Hi all, I am wondering what feminism means to you. What you think of it, like or dislike, agree or disagree, your opinion or idea of what it is etc. I appreciate all feedback.
I have no one simple answer to that. Feminism was a great movement, but a few loud and radical women are now using it to discriminate against others which in turn makes it something more people are unwilling to be associated with. It is a movement that is very much needed, but not in the way that radical third wavers are presenting it.
We have to understand that males and females are innately different biologically, but at the same time yearn and need the same things: economic security, physical safety, access to healthcare, access to education, etc. You'll never really have women reach equal representation in some professions because of actual limitations of sex. Ovaries and estrogen are not as conducive to building a strong and lean body as testes and testosterone. It is much more difficult, on average, for women to carry the same equipment a male firefighter would have to carry in order to pass an entrance exam. That said, I do believe in the equality of opportunity. Women should and need the ability to have the same protections and access to employment and all the trappings of civil rights men generally are considered to have (i.e. the gold standard). But, in some segments it may not lead to equality of outcome.
Feminism means equality for all of us, not female domination. Some people take it too far, but I agree with it in general and would call myself a feminist because I deserve equality (e.g. to get paid the same amount of money as my male coworkers). Since I am not seen as equal even in progressive countries yet, we still need it very much and I can't believe how some people interpret it.
I can't see gender equality in feminism. I don't actually care what's the definition of feminism but I do care about what feminists who protest do,say,support. You can sit behing your computer and say you are a feminist but if you can't provide any help to this rotten movement to get any better then that won't matter that much. Besides women are equal as men.
Gender equality. For the most part it is a great movement, but with like all movements there is a very, very small group of people who take it a little too far.
First and foremost I see it as a platform and framework, where I can discuss and fight gender inequality. Secondly, I see it has become a subject where moral perfectionists and reactionaries go to dump their frustrations on the world, taking examples where it isn't perfect, blowing that way out of proportion, and using that to say the entire movement is corrupt somehow. Most of all people who say there's no need for it because people of all genders are equal bother me though. That's like saying that people of all ethnicities or sexualities are equal - a twelve-year old can tell you that's not correct.
This. ---------- Post added 15th May 2016 at 08:32 AM ---------- More accurately this. ---------- Post added 15th May 2016 at 08:32 AM ---------- This is also pretty accurate to how I feel. ---------- Post added 15th May 2016 at 08:34 AM ---------- Oooh trust me, in practice, it's more similiar to six year old spastic horse reasoning and authoritarian communism/sharia law.
When I think of feminism, I think of the Suffragettes. The fact that women wouldn't be able to vote without this movement. I think it's important that we don't forget what it actually started out as. There are many waves to feminism, and some are more extreme than others. During the time of the Suffragettes, there were said to be some women who actually opposed the idea of having the right to vote. They agreed with most of main-stream society at the time. Just like today, there were many misconceptions floating around about what Feminism actually stood for. The "leave their husbands" bit of this poster above ^, shows that many men at the time saw feminism as a threat to their marriages, that their wives would all leave them and go and leave to be wild misandrists. Many seemed to think that it was just a phase, that their wives would go back to being obedient to them and give up on feminism as soon as their husbands arrived. Some even disowned their wife after they became part of the movement. http://rlv.zcache.com.au/retro_femi...f270eb84f31afa4d7edc1ea3648_jvd_8byvr_324.jpg The "kill their children" bit can most likely be assumed to be about abortion- at topic that is still argued about today. The "practice witchcraft" bit is less clear, I know that powerful female witches were seen as evil. Maybe someone could elaborate on this that is more knowledgeable on this section? The "Destroy capitalism" bit can be assumed to be about communism- that many feared that individualism was at stake and that feminism would pave the way to a full on communist society. And finally the "become lesbians" section of this poster. To explain this, I should probably try to explain the "lesbian separatist" movement. Now there were two main parts to the separatist movement, the "heterosexual separatist movement" and the "lesbian separatist movement". The "heterosexual separatist movement" encouraged that females in heterosexual relationships took period of celibacy or live-long celibacy, and to separate with men who weren't working on female liberation. There were also people who claimed to be "lesbian for political reasons", rather than you know...actually being gay. :eusa_doh: There's a lot I could get into to, but I suggest that if you're interested in it to look into it. Point is, there will always be extremists in pretty much every group out there. But without such a movement, we wouldn't be able to vote, perhaps even to this day.
It's also worth noting that the majority of people who oppose feminism are men. Coincidence much? I think not.
There were the suffragettes and the suffragists. The suffragettes with their extreme acts of terrorism, law breaking and rudeness if anything halted women getting the vote. The suffragists used to fund the suffragettes for a while before they became radical, then withdrew support. The suffragists were the peaceful protesters. The ones actually fighting for the vote.
Just like "Antisemitism" was coined to replace the German word "Judenhass" (Jew-hate), the word "feminism" was coined to replace the word "Mannhass" (Man-hate). Just kidding. But judging by some of the attitudes of male users on this site, you'd think that were the origin of the term. Feminism refers to an advocacy of women's rights and concern with women's issues. That's what it means "to me", I guess.
There are plenty of women who opppose feminism. Only 18% of America idetify as feminists, while only 19% of the UK do.
Majority means more than half. Out of 3,5 billion women, naturally there'll be differences in opinion. But the ones flaming about the evils of feminism are more often than not men.
Elaborate. Why do you think that? I could also say it's most women that are feminists, or it's most men that are MRAs.
Spoiler Feminism should of been about both these things, but sadly only the first part is celebrated, while the last part is neglected. I know way to many self proclaimed feminist who love to tell me to "man up"
I've seen the odd Tumblr post saying something about the "man up" thing. Also, that phrase orginates from the fact that men produce testosterone, which increases the chance of risk-taking. So if someone tells you to "man up" or "grow a pair of balls" they're asking you to take a risk.