SPACESPACESPA April 19, 2003 - 10:55 p.m.

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SPpeople duped into visiting my page

Ris

Fuckin' with the Fundies

Initial reaction: utter disbelief. Then rage. And finally... pity.

I've just begun posting on a fundamentalist message board where young women discuss things like courting. (Courting? What are we in a Jane Austen novel?) And purity necklaces which come with a key that Daddy keeps and then passes on to his daughter's husband. (Both incest and slavery come to mind.) Other young Americans question whether or not to go to college because of financial constraints. These girls discuss whether or not a college education would befit a God-fearing girl headed for home-making. (One poster even says that even though she would love to study graphic design, she refuses to be trained by "an agent of the enemy.")

In the About Us portion, the creator of the site states, "This web-site is under the over-sight of my father, as I want to encourage young ladies to be under their father's authority." Shit, it's the attack of the Stepford Daughters! AND THIS TIME IT'S FUNDAMENTAL!

Before actually posting, I mulled it over. I discussed it on the message board where I live... um, I mean the one I occasionally post at. It was agreed that we wouldn't be too thrilled about having them coming in and disrupting our discussions, so why should we do that to them? However, as time went on, we finally decided to gently infiltrate their site, the only provocation being thought. If we can just get these girls to think. After all, I'm not against their choices... as long as they're their choices.

I was doubtful about being admitted since my host is Italian. One of my fellow message-boardies had already been denied, receiving a message that her IP "looked suspicious." She was trying to post from the computer lab of her university in Scotland, that's why. Before registering, I had to agree to a list of terms as long as my arm. The following are some excerpts to give you an idea of what I'm up against over there:


"All members must be born-again Christians, and be in agreement with our Statement of Faith.

[...]

Please avoid asking the girls on the board for spiritual advice before discussing it with your parents. God has taught each of us many things through trials, partially to help and encourage others, but as members share these things, but please do not look on them as your spiritual authority.

[...]

If someone on the board has offended you or if you feel someone is in sin, take it to the person privately (in accordance with Matthew 18:15). In love, try to work out the problem and "be at peace with all men." If you feel a comment is in error, please send Scriptural backing in disputing it. This helps give us God's view and not man's "opinion" on why a particular idea might be wrong.

[...]

Dating - We will not approve posts encouraging or promoting dating. But you are more than welcome to discuss courtship. If you are in the midst of a courting relationship, we would love to hear your story! But, please keep in mind that consistent talking about that special person can cause discontentment with our members.

Music - We believe that the music we listen to should be godly. This is a broad statement. We will not all agree on what is best. We do ask that should the moderator ask that a particular discussion on certain groups or music styles be stopped, all parties agree to stop posting.

Romance Novels - Please do not post about romance novels. We feel strongly about the potential damage this can do to a young lady's thoughts, and so we will not be allowing discussion of these books.

TV/Movies/Actors/Actresses - Posting about movies, etc., is not encouraged on the message board. Although there are movies that we approve of, it is not a subject we would like to dwell on.

Trivial posts - Please try to avoid extremely short posts like "Amen!" "Thank you" "Me, too!" Make these comments privately or combine them with other posts. Also, please try not to use "internet" language as it is sometimes hard for all to understand."


So, armed with a brand new email account under an innocuous WASPy name, a new handle "Miss Riss", and a nice little signature ending with Romans 12:9 (My very first bible quote! It almost feels dirty!) , I've begun the infiltration. It's only day 1, so I can't really say how it's going so far, but I've involved myself in a thread about higher education and another devoted to one of the few non-home-schooled girl's sociology paper about why she's against feminism. I didn't want to tackle the misconceptions in partial-birth abortion thread just yet. Plus, it's Easter weekend, so, I've got to stay off the site or it will look fishy.

I know what I'm doing will make little to no difference in any of their lives, but if my fellow boardies and I can get them to question and think for just a moment, I'll be content.

(Plus, these little cupcakes got a damn fine recipe exchange goin' on ovah there!)

I've decided not to post the name of this site for many reasons which I won't get into right now. HOWEVER, if ya wanna send a big ol' fuck you to the chicks over at Ladies Against Feminism, be my guest!

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Ris 2003 - You steal from me, I hunt you down and torture you with a belt-sander.
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