The Automan

Done for a prompt at io9, heavily inspired by "The Quantum Thief".
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It had all been going so well.

The disguise had worked very well; it was like everyone else's, with one minor difference. While their masks changed a human to a swan, an ape, tt a peacock, his changed an automan to a human pretending to be something else.

It was a fine display, as much as he could appreciate such things. There was a certain amount of visual alteration past which one Simply Must Not Stray, of course. A fetching pattern of feathers emphasizing a maiden or miss's cheekbones, yes. A beak was a bit gauche. And laying eggs, no matter how holographic, was right out.

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Patriarchy is not men. Patriarchy is a system in which both women and men participate. It privileges, [among other things], the interests of boys and men over the bodily integrity, autonomy, and dignity of girls and women. It is subtle, insidious, and never more dangerous than when women passionately deny that they themselves are engaging in it.—Ashley Judd Slaps Media in the Face for Speculation Over Her ‘Puffy’ Appearance

I'm kind of ambivalent about this. For on thing, I know that societal prejudice exists against men too. A woman getting raped is a tragedy, a man getting raped is a joke. A woman abused by a male SO is a victim, a man getting abused by his female SO is weak.

On the other hand, I do believe that the patriarchy, as defined in feminist discourse, has women participating too. For all it is used as a synonym for "men", any societal-level system of oppression has to have women participating in it. And despite the fact that the patriarchy is broadly defined as "the collective societal systems which privilege men over women", even when women are given advantages over men. For example, most teachers are women, yet when one hears about a teacher abusing a student, one thinks of a male perp. Men accused of rape are generally presumed to be guilty in the court of public opinion, and have their lives put under a microscope just like feminists claim the alleged victim is subject to. Yet when you bring this sort of thing up in feminist discussions, the cry rings out "the patriarchy hurts men to!" despite that being self-contradictory to the very concept. I've seen one feminist blog insist that the same horrible treatment they complained about a false rape accuser getting didn't really hurt the accused at all.

And if patriarchy privileges both men and women, then what's the point of making it a male-gendered term? I'd use "kyriarchy", but I really hate how social justice discussions tend to spring up new vocabulary like weeds. I prefer to just use "society".

I'm not sure what any of this has to do with Judd looking puffy, though.