The State as a Male Structure

[gothwalk]

I've just finished reading an interview on ideomancer.com with L. Timmel DuChamp about her writing. Much of the interview deals with feminism, which seems to be a theme of DuChamp's books (I've not read any of them, mind).

However, there's one question in the interview which seems, in part, to build on theories I'm not familiar with. It goes:

"As the vote is a tool of the state, and the state is largely a male structure or institution, is it possible for the United States as it is currently constructed to achieve some of feminism's goals?"

Vote as a tool of the state, I understand and agree with to a large extent. But "the state is largely a male structure", I have no understanding of. Can someone have a go at explaining that to me, or point me at an explanation?

(Posted with my "patriarchal" black-and-white bearded default userpic for free extra something.)

Comments

[juanfandango.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure that the current reverses (I'm assuming that you're meaning abortion and stem cell stuff) are seen as being anything to do with women's rights being seen as less important, particularly by those seeking to do away with them. More, they are to do with deliberately promoting anything (in this case, the rights of "unborn children") that will polarise opinion one way or the other, thus giving a solid and unwavering power base from which to exert mob rule. The current mobs in the White House and in Downing Street have got the right idea in exercising rule by mob, they just managed to pick the wrong side of the polarising views. Unfortunately, as in any mob rule, it takes a while for the principles to get cornered, and they're happily counting out their days until they're out and their successors have to deal with the shite.

[(Anonymous)]

Now, that's a wrong analogy if I ever saw one. You say "case law has declared that even forcing a man to vomit to produce swallowed drugs is an offense against his bodily integrity", but what if said "man" is in fact a woman? Or don't women ever do drugs? This has nothing to do with gender, and therefore cannot be compared to a medical intervention on behalf of the foetus, which by definition can only be performed on a female body.

So sorry, no cookie for you. This has everything to do with the asinine notion that unborn foetuses have rights (for which you can thank countless bigoted women), and nothing whatsoever with the Man trying to take you down...

Now, on the other hand, take a look at the suicide rate for men and women, or their respective life expectancy, and put it together with the calls for better medical care for *women*, and you'll see that feminists are now a very powerful force in the political arena. Women are not second-class citizen anymore, but it still pays politically to pretend so. And that's all I see in it.