I’m sorry, Dr. Taylor.
Let’s get right to the point. I am a feminist. I support Dr. Taylor. I believe that we owe him an apology.
I do not believe that an individual should be judged by the choice of their dress, but by the content of their character. I do not believe that artistic depictions of the female body are a form of sexism or misogyny.
I do not believe that destroying the spirit of an innocent man, based on the assumptions on his character, based on a shirt he chose to wear, depicting artistic renditions of pinup models wielding guns, is a morally correct approach to discussing gender inequality in the workplace.
I do not believe that criticism of Dr. Taylor’s choice of dress should be met with death threats, violence, rape, or any other forms of toxicity.
I do not believe that he had anything to apologize for.
I do believe that many feminists have resorted to sound-bite knee-jerk reactionary bile in this case. I believe that they have engaged in deplorable misandrist behavior which has done a great disservice to feminism as a whole in just a few days. We shot first and didn’t even fucking bother to ask questions later. We still aren’t.
I believe that the great schism on what the true definition of sexual objectification should be has not been met with enough debate or consideration by the feminist movement. Ideas on this subject still vary widely, yet it is considered to be, by the majority of feminists, one of the main tenets of feminist theory.
We must fix this now. This is our great crisis, fellow feminists, not Dr. Taylor’s shirt. It is wrong to treat a woman simply as a sexual tool. It is also wrong to demonize natural human impulses and an appreciation of aesthetics in a blind attempt to eradicate the former. The answer lies somewhere in between and it is our duty as feminists to find it before we end up shooting another messenger and end up becoming the misandrists we don’t deserve to be.
So I apologize, Dr. Taylor. Thank you for everything you’ve achieved for humanity. You have a feminist supporter here.
Much love,
Zen Politics
“Shirt Storm” – Published November 20, 2014
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