Let me add one important, VERY IMPORTANT POINT.
As you know I am a woman. Throughout my posting here on Steemit, I chose to use my intellectual capacities to solve problems, starting on day one.
I had created the Secret Writer way before Steemit, and moved it here. What I discovered, by chance is that the Secret Writer Service is overwhelmingly male. This shocked me actually. But then, so through my service to others, I learned that I could help men with accepting their shameful secrets. well, actually the steemit community is doing that on their own. Somehow, by removing the author's identity, they don't get attacked or trolled. Isn't that fascinating????
I now think that there really is a problem going on with men not being able to become themselves, due to the social pressures, and bullying environment that men, themselves, inflict upon each other. I had never really thought of myself as a person able to help men specifically with accepting themselves, but that role has now become my main thing in life. I think everyone should be treated with respect and have the ability to become who they were meant to be. Freedom is my main theme. But freedom, devoid of abuse, That's the real deal. That's something we don't have but something I think is worth striving for. Steemit is a good start to that end goal. Financial freedom leads to other freedoms. That's something that was never really addressed in previous models.
Instead of exploiting myself, I chose to try and create solutions that help people become more successful, more productive and less fearful. These solutions all revolved around me using my intellectual and creative skills. Some women do not like to sexually exploit themselves. I have a private life, and I like to keep visual stuff to my lovers, not to the world. I write about experiences, but I don't actively exploit myself in a visual way. This is my choice. Sean-king's article denies my creativity and intellectual capacities. This is problematic because it assumes that "all women are alike in this one area." Not all men are wired the same either. To assume so would be making a grave mistake.
Discounting women's intellectual achievements is a problem that men have been making for centuries. It's something that needs work.........
Thank you for this incredibly valuable response! I was eagerly waiting for you to catch wind of this, as I admire you as a fellow female author. Hopefully articles like this get more attention so that Steemit can become of platform for men and women equally.
@stellabelle, I was with you right up till the end. It's simply not true that:
How could you possibly have read what I wrote and think that I believe what you say I do? Of COURSE not all women are alike, in this area or any other area. And of COURSE women can excel intellectually and in a great many other ways. If you read the very first paragraph of my original post, you would see that I went to great lengths to say that I was speaking about mean and women ON AVERAGE and that not every man or every women fulfills, or should fulfill, their respective stereotype.
Additionally, I NEVER discounted women's intellectual capabilities.
The impetus of my post first post (and all subsequent ones and related comments) was NOT that women are only or even primarily sexual creatures. My point was that sexual power is inherent in a significant percentage of the female population, that this power is potent, and that women have been conned/shamed into not using it.
Let me give two brief examples from the music industry, Taylor Swift and Beyonce Knowles. Both are INCREDIBLE talents. Both are gifted artists, musicians and clearly far smarter than the average bear. Both COULD make a living, and have some power, by simply relying on their musical talent and their intelligence. They could sing in a paper sack and do okay. But...they don't. Yes, they most definitely exploit the heck out of their musical skills and talents, but they ALSO exploit the heck out of their sexuality too. And because they exploit ALL of their power, they are both incredibly powerful (and wealthy) women. What a shame it would be (IMHO) if either of them had been shamed or conned into laying down one of their great life advantages (their sexuality) and instead rely ONLY on others.
It's fine that YOU want to rely only on non-sexual gifts. I have ZERO problem with that. My only problem would be if you (like a great many traditional feminists) tried to shame or criticize other women (like Beyonce or Taylor, to name just two examples) for exploiting ALL their talents and opportunities. To date, I've not heard you say that you support and endorse women doing that (if that's what strikes their fancy), and that you oppose efforts to silence or prevent them from doing so. If you were to make such a statement, then you and I would be in complete agreement.
@stellabelle never shamed women for being open about their sexuality.
You're assuming the latter because she never specified otherwise? What you're saying sounds like a hasty allegation.
Not sure why you feel the need to argue about it when we're pretty much all on the same page.
We shouldn't assume or make if/and/all statements.
Please read my comments and posts more carefully. I tire of responding to criticisms that simply are invalid reflections of my position, and of slaying straw men. I NEVER accused @stellabelle of shaming women about their sexuality. Rather, I accused men, religion and traditional feminists (as opposed to more modern "sex positive" feminists) of doing so.
And, I'm not arguing. Rather, I was simply setting the record straight by responding to @stellabelle's straw man accusations that I "deny her creativity and intellectual capacities" and that my arguments assume that "all men" and "all women" are the same and that I "discount women's intellectual achievements.". To the extent that she really believes those things to be my position, we definitely are not "pretty much all on the same page."
Read this carefully, and it still seems like you are inferring that @stellabelle shames or shuns women's sexuality. Nor did she ever explicitly say that she feels that way.
To an outside perspective, this comes off as argumentative. (Trying to offer constructive input)