Women!

Through SF Tidbits and an article on the Role of the Artist, I came across this 2008 movie (in a Nick Mamatas' comment) featuring a lot of urban fantasy covers to prove how alike they all are.
Besides pointing out advertising trends at work in cover design, what I sort of expected the movie to point out was not only how the heroines nearly all being bare backed, tattooed,... but failed to do, is that those heroines all hold their knives in that psycho-killer way that is, erm, only useful if you're going to do psycho-killing and don't really mind stabbing yourself in the leg or guts if you miss (or if you're holding a stake because, you know, then you need the staking force to do some vampire killing). Now, I'm not a card carrying member of Emancipated Caucasian Chicks Inc., yet it struck me as strange that for creatures having lived in the kitchen with sharp knives for so long, we still can't figure out how to hold them...


That said, I feel the need to rant away some on emancipation:
I consider myself an emancipated person. "Person" and not "woman", because emancipation should not care about gender or color. Besides, I don't like the crowd of emancipated women (ECC Inc.) out there. A lot of them always try to tell me how I should be emancipated, and how to dress, speak and act, and dude, that even usually didn't even work for my mom.
You think that funny? I'm rather wary of them, for a few reasons, like:

Modern Age Working Woman is still discriminated against!
They mean: they try and have this career, and also a family, and in the end they take up more sick leave and other social benefits (maternity leave for starters), and at the end of the road they'll have earned less in the Belgian Social Welfare State, because they have less days of real work. That's like, discrimination!
Now, I disagree, vehemently. I don't mind if some benefit to support The Mom is created, but this should be for The Mom, whether she has a job/career or not. But how would it be "levelling the playing field" if women get this special treatment that they don't even need to get the same amount of days of real work done to get the same paycheck? And hello men? Who got you all so pussy-whipped that you just nod and applaud at those Emancipated Women?
Besides that, I find it thoroughly insulting when Emancipated Women, in their enlightened emancipated way, are pushing forward some weird biological imperative that women are made for breeding and they just can't help getting pregnant. Nothing against getting pregnant, but in this day and age, it is a choice (yeah yeah, accidents and bad things happen to women, but overall speaking). If you want kids, you think long and hard about it, and if you're not sure, get a puppy. Because I made my choice, and I don't mind my hard earned tax-euros going to your maternity leave, your child support, the sick days you take to look after your sick children, your children's education, because socially speaking, in the end I'll be needing your children to take care of me in my old days because I'm not having any. But don't pretend it's discrimination if you don't like the choices you made, else I'll be wanting my money back.

Veiled = oppressed
A lot of those Emancipated Women are now focusing on liberating the oppressed third and fourth generation muslimas from their hijab here in Europe. Now the hijab discussion is a difficult one. Separation of state and church can lend arguments to banning the hijab from public office etc, but then, as I understand it, the hijab is not quite a religious symbol.
Banning it from school, or what some people would even prefer: from the street!, makes me rather squeamish of the current trends in society. I grew up in the late eighties/early nineties, and have vivid memories of how black was banned from school because black = drugs&sex&rock'nroll and no good can come from it! Unless it's NafNaf black, of course. Like "proper" black. Else, it's a life of addiction and welfare coupons, dudette!
Some years ago the discussion on the hijab was still about public office and limited to a more political view on things, now my hackles are raised seeing it are mainly Emancipated Women trying to liberate these oppressed young girls and giving them a chance on a real future by:
1) singling them out in a discriminatory way. You'll notice nobody cares that the young boys' cultural dress code makes them look like gangsta rapping car-thieves, I mean, they're boys, they're stupid anyway, and a lost cause. No, these girls are smart, the learn well, and if our economy is to be saved, we'll need more of those. Not those car-thieving idiots that fill up our prisons and get free meals with our hard earned tax-euros.
2)teaching them how they have to adapt to our reality, even if that reality is illegal. In my book, no discrimination means no discrimination. A whole lot of these girls are more mature and have a stronger will or voice than the average whitie kid. I don't mind if you teach them how to roll with the punches life can and will deal them, but seriously, teach 'm to stand up for their rights first. Imagine if they'd said back in the days: look sweetie, I know you have the legal right to vote, but seriously, they're just going to be mean to you when you go to the polling station. So, better stay at home. What's for dinner?
3) creating peer pressure wars between those young women who believe the hijab is a sign of decency and comply to tradition, and others that are really willing to comply to our twisted standards (mini-skirts, y'all, and no veils damnit! show those boobs!). A lot of these hijab-wearing girls are so smart, they use the veil to throw a shadow over all those things girls do in puberty. In bilingual Belgium, it's even so funny that those smart girls, who speak a North-African language and French as natives, eagerly learn Flemish because their parents don't understand it. I mean, what bunch of friends needs codes to speak about boys while parental units are near, if you have a whole language! Especially if talking that language is good exercise to land you a job! See, mom, dad, I'm a good little girl. Change the hijab into knee-length skirts and other nerd-girl signatures, and you'll see how, if not handled with calm and subtlety, you might end up with some really twisted girls.
This cry for burn your bra veil lately feels to me like the last stand of Emancipated Women trying to get a hold on girls who threaten to find their own path to emancipation. And that simply won't do, because for them, emancipation is about control. Trust me, I've been at the wrong end of their stick once too often.

More Women Needed at Top Levels!
Personally, I'd settle for: more competent people needed at top levels, man or woman. Competence is what matters.
I especially loathe the discourse in which more women up there would make the world a better, warmer, fuzzier place.
Seriously, people who want women in powerful positions at all cost:
a) are card carrying members of ECC Inc. angling for a seat of power or supporting their local chapter's hot potato
b) if male: never had their dicks pounded into the dirt by an ex
b) never went to an all-girls school, or have never seen a cat fight up close. Laugh all you want about "hair pulling" as fighting skill, what you don't see is the months of crippling but very warm and fuzzy bullying that follows. Take it from one: women are vicious and a woman scorned, yadda yadda.
c) ehem, Thatcher anyone? Very warm and fuzzy. Yup.
I don't mind if women get power as long they're competent. But just because they will inspire the world with love and warmth: not a valid argument.

Okay, end rant.