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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 29, 2004)
What do I know about me? I’m informed. I’m healthy. I take care of myself Jree birth control, supplies and sendees. Call to see if you qualify. Planned Parenthood Health Services of Southwestern Oregon Eugene tdaneho Springfield 344-9411 463-9731 744-7121 www.pphsso.orgwww.wecandobetter.org #izza Pipeline (Jo , 16" 2-Item Pizza plus 2 FREE $<df|95 22 oz. Soft Drinks |V .... FREE DELIVERY Eugene: 686-5808 No! valid with any other offer Expires 5/20/04 ^izza Pipeline (Jo Medium 1-Item Pizza <g\)CY£ plus 1 FREE fu|ia 22 oz. Soft Drinks . M Eu 1 FREE DELIVERY Eugene: 686-5808 Not valid with any other offer Expires 5/20/04 PLEASE RECYCLE THIS PAPER. fathering oppression In a 1992 essay "Men in Feminist Struggle - The Necessary Movement," bell hooks writes, 'There are no books that adequately serve as maps explain ing what patriarchy is, how it works, and why they should be committed to a feminist movement that opposes sexism and sexist oppression." Due to my relative unfamiliarity with feminist literature, I wonder, some 12 years after hooks' article, if any such book exists, hooks notes in the same essay that the "earliest writ ings of the men's movement ex pressed far more concern with dis mantling patriarchy and eradicating male domination of women and chil dren than more recent work." Given what hooks says, and regard less of any books that have been pub lished since, there seems to be a task at hand for correction. First, 1 think a definition of the word "patriarchy" might be helpful. A good starting place would be the dictionary, which (according to Merriam-Webster On line) broadly defines patriarchy as "control by men of a disproportion ately large share of power." I'll add to this, and say such control equals do minion over anything considered "less" than male — this includes women, nature and children. The point of this discussion is not to go digging in the past, or to Aaron Shakra Out of range pigeonhole a large portion of the population, but rather to show the historical basis for patriarchy's exis tence, which often allows oppression to pass by unchecked or unseen. While many of the more blatant forms of oppression no longer exist, it is the latent, or invisible, oppression that is continually cultivated by insti tutions and even ourselves. And this unseen oppression is just as worri some as any overt patriarchal oppres sion. Unfortunately, patriarchy is con tinually propagated as the perverted norm. Now add to this the concept of compulsive heterosexuality. In Barrie Thorne and Zella Luria's "Sexuality and Gender in Children's Daily Worlds," they write, "In our cul ture, gender and sexuality are deeply intertwined, especially for adults; 'woman/man,' and especially 'femi ninity/masculinity' are categories loaded with heterosexual meanings." Thorne and Luria note that "the gender-divided social worlds of chil dren are not totally asexual," and that from the ages nine to 11 they are "largely defined as children, but they are on the verge of sexual maturity, cultural adolescence, and a gender sys tem organized around the institution of heterosexuality." A child's typical experience in ele mentary school establishes and solid ifies a patriarchal attitude towards the world. This experience, of course, af fects boys and girls, women and men, and everyone in between. Thome and Luria note that gender segregation, while not total, is central to the daily life and organization of an elemen tary school. This segregation exists in the forms of gendered spaces, friend ships, and spatial separation between boys and girls — with boys typically controlling areas such as large playing fields, and girls controlling smaller enclaves like hopscotch. Examples like these solidify the gendered orien tation for each group. Of course, there are exceptions to all of the aforementioned. But the point is, our sexual identities are formed through our gendered activi ties, and gender segregation between Turn to SHAKRA, page 11 Free format brews variation If for some accursed reason you happen to wake up at 4 a.m. on a Fri day, you might be interested in turn ing the dial on your radio to our es teemed campus broadcasting station, KWVA 88.1 FM. If you do, you might hear a voice that is tired yet fast paced, like a speed freak about to crash after a 48-hour Benzedrine trip. Fligh on punk, free jazz and a self-de luded perception of his own clever ness, this DJ has been dutifully play ing one of the most awful shifts on the station's schedule, without pay, for more than two years. This DJ is, of course, myself. I can't really explain why, in terms that make sense to anyone, I do the show at the time I do. I took it at first because it was the only slot available, but I've never taken any opportunity to switch. At this point, it has been sim ply compulsory. The time slot does have its I'JliiviHflii Community Center for tho Performing Arts 8th & Uncoin «Friday . Chirjilchm, Stephen Kent, Satymai Urchmayeu Tuvan Throat Singers/Didjeridu 8:oo pis, $13 advance, $15 door . Saturday • Floater with Softcore Heavy Rock 8:30 pm, tio advance, $12 door • Wednesday • Southern Culture on the Skids with The Paybacks Rockabilly 8:00 pm, $10 advance, $12 door All Ages Welcome 6S7-2746 Ryan Nyburg Budget rack advantages though, such as the un mitigated freedom to play whatever I feel like. I could spend two hours vomiting onto the microphone and it wouldn't change the show's listen ership by any significant amount. As it is, I play mostly rock. Working at a free format radio sta tion is an eye-opening experience. It really brings to light the stifling con trol of normal, everyday corporate ra dio. Sticking to a well-regulated playlist, the larger stations cater I (ana waxing by) exclusively to popular tastes. Which is fine, of course — good luck to them and all. The problem is that not every one prescribes to the popular tastes of the time, meaning a lot of people are left out in the dark. And trying to get a large station to play what you like by making requests is about as effective as attacking a Sherman tank with a spork. Requests don't make much differ ence anyway, since DJs at larger sta tions have little, if any, say about what gets played. While even the largest corporate broadcast companies create playlists at a semi-local level, these lists reflect more of what is popular nationally than locally. Requesting a song that isn't on the list will yield lit tle success. All formats of corporate radio sta tions work the same way, with heavy emphasis on popularity but little at tention paid to quality. Of course this makes sense from a business perspec tive, playing it safe and all, but it makes for pretty bland entertainment. This is the real issue at hand for all the anti-corporate rhetoric out there, which is why smaller stations exist. As long as there are people out there Turn to NYBURG, page 11 Let's Go Backpacking GENUINE MILITARY BACK PACKS FRAMES CANTEENS FIRST Alp KITS POISON OAK SOAP MOSQUITTO NETS BACK PACKS FROM $19 99 TO $299 00 Action Surplus 4251 Franklin Blvd, Eugene 746-1301 Qoll at iti jfln&it. College students $22 for 18 holes $12 for 9 hofes
