How do you feel about Feminism?

Post Reply New Topic

"Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them."
- Margaret Atwood

Feminism is, at its core, simply the concept that women are equal in worth to men and deserving of the same respect, rights and protections that men enjoy. That's all.

Some people put their own spin on it. The men's rights activist crowd will tell you that all feminists are misandrists and need to be put back in their places. Some men mistake the lifting up of women to equal status for a loss of power. But loss of exclusive privilege is not the same as loss of power, and therein lies the difference. The rising tide lifts all boats.

Most women's rights advocates are also ardently in favor of men's welfare. I've never heard any feminist that I know say that sexual abuse, rape or mistreatment of men was any less worthy of outrage than that of women, though it is less commonplace. There are even a few instances where sometimes the dice can be loaded against men, such as child custody and military drafts. That's not fair either. While militant feminists do exist, the vast majority of feminists love and respect men. They just want that same respect for themselves.

It's unfair that you take a 20% or greater pay cut simply by having been born female, or that in many cases women don't have complete (or any) control of their own bodies. Women shouldn't have to put up with men shouting at them on the street, grabbing and feeling them up because they feel entitled to do so, or face insults or even violence for turning down a would-be suitor. We are not property, playthings or slaves. And yet so often we are treated as such. In many parts of the world it's just not safe to be a woman and we have nearly no rights or representation at all.

So I get irked when people sneer at feminism. It's about equality, not superiority. It is about human rights. If a "feminist" claims that women are superior to men, she's not a feminist. She's a misandrist. That's not the way it works. People should be judged on their character, not gender (or race, religion or sexual orientation). Is this so difficult to understand?

Basically I don't want to make less money for the same work, be patronized because it's assumed that I am not as intelligent or well-informed as a man, have my butt or breasts grabbed, have strangers critique my desirability, have others make reproductive choices for me or tell me that I am any "less than" a man solely based on my gender. That's not an unreasonable demand. That doesn't mean I hate men or don't appreciate the unique qualities of masculinity and femininity (though society tends to be far too rigid in its definitions). Quite the opposite. It's all about fairness.

You don't even have to be female to be a feminist. I know some proud male feminists. I happen to be married to one. In fact I wouldn't have a relationship with any man who didn't view women as his equals. That way lies misery.

^^ This x 6.023 E23.

I don't "feel" about feminism, I just live it, because I was born both female (cis-het but liberal as hell) and inconveniently smart. With a side of Aspie ethical compulsion to sweeten the mix.

My options were to lie to myself about all that for the rest of my life and play "cute-dumb-go along to get along" until I imploded, or walk through the fire and live my true life.

Not the same as what any LGBTQ person, or POC, lives through, but the parallels are there and they were edifying.

I believe in the "equality" aspects of Feminism.

I believe there's been a history of oppression by men onto women. In many disparate cultures.

I don't believe in some precepts which speak of "rape culture," or that men are, inevitably, rapists. I don't believe in calling someone an "oppressor" by virtue of merely being a man.

I feel it's turning more and more into hating on men instead of focusing on equality as it's supposed to do.
Instead of hating on men feminists can try harder to make society more accepting of men being sensitive and vulnerable openly so they drop the whole macho-thing. I have had many male friends and I notice the ones who's struggled with mental health issues have attempted suicide at least once and gotten angry when i've suggested therapy because they are terrified of being viewed as "weak" by society. What is feminism doing about that? I doubt hating on men fixes anything about how they act socially. And there is a reason suicide rates are higher among men than women.

I also feel that it's great that feminists are trying to make it more acceptable to not have to shave for example (even though I personally prefer shaved body hair) because it's insane what a pressure it is on women everywhere to appear "perfect" while men can look however the hell they want to.

Feminism is definietely not needed as much in US, UK, Scandinavia for example as it is in countries where women still have little to no rights when it comes to anything. There are still cultures in which women get married away at a young age etc. That's what we should focus on if anything. Right now I feel like feminists aren't accomplishing a lot, maybe it's time to actually do something rather than just sit on social media and make empowering posts geared towards other women who will praise it, feel better about themselves and then nothing else happens.

Too many feminists have unfairly insulted my husband, and I've received far too much support from my father and husband -- without which I'd probably be dependent on the whims of government support due to my struggles in independent living -- for me to complain about men. The males in my family have always been there for me, while these supposedly feminist women have simply looked down upon me for being a 'helpless autistic,' and haven't done jack diddle to help me when I've needed it. They just spout abstract rhetoric from their ivory towers and act as though their narratives speak for us all. Well they don't!

Men never have harassed or assaulted me, either. Very tired of feminist women presuming this is some kind of universal trait of men, while ignoring all their other contributions to society as well (engineering, science, etc.).

Camille Paglia is about the only feminist I respect, and she's called out a lot of the current wing of feminist women for ignoring men's contributions to society, especially in risk-heavy and dangerous occupations, where women are scarcely to be found.

I don't disagree that rape is under-reported. I don't disagree that some men think "no" might not mean "no."

I just don't believe there's a "rape culture."

Obviously, rape happens, and it happens way too frequently. One rape is one rape too frequent.

I understand rape pretty well----I was forcibly molested by a man once. Not "raped" or "sodomized" because there was no penetration. But it certainly felt like it.