Um

I genuinely cannot decide what I think of this idea.

Apart from "Not gonna do it, morons" naturally enough.

"The State of Schizophrenia"

Hello, blog! Been a while!

Maggie Hays of Against Pornography has put up a post entitled Patriarchy (part 1). I don't want to get into a debate here about her views or the general content of her post. I do, however, want to discuss the non-medical use of the term "schizophrenia" by non-schizophrenic persons.

The comment I left at Maggie's, including the segment I quoted from her post, is here:

Patriarchy is the state of schizophrenia. Now, by "schizophrenia", I mean to speak in the figurative sense, NOT the literal one.

"Schizophrenia", metaphorically speaking, to me, means a withdrawal from reality into "fantasy", a refusal to engage with reality.

I have chosen to be wide awake. I have chosen to refuse living into the "this-isn't-happening-we're-post-feminism-women-are-now-equal-to-men" fantasy realm that patriarchy wants to keep us asleep into.

But because patriarchy is the state of schizophrenia, the few people who are fully awake are (metaphorically speaking) accused of being "schizophrenic" as they notice this oppressive system.

Hrmm...

I do appreciate the clarification, and I see what you're attempting to do with your use of the term "schizophrenia". I gotta say, though, I'm still not comfortable with it. Schizophrenia is such a heavily stigmatised illness, and one that's horribly misrepresented and misunderstood in media and common perception. I personally despise the use of the term in any way that implies a deliberate choice, a refusal to see reality, or willful blindness. Schizophrenia isn't something you do when you don't want to see the truth, it's a crippling and debilitating illness. You don't wander into fantasy, you get stuck in a nightmare. Big difference. It's also not something you can choose your way out of.

*sigh* I know we've got a hell of a long way to go to try and reclaim the language of mental illness when anything wrong or irrational is labelled "crazy", but I do hate to see feminists using language in this way.

Maggie had used the term in a previous post, and I left a comment objecting. She has clarified herself further in this post, which is appreciated. I just cannot be OK with that usage, for reasons I went to here.

Maggie has chosen not to publish my comments, which I am completely fine with. Please don't criticise her or her comment policy here, as it's not relevant. I simply wanted to reproduce my comment here, partly for my own reference, and partly to link to in future discussion about mental illness language and stigma.

That's it. Carry on!