STICKING TO WHAT I KNOW BEST

In my mail: a commenter who objects to my recent post about Islam has this to say:

What the hell kind of a woman are you?

Why do you have a problem with Islam? Islam is a peaceful religion, for the whole of humanity. If some Muslim confuses Islam to mean: "lets act a asshole and blow shit up" thats the problem of the person, just like we don't blame every single white person for the lynching of negroid race. Or killings of the Jews. Its all good an dandy to have freedom of speech - but I think its a bad idea giving this kind of freedom to women such as yourself.

Just stick to what you know best. i.e cooking an cleaning.

regards,
Sona.

...and an anonymous emailer who also objected to my posts about Islam had this to say:

I was on your blog, just reading some of the banal garage (sic) you posted. It was quite amusing for me. I always say "women have a child like nativity" and you women never fail to have my opinion reasserted by some of the things you say. Anyway I am not actually emailing you to discuss your stupidity. I am wanting to ask you a question, you claim to study "Psychiatry" let me as a normal sane 19 year old Muslim boy tell you something, psychology is a pseudo science, it has no scientific credibility it was invented by the Nazis in world war 2 to advance euthanasia in concentration camps. Its a load of nonsense, get a real job stop kidding yourself believing you're some kind of an intelectual woman. Women only have half the intellect of men.

So, in the spirit of "sticking to what I know best", I thought I would provide some psychological analysis of the particular mentality that believes such nonsense.

Discrimination against women and a belief in their moral and intellectual inferiority is certainly nothing new in history. Bu, in the 21st century, t it is hard to be as fanatical and mindless about it unless you happen to be a member of the culture/religion that specializes in the abasement, oppression, and humiliation of women as a societal imperative.

For starters, you can go here for a good laugh to listen to some Islamic jerk sheikh discussing the difference between men and women in a highly scientific and creative manner. That way, you can choose to take whatever I say (if you are Muslim, especially) with a grain of salt. It's in the Quran, so this must be how Allah decreed it to be.

In a post "An Unveiled Woman that discusses the epidemic rapes committed by young muslim males in Europe, I wrote:

One of the most damning aspects of the rapes of "unveiled women" in Europe is the acceptance--even encouragement--of the young men's families. As discussed in this seminar, these families are not only unconcerned with the violent rapes committed by their young men, but fail to understand why European authorities are making a fuss about them.

I continue to think that the treatment of women under Islam is not only the key to understanding the pathology of the culture, but also the key to developing an antidote to its most poisonous and toxic elements. Unveiling the women of Islam and eliminating their second-class status; empowering them in the oppressive Islamic countries where their individuality and self-expression has been crushed-- may cause a ripple effect that could eventually alter a family structure that encourages the development of generation after generation of dysfunctional and pathological men and women.

Honor killings of women are all too common in Arab culture, and, even more importantly are not dissuaded by Islam. Here is a graphic video of an honor killing (don't watch it unless you are prepared to be sick) . Or, See here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here-- I could go on and on...about FGM (discussed here and here); or about the brutality of the Taliban and the desperate attempts that enjoy the sanction of Islam to subjugate women, dehumanize them, and cover up any hint of their evil sexuality so that it doesn't "defile" others.

If there was ever in history a better example of the paranoid fear of female sexuality, I can't think of it. You don't have to be much of an expert on Islam or Muslim culture to be able to observe that it has evolved into a societal structure whose primary purpose is to contain and manage female sexuality.

This containment has not only become a key aspect of the worship of their god; but it also is a key factor in individual personality development; as well as the main pollutant of all possible social interactions within the culture.

The men of Islam are obsessed with sex beyond even the wildest imaginings of the Western male's mind. And the obsession is far from healthy and even further from reality.

We frequently joke about men's preoccupation with sex and female body parts in the West, but our fascination with "T&A" is nothing when you consider that the Muslim world is literally consumed by female sexuality and with their fear of it. It is ironic that both Muslim men and women are under the mistaken impression that Western society is oversexualized compared to them, when in fact, it is practically impossible to be more obsessed with sexual matters than they are in Muslim communities.

Consider for a moment a culture that would prefer to let young girls die in a burning building than to risk having them run out of said building not clothed in properly modest dress; and tell me that such a society is less preoccupied with matters of sex than we are in the West.

Enormous effort goes into veiling women, dressing women modestly, silencing women, covering women's bodies, punishing women, controlling women, reviling women, humiliating women, beating women, subjugating women, avoiding the dishonor of women, keeping women uneducated, policing women, infantilizing women--in short, dehumanizing women in every way possible -- all under the guise of "protecting" and "honoring" them as they relegate them to animal-like status.

The women in this misogynistic Islam are brainwashed from birth into thinking that this cultural preoccupation somehow is necessary and that it "liberates" them in some bizarre manner.

Amazingly, this medieval culture has grasped the fundamentals of both Orwellian and postmodern rhetorical rationalizations, that are so prominent in certain intellectual quarters within our own culture! I have heard the canned rationalizations coming from their lips of muslim women myself; and they all claim that it frees them from having to be "sexual objects."

On the contrary, in Islamic society that is apparently the only role open to women. That, and breeders for the jihad.

This societal psychopathology poisons all interactions between the genders; takes up an incredible amount of time and effort in so-called "intellectual" circles and is the subject of religious edicts and innumerable rules and strictures on women's behavior and in the religious and social life; and causes the pseudoscientific rantings of arrogantly pathetic men (like the one above) who try to justify their misogyny so that they don't have to deal with the reality of their frightened and impotent masculinity.

Women become mere possessions-vessels/repositories of the impotent and inadequate male's honor. That men and women could relate equally in every sphere of human endeavor is a concept that is so alien and so threatening; I suspect it is what partly drives the rage the males feel toward western culture in general.

Without the subjugated woman, the entire house of cards of Islam and Arab culture will come tumbling down. And with at least 50% of their population de-humanized, is it at all surprising that Islamic culture wherever it has taken root inevitably evolves into backward, primitive, violent, and non-productive societies?

I have said it before and I will say it again here: the treatment of women under Islam is not only the key to understanding the pathology of the culture, but also the key to developing an antidote to its most poisonous and toxic elements.

Unveiling the women of Islam and eliminating their second-class status; empowering them in the oppressive Islamic countries where their individuality and self-expression has been crushed-- may cause a ripple effect that could eventually alter a family structure that currently encourages the development of generation after generation of dysfunctional and pathological men and women.

What seems most characteristic about the type of Islam practiced in the Middle East today (and being exported around the world) is that its attitude toward women most certainly has no relationship to reality. Reality is indeed a "mistake" in their eyes, and they fully intend to rectify it--no matter how many deaths and lives are sacrificed to their perverted religious ideology.

Psychiatrists generally refers to this state as "psychotic" and "delusional".

It has been argued (and there is a great deal of merit in the argument, in my opinion) that Islamist terror can be thought of in part, at least, as a response to sexual rage, frustration, and the humiliation of being connected to a "degraded mother." Thus the men in the culture must constantly assert their masculinity, defend their masculine "honor", and strike out in rage against any who "shame" them.

This is apparent in the sexual mutilation of terror victims who are perceived as "inferior" by the Islamists, and on a par with women of their own culture. It is also seen in the Freudian symbolism of the barbaric act of beheading; as well as in the ubiquitous rape of non-muslim women around the world.

To some extent, such behavior has been seen in all cultures that debase or oppress women. In misogynistic cultures (and individuals) there is usually both the revulsion of the "whore" combined with a perverse obsession with, attraction to, and idealization of "perfection" in a woman (the "madonna" complex). In order to be idealized, women must be stripped of any hint of sexuality.
As a culture, the Arab-Islamic world has perfected this "stripping" to a nightmarish art form of shapeless, individualess, blank nothingness.

Misogyny can be defined as an unreasonable fear or hatred of women. Ever since Eve tempted Adam, women have been reviled in many ways and for many overt reasons around the world and in various cultures. They are hated and feared for their bodies, which tempt men to give into their "base" instincts; They are feared and considered "unclean" because of their monthly cycle of bleeding; they are hated for their unique feminine abilities, which are invariably considered malicious--or worse, evil--by the misogynist individual or culture.

There are three basic motivations underlying why men fear/hate/vilify women (and they are not mutually exclusive, but may exist in various combinations or all at the same time) :
-sexual frustration;
-castration anxiety, and
-resentment and anger at being dependent on women, especially the mother.

The idealization of women, on the other hand, originates from the innate desire of all humans, male or female, to return to the perfect union with the mother that each experienced in the womb.

There are also multiple reasons why women might hate other women on both an individual and societal level, and thus are often complicit in their own subjugation in misogynistic societies.

Many women hate or envy other women whose existence lowers their own status with men, i.e., other women who are more attractive than they are either in looks or accomplishment, depending on the cultural expectations. For example, in one culture a woman might attract men because of her beauty; in another because of her purity or religious devotion. A corollary to this is that the aging woman will increasingly become aware of her diminishing attraction to men or usefulness to a society that only values her reproductive capability. This sets up a dynamic tension between old and young women. In all cultures where female genital mutilation occurs, while it is the male-dominated society that mandates it, the operation itself is performed by older women on younger women; and has the direct effect of decreasing the sexual capabilities/responsiveness of the younger--thus "leveling the playing field" by some accounts. Older--"useless" women--can become societal heroes only by embracing the violence and rage of the sexually frutstrated and fearful men.

Needless to say, the family dynamics in viciously misogynic cultures like those dominated by Islamic extremists, create severely impaired girls and boys. It has been noted by many researchers and observers that children of both sexes are routinely physically and sexually abused by male relatives (indeed there are religious rules that designate under what circumstances babies may be used for sexual gratification by adults) . The boys are publicly circumcised and the girls clitoridectomized. Women's behavior becomes the source of all shame and dishonor, and they must be ruthlessly controlled. The degree of control is proportional to the degree of sexual repression and frustration (and hence rage) that is mandated by the culture/religion.

In normal societies, the act of "mothering", which is almost always relegated to the female, may be accomplished by either females or males as long as they provide that early and continual nurturing, acceptance and security that a baby needs. The role of "fathering" can also be taken on either by females or males, particularly to the offspring of the same sex and that role usually begins at about the toddler (age 4 give or take). To raise a healthy child, healthy males and females are essential. But the cultural debasement and humiliation of women has a profound impact on the children.

Male children in societies that demonize or debase women must overemphasize their "maleness" in order to separate from the mother. As grown men, far from being able to mitigate the aggressive impulses of a child, such men will encourage these impulses in order to "prove" to the world at large that they (and later, their sons)have not been "feminized". Cultures where women have extremely low status almost always encourage the development of inadequate, "macho" men, who need to prove their manliness constantly and with exaggerated finesse.

In "Where Have All The Mothers Gone?" I commented about a study which demonstrated the power of "good" mothers --i.e., normal, healthy, functioning and unoppressed by their culture-- in overcoming aggression or "bad" behavior in children. Researchers discovered that "good" mothering was able to prevent aggressive and self-destructive behavior in at-risk monkeys. In human terms, "Good" mothering provides a child with respect, love, and security-- the basic aspects of "nurture" that are essential for normal development.

The findings of this and other landmark research clearly suggest that without an early mothering influence children were much more likely to grow up to be aggressive and antisocial.

From a psychological perspective then, the freedom and empowerment of women in society are absolutely critical because they are responsible for the earliest environmental influences on children--influences that will impact the child throughout his or her life. If the society has little respect for women and regularly demonizes, debases or humiliates them, it will have a profound generational impact. This is why encouraging women's rights around the world should be a high priority in US Foreign Policy.

Women subjected to institutionalized, societal abuse (such as what we saw under the Taliban; and what we see to a greater or lesser extent in almost all Islamic countries--where physical abuse is sanctioned; where women are sexually demonized; where they are deprived of education, as well as physical, social, economic and political freedom) are hardly in a psychological position to be able to provide effective "nurturing" to children.

Women whose own aggressive impulses have been savagely constrained by society and who have few options to sublimate those impulses, are at grave risk of encouraging aggressive and violent "acting out" on the part of their children on their behalf-- especially the male child who must be seriously conflicted about his love for and identification with a lowly-regarded woman.

In other words, such women will hardly prevent inappropriate aggression in their offspring, when such aggression vicariously meets their own needs. And the male children will have to assert their separation and distance from the debased female that is their mother, as aggressively and violently as possible. The father, who might undo some of this early pathology is himself also in the grip of the dysfunctional societal demands, and he must constantly deal with subverting his own normal sexual drives which can only find expression through sanctioned deviancy (as exemplified in Rule 19) and aggression toward women who dare to challenge the societal taboos(i.e., unveiled women, "uppity women", or any infidel women).
Is it any wonder sexual impulses become so perverted and directed toward children? Or that child sexual abuse becomes the only societal outlet for sexuality? Or that the residual aggression is expressed in a barbaric, uncivilized manner?

Family dynamics obviously play an extremely important role in the development of personality, especially in providing values and role-models. The dysfunctional family of Middle Eastern Muslims, where women are hidden and oppressed; prevented from ever being able to grow up normally, while the sexually repressed and enraged men must avoid the shame of the feminine and must aggressively defend his honor and manhood by controlling and debasing anyone who threatens it.

Under the Taliban, which arguably is the most malignant iteration of Islam's dysfunction, women were actively oppressed and beaten for any attempt to express themselves. Even today, there are actual "debates" about this.

Sexuality is an essential part of each of us. The double standards of modesty and behavior encouraged by the current practice of Islam is destructive to the normal development of personality in both males and females. Psychopathic traits in males are societally encouraged, while females are conditioned to be their willing victims. (When women seek to "equal" men by blowing themselves up, you know there is some sort of psychopathy at work--as opposed to "gender liberation"). Also, how will a child grow up normally knowing their mother thinks of them in this way?

A culture that is viciously misogynistic creates both men and women who are severely dysfunctional in almost every sphere of human activity.

Keep those comments and emails coming, boys! They are just more handy evidence of the pervasive psychopathological impairment that the followers of Islam seem inclined to embrace.

And I most certainly intend to stick to what I know best.

UPDATE: Oh joy! A response from the anonymous emailer, who I told in a very therapeutic way to f*** off, as I helpfully suggested that his inadequacies might be related to serious imperfections in a certain organ. He replies:

Just for your information, I am blessed to have a well endowed penis - a point to which my wife could back me up in. Not that I need to prove anything in the first place. I am just saying for the sake of saying.

I did actually find your comments quite hurtful and upsetting. You really have a very disgusting attitude for someone who is educated. You will not get far in live with an attitude like that. We Muslims believe in something called "civility" and giving respect to a person even though he/she may not be deserving of it. We also believe in "obedience" and that a woman should always speak to a man only kind and sweet words. Not utter disgusting filth such as saying he has small penis this is very hurtful for a man to hear. A woman will only be nice, when she is aware of her own limitations. It it only when she is aware of her limitations, and doesn't feel threatened by men who are better than her in some way, that she can be a lady. For example, they will make loads of stupid lies about testosterone, not knowing what the hell it is, or what it does. For your information, it is the chemical that makes males strong, driven, sexual and peaceful. The gentle giant chemical. It is estrogen that makes people aggressive. Aggressive males have too much estrogen in their bodies.

So many girls think that calling any guy they don't like, "a dick" or something is totally fine. But do they ever call any one "a cunt" so easily? No, of course not. That is because females are disgusting creatures, and evil and sexist too.

Females in the west makes all kinds of hypocrisies, such as that men can't hit women but women can hit men. (While claiming they are for equality, hah!) And hypocrisies like feminism means equality, despite the obvious fact that the entire word is about females. Take away the "ism" out of feminism and you have "femin", obviously feminism is only about females. So how can a movement only about females EVER be about equality?

Thank Allah I don't live in the west.

Yes, that is something to be thankful for.