for itself: this is meant to proudly and stubbornly stand on loving bisexual men, whether romantically or platonically, and ultimately showing solidarity to bisexual men as an act of resistance against the problematic normalization of bi-phobia and bi-phobic misandry and emasculation towards bisexual men, regardless of whatever space or community you're in. If you're a straight woman and an LGBTQ+ ally (and more so if you have a bisexual boyfriend or husband), you're free to use this flag. If you're a bisexual woman/femme who knows what it's like to face bi-phobia and bi-phobic misogyny + invalidation for being a male leaning bi woman and wants to fight against that along with fighting against bi-phobic emasculation of bisexual men and the simultaneous, hypocritical fetishization, objectification and commodification of bisexual women, female bisexuality and bisexual female identity by bi-phobic misandrist femcels, this flag is absolutely for you. A break off of the spiteful man lover flag. (Once again, a self indulgent flag, but a necessary flag regardless!)

Intersex Feminist / Intersex Feminist Faepunk Pride Flag

Basically a bringing together of intersex feminists/intersex feminism and faes + fae subculture. (And, again, intersex women/femmes and intersex men/mascs are both free to use!)

Angry Rebellious Man Lover / Mean Pick Me / Gynophobia Afflicted Traumapunk

This flag is a mixture of the spiteful man lover and the feminist man lover / reclaimed pick me flags. This flag is for women/femmes who are proud man lovers and who are not only not sorry about it, but who are also done with misandrist femcel bullcrap and are completely done with (and/or utterly not interested in) being nice to, understanding or sympathetic to misandrist femcel Karens, and have no problem with quickly popping off at and clocking and dragging them with a quickness just like you have no problem with popping off at and clocking/dragging redpill fratdude misogynists. This is also a traumapunk flag for women/femmes who have gynophobia (a fear and distrust of women) as a result of trauma surrounding and stemming from negative traumatic experiences with women--whether it be toxicity and bullying from misandrist femcel mean girls on its own and being culturally and socially gaslighted and pressured into tolerating or justifying it under the guise of female unity or other general traumatic experiences with women such as bullying, abuse, neglect, toxic abusive female friendships, etc., or both. And considering that gynophobia is a very stigmatized and misunderstood trauma based mental health condition that's almost taboo to talk about, it's absolutely in need of discussion, acknowledgement and visibility (and if you have C-PTSD, anxiety, BPD, antisocial personality disorder, etc. and any other cluster B personality disorder and deal with any trauma based behaviors, this is for you). (Now this flag is somewhat self indulgent but mostly personal as I myself deal with the very things I described, from C-PTSD, gynophobia, antisocial personality disorder, BPD, severe anger, trust, rage and vulnerability issues, etc. and other cluster B personality disorders, trauma from abuse, bullying, possessive/domineering/controlling/emotionally, mentally and verbally abusive behavior from women and constantly dealing with misandrist femcel mean girl bullies online and watching them + abusive female friendships be normalized, rationalized, excused and/or rewarded are all very daunting things to deal with and have all left some really deep mental, psychological and emotional wounds that have in turn put a huge dent in my view of female friendships that I have to unpack. (Sorry for the super long dissertation!)

Hyperfemme Intersex Woman + Black Hyperfemme Intersex Woman

These flags are pretty self explanatory--for intersex women/femmes who are feminine in presentation, identity and expression and are also are hyperfeminine, and this flag is definitely for intersex women/femmes who actively embrace hyperfeminine expression as a way to reclaim our right to claim, explore and express our womanhood and femininity in our own way in a society that tries to dictate, police and/or outright erase it. The second flag on the right is for black hyperfemme intersex women/femmes.

NLOG Pride Flag / NLOG (Not Like Other Girls) (reclaimed)

Pretty much a pride flag to reclaim the term NLOG (not like other girls) to combat the growing trend of "feminist" spaces pushing the over-normalized notion of insisting that women/femmes should "be like other girls in order to be unified", something I strongly disagree with as it's a slippery slope to forced social conformity to lump all women/femmes into a monolith that in turn infringes on women/femmes' right to freedom of expression, independence, autonomy and individuality. Sure we shouldn't put others down to pump ourselves up, which is something else that I also disagree with. But it's important to have some grounded nuance in embracing and celebrating shared commonalities and uplifting each other while also still honoring, accepting and respecting each other's differences. Hence, the creation of this flag!

Angry Rebellious NLOG / Scythe Feminae

Similar to the reclaimed NLOG flag but this time for NLOGs that are staunchly and proudly anti-misandry. The NLOGs that are staunchly anti femcel. The NLOGs that love to trigger and tick all the misandrist femcels off, irritate/annoy them or make them crashout, or cry. This also overlaps with the Angry Rebellious Man Lover / Mean Pick Me / Gynophobia Afflicted Traumapunk flag. In fact, the word "feminae" comes from the word horror feminae which is the original rare Latin term for gynophobia, so it's also a traumapunk flag on its own.

(trigger warning: discussions of bullying, sexism, misogyny, misandry, homophobia, transphobia, biphobia, interphobia, intersexism, bigotry, domestic violence, s*xual violence, etc.)

Feminae (alt subculture flag):

A flag for an alternative subculture rooted in alternative feminist, intersectional feminist, postfeminist, anti misogyny, anti misandry, anti femcel, anti racist, anti capitalist, anti red pill, anti pink pill and anti sexist principles, and an alternative term that women/femmes can use as a subtitute for feminist. The word stems from the rare Latin phrase horror feminae which is the original root phrase for gynophobia, a fear and distrust of women. This term can be used by women/femmes who are frustrated and disillusioned by the normalization of sexist misandrist man hating by misandrist radfems and who have trauma and trauma based mental health conditions such as gynophobia and PTSD due to having online and offline experiences of any instance of hypocritical misogynistic bullying + mental, emotional, psychological and social abuse by misandrist radfems who then turn out to be also misogynistic, along with trauma and trauma based gynophobia due to dealing with other instances of abuse and unpleasant traumatic experiences with women (i.e. bullying, abusive female friendships, domestic violence, s*xual violence, bigotry, etc.), who want to support women and women's rights but is wary of associating with modern feminist spaces due to everything previously mentioned and is meant to combat the stigma, the hypocritical double standards and hypercommodification, invasion and hijacking of feminist spaces by misandrist radfem grifters that brings about the stigmatizing silence and suppression of women/femmes from openly talking about these things and from condemning both misogyny and misandry in equal measure. (This also applies to women/femmes that have trauma and trauma based gynophobia due to these very same types of abusive behavior and sexist misogyny from redpill right wing conservative men and right wing conservative women, though the latter crowd's behavior can be sneakier and more subtle and thus, in my opinion, more dangerous.) This term can thus be used by women/femmes who also are more neutral when it comes to the idea of feminism and female friendships due to not only the issues previously mentioned but also due to being in a place of wanting and needing to acknowledge and talk about their gynophobia without being shamed, judged, criticized, nitpicked and shunned and unpack, process and heal from their trauma, and exercise their right to not always wanna get involved with women's spaces or be selective with their friendships as a way to set healthy boundaries as part of the healing process and as a form of protest against misandrist dehumanization of men, women on women misogyny and performative commodification, hijacking, appropriation and distortion of feminist values.

Inclusive of and a safe space for queer bisexual women/femmes (especially male leaning bi/bi+ women/femmes) that have faced biphobia and biphobic misogyny from misandrist radfems; inclusive of and a safe space for trans women and transfems + trans women and transfems of color who have faced transphobia and transmisogyny + transphobic racism and transmisogynistic racism and transmisogynoir from misandrist radfemcels that are transphobic TERFs; inclusive of and a safe space for BIPOC women/femmes that have faced racism, misogynistic racism and misogynistic intraracism from white, nonblack and black misandrist radfems; inclusive of and a safe space for autistic, neurodivergent, disabled and mentally ill women/femmes who have faced ableism and sanism from misandrist radfems; inclusive of and a safe space for Jewish women/femmes that have faced antisemitism and antisemitic misogyny from misandrist radfems; and inclusive of and a safe space for intersex women/femmes + BIPOC intersex women/femmes of color that have faced intersexism, interphobia, racism, intermisogyny and intermisogynoir from misandrist radfems.

Punk feminae (alt flag #1):

Like the feminae flag on top but specifically intersecting with punk/punk rock communities, and more overt in adhering to countercultural, anti racist, anti capitalist, anti facist, anti transphobia, anti TERF, anti red pill, anti pink pill, anti misogyny, anti misandry, anti sexism, anti nazi fascist, anti classism, anti casteism, anti bigotry and anti commodification principles. Inclusive of poor, disabled, neurodivergent, chronically ill, mentally ill, BIPOC folks, women/femmes and men/mascs and Jewish and Romani folks, especially those who are descended from survivors and victims of the Shoah/Porajmos (hence the pink triangle).

Andro-Feminae:

A feminae flag though this is for men/mascs who believe in speaking out against + fighting against sexist misogyny and patriarchal culture norms and in supporting women and women's rights, yet who don't want to be associated with mainstream feminist spaces due to the problematic normalization and glamorization of misandrist sexism and misandrist bullying, abuse, emasculation, disrespect and dehumanization of men and who thus have trauma and trauma based mental health conditions such as PTSD and gynophobia due to these specific negative and unpleasant experiences as well as trauma and trauma based gynophobia due to dealing with other instances of general abuse and unpleasant traumatic experiences with women (i.e. bullying, abusive friendships, domestic violence, s*xual violence, victim blaming, bigotry, etc.). (This also applies to men/mascs who have trauma and trauma based gynophobia in dealing with these same types of behavior and sexist misandry from right wing conservative women and redpill right wing conservative men as well + neoliberal men who bootlick and cowtow to tolerating, internalizing and regurgitating misandrist rhetoric for popularity cool points from misandrist radfem grifters and then project guy on guy misandry onto other men/mascs who don't and refuse to go along with this.) Thus, men/mascs can use this term as a subtitute to show their solidarity and still adhere to the principles of gender equality and allyship yet are more neutral, wary and cautious in associating with feminist spaces and also exercise their right to be open about their experiences without being mocked, shamed, criticized, attacked, talked down to, talked over, shunned, stigmatized and silenced for it, set healthy boundaries and take time for themselves to unpack, process and heal from their trauma and as a form of protest against the misandry and the rampant, pervasive normalization of it and the distortion of feminist values. Just as women/femmes shouldn't be gaslighted, manipulated and emotionally blackmailed into supporting and sympathizing with sexist misogynistic men that dehumanize and disrespect them, men/mascs shouldn't be gaslighted, manipulated and emotionally blackmailed into supporting and sympathizing with sexist misandristic women that emasculate, dehumanize and disrespect them either.

Inclusive of queer bisexual men/mascs that have faced biphobia and biphobic misandry from misandrist radfems; inclusive of trans men and transmascs + trans men and transmascs of color that have faced transphobia, transmisandry, racism and transmisandrinoir from misandrist radfemcels that are also racist, transphobic and transmisandristic TERFs; inclusive of BIPOC men/mascs of color who have faced racism and intraracism from white, nonblack and black misandrist radfems; inclusive of autistic, neurodivergent and disabled men/mascs who have faced ableism and sanism from misandrist radfems; inclusive of Jewish men/mascs that have faced antisemitism and antisemitic misandry from misandrist radfems; and inclusive of intersex men/mascs + BIPOC intersex men/mascs of color who have faced intersexism, interphobia, intermisandry, racism and intermisandrinoir from misandrist radfems that also turn out to be intersexist and interphobic IERFs.

Andro-Feminae (femme/GNC version) (alt flag #2):

Like the andro-feminae flag up top but specifically for men/mascs that are more feminine, androgynous and gender non-conforming (GNC) in identity, expression (internally and externally) and presentation and have faced sexist, misandrist emasculation, disrespect, bullying, mistreatment and ridicule from both misandrist radfemcels and redpill right wing conservative men + right wing conservative women for not adhering to rigid notions of manhood and masculinity.

Next to this flag (and others) being rooted in alternative feminist, intersectional feminist, postfeminist, protofeminist, anti misogyny, anti misandry, anti radfem, anti racist, anti capitalist, anti red pill, anti pink pill and anti sexist principles, this is also a traumapunk flag. And folks that are trauma victims and survivors of everything I mentioned--all of which I've faced and dealt with myself--don't have to have neat reactions or downplay or outright censor ourselves for other people's approval or comfort, mainly if they're the type of abusers and bullies that have hurt me and other women/femmes like me.

Just as misogyny is a dangerous slippery slope to other forms of bigotry, extremism and oppression, so is misandry. Sexism is sexism, and it must always be consistently called out and must always be condemned in whichever way it arises and shouldn't be tolerated. Misogyny is sexism and misandry is sexism, and both are morally bankrupt and immoral states of evil that shouldn't be promoted. It's wrong when men are sexist to women and it's wrong when women are sexist to men. Point blank period. And to truly be anti sexist and adhere to the true values of feminism and gender equality is to call out, condemn and speak out against misogynistic sexism and misandristic sexism in equal measure. And for anybody that has a problem with any of this, don't even bother in commenting or interacting; just hard block me expeditiously.

growing up was very hard.  it was painful and depressing and i was totally ill-prepared.  is this a postfeminist-30-something issue?  or is this something different?  

has it always been such a struggle?  

moving from child, who does not and can not think ahead, to adult who thinks twice?

i am happy i had the technology to take photos of myself during: my late 20′s, my saturn return, my internal death, my sweet kiss good-bye to a young girl who simply had no idea.  i am happy to look behind and see the innocence in mine eyes.  in her eyes.  in our eyes.

there are things about being a postfeminist child.  and no one but a postfeminist child can understand.  i have heard us referred to as the most selfish generation. it seems that when adults talk about my generation, they do-so in disgust.  what they tend to neglect is their shaping of this society.

In "Postfeminist media culture: elements of a sensibility" the author, Rosalind Gill explains postfeminism through media examples. Here, I took specific media artifacts and related the examples to her argument.

Makeover Paradigm:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqg07Bz1n98 

What not to wear is a reality television series on TLC where participants are nominated by there friends, family, and other people they know that think they need help with picking out clothing, styling there hair and /or putting on makeup that fits the social norms that pertain to physical appearance. The series started off with both male and female participants, however in the more recent series, the participants are all female. “What not to wear” is the perfect example of a makeover paradigm because participants are nominated because people feel that they need improvement in their outer appearance. Rosalind Gill argues that “, it might be argued that a makeover paradigm constitutes postfeminist media culture. This requires people (predominantly women) to believe first that they or their life is lacking or flawed in some way, and second that it is amenable to reinvention or transformation by following the advice of relationship, design or lifestyle experts, and practicing appropriately modified consumption habits” (Gill 16). As seen in the preview above, the stylists on the show completely shut down the participant’s fashion preferences in a very humiliating manner. The series has a list of fashion rules that viewers become aware of and naturally become more and more critical of what the other women around them are wearing. 

Self Surveillance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrwTB_yPuKc

Rosalind Gill points out that a part of postfeminist media culture is self surveillance, self monitoring and self discipline (Gill 14). Weight Watchers is a program that assists people with weight loss and weight management by using online technology to monitor food intake and workout habits. Because women are the target consumer for Weight Watchers and other weight loss applications such as MyFitnessPal, it is a good example of a self surveillance. In the advertisement above, the idea of self discipline being a challenge when it comes to dieting, is portrayed clearly. The strategy that Weight Watchers uses to attract consumers is by emphasizing the idea that if  one participates in the Weight Watchers program, one will not have to put in much effort when it comes to self surveillance, self monitoring and self discipline. 

Femininity as a bodily property

  According to Rosalind Gill, having a “sexy body” is a major part of a women’s identity in regards to post-feminist Culture(Gill 6). The image above is a cover of a 2012 issue of Vogue magazine. This cover is portrays postfeminist media culture by having the words “Your Best Body Ever” emphasized over all of the other words. In addition to the emphasis on the word “Body” the other blurbs on the page have to do with physical appearance.

Sexualization of Culture

Rosalind Gill argues that another part of postfeminist culture is the fact that “Girls and women are interpolated as the monitors of all sexual and emotional relationships, responsible for producing themselves as desirable heterosexual subjects”(Gill 8). On this cover of cosmopolitan magazine there are a few examples of women’s desire to be a heterosexual subject. First, there is the “50 ways to seduce a man”. This phrase is a prime example the sexualization of culture. Next we see the words “Kinky Sex” in bold as well as “What guys Hate for Your to Wear to Bed”. A common theme that is portrayed in the cover is the idea that it is the women’s job to please the man sexually which goes along with the idea of women being heterosexual subjects.

  Works Cited

Gill, Rosalind. Postfeminist media culture: elements of a sensibility. European journal of cultural studies, 10 (2). pp. 147-166