Thread by @ArashKolahi

Recent discourse around parenting, children & sexuality provides an incredibly insightful glimpse into the sheer shallowness of the MSM & their supposed 'experts' tasked with helping us make sense of our world - but instead obfuscate & hollow-out any meaningful conversation. 1/12

On one side of the spectrum, they present our world as if unknown & unknowable forces are at work to corrupt & hypersexualize our children.

There is no context of capitalism's commodification of sexuality or how sexist & patriarchal norms contour every aspect of our lives. 2/12

On the other side of the spectrum, sexuality is disgusting, taboo & shameful.

With no context of how sexuality, a perfectly normal, healthy & beautiful aspect of humanity, becomes warped & alienating *because of* capitalism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, etc. 3/12

Cynthia Peters: "They want to colonize the farthest reaches of our souls in order to better make money off of us. Sexuality is a potentially dangerous independent island nation — a rogue state that must be brought into service of the marketplace from a very early age." 4/12

"Disassociate sex from non-market feelings (pleasure, desire, intimacy) and associate it instead with consumable superficialities, and you'll not only keep the rabble in line, you'll have them lined up at the mall." 5/12

It's not the case, as the MSM & their 'experts' want us to believe, that we're hopeless atoms bouncing around a vacuum with no way of understanding the forces shaping our lives, like the onslaught of sexist & misogynistic messages, toys & products targeted towards our kids. 6/12

They want us to believe that as parents, we only have two choices: we either buy into the commodification of a highly patriarchal sexuality or helplessly seek refuge in despair.

But like most everything else presented by the MSM, that framework is a lie. 7/12

We CAN understand how capitalism attempts to commodify EVERYTHING – including our children's sexuality. And we CAN understand how sexism, patriarchy, homophobia & transphobia limit our fulfillment & liberation. 8/12

And most importantly, we CAN transform our society away from one that seeks - above all else -the maximization of profit & power for the few into a better society that seeks the maximization of fulfillment, potential & liberation for all. 9/12

Peters: "[Children] should have plenty of evidence (from us) that corporations and brand names do not define femininity/masculinity/sexuality, but that those things are shaped by us — from within, in dialog with others, in community, joyfully, actively, responsibly. Etc." 10/12

"let’s build towards a society that supports diverse, affirming, responsible sexual expression; undermines corporate power to determine how we express ourselves; and finds ways to support our children to embrace the world, themselves, and their own sexuality” 11/12

The shallowness of the MSM’s presentation of sexuality, much like the way they present most EVERYTHING else affecting our lives, is completely devoid of any of the tools necessary to understand the *systemic* causes &, thus, the *systemic* solutions. 12/12

All quotes from Cynthia Peters from this excellent article.

As a parent of two, I’ve valued her writings on parenting & feminism.

zcomm.org/zcommentary/g-…