Feminism = good thing Radical feminism = bad thing From my understanding, most of the more extreme feminists are extremely transphobic. They are consider MtF transsexuals to not be true women because they grew up with the priviledge of being born a male in a male dominated society. Also, many continue to think of them as men. FtM's are even worse in their eyes though. They are women who instead of standing up for their rights as women, just conformed and joined the "male enemy." Plus early in the feminist movement all lesbians were kicked out.
@Zontar, what an astounding post. Truly insightful. You completely and utterly hit the nail on the head in every way there. If only others could follow in your footsteps.
I am a feminist but I am most certainly NOT a femi-nazi (whatever the fuck that is). I don't CHOOSE to be a lesbian and I don't try to shove MY beliefs in peoples face. I will support the rights of women and be who I am. Sorry but, whoever wrote this article is just plain ignorant.
In regards to the original point of the thread, I can see why you find that site amusing. I have an odd fascination with Christian Patriarchy myself, though I usually have to rely on second-hand sources, mostly people who left the movement, because I can't stomach the original stuff for any appreciable length of time. (As an aside, that site might even be affiliated with Christian Patriarchy. That is exactly the sort of thing that some of its followers would say.) As for the many tangents, from my understanding, it is true that radical feminism has a large transphobic element. I cannot say whether the majority is transphobic, though I wouldn't be surprised if it were. However, many of the most prominent voices are. A shame, really, because some of their ideas are at least worth discussing. Also, I know shouldn't go there, but I can't let Zontar's post go without comment. All I will say is that there is no good scientific reason to believe in the existence of mental gender differences except those imposed by culture (genetic sex, for lack of a better term, does tend to correlate with certain physical characteristics that are mostly trivial in regards to capabilities, especially in the modern world).
I agree with you on the issue of political correctness. There are obvious biological differences between men and women, how testosterone and estrogen impacts us being the most obvious. Testosterone, as an example, makes men slightly more prone to aggression. Slight differences in the brain generally has one sex being able to excel at different types of cognitive functions. For example, women have a greater tendency to empathize while men have a greater tendency to systematize. However, this is not universal in all people. Just using myself as an example, despite being male, I consistently score extremely high for empathy - more so than the average woman. So, it is important not to let such things lead to stereotypes, because even where someone has a slight advantage in one area or another - it does not mean someone else of another gender cannot develop a similar (or greater) level of skill and ability. For example, a study was conducted on spacial memory and the participants were asked to play tetris for roughly two weeks. In the end, all of them seemed to have improved spacial memory and the area of the brain that governs those things was much more active. I disagree with pretty much everything else. You placed a high amount of importance on role. This, in my mind, is the source of the problem. It is the assumption that there should be roles for people to perform. There is no such thing as a feminine role or a masculine role. These are constructed by culture, but do not exist biologically. It's this very type of thinking that tells a straight man, that he can't be a stay at home father, because his place is to be the "provider." It's also this type of thinking that leads to a society being anti-gay, because when you're in a same-sex relationship you're violating gender roles. There is no "woman" in my relationship with another man, and so society tries to put gay men as a whole in the same box as women. We're labeled as weak, overly emotional, effeminate... virtually every stereotype directed at gay men is an attempt to make us what society considers feminine. Likewise, it is roles that have women in the current unwinnable position they currently find themselves. If they go to work, then society views them as poor mothers for not staying home to raise their children. If they stay at home to raise their children, then society views them as being a relic from the dark ages and not being a "modern" woman. As women gained more equality, their old roles didn't change, they just tacked on masculine roles as well as feminine roles. The issue we face is not that the roles need to be expanded or modified. They need to be thrown away into the trash. People should be liberated to live their lives as they see fit, and encouraged to be authentic to who they are. Expectations should not be placed upon someone to live or act a certain way; so long as it isn't causing harm to someone else. Are you a man who wants to stay at home and raise your children while your wife goes to work? Fine. That's great. Do that, be a fantastic father. Are you gay and want to get married to another man? Great. Do that. Are you a woman who isn't interested in having children, and wants to have casual sex with a number of different men and women who you fancy while you focus on your career? Great. No more slut shaming. Go ahead and live your life. Are you a boy who just wants to wait to have sex with someone special? That's awesome. No more virgin shaming for men. Go ahead and wait. Since we only have one life to live, I believe everyone owes it to themselves to live that life to the fullest and obtain as much enjoyment out of it as possible. That means not feeling obligated to do what society tells you to do, because it is your "role" - it's a way to enslave people through both shame and guilt.
I think at this point the transphobes within the radical feminist movement have more or less completely co-opted the label. I think there's value in trying to reclaim it (there is, after all, nothing "radical" in saying trans people are scum), but at this point I don't think saying "radical feminists hate trans people" should be any more controversial than "JK Rowling portrays Slytherins as irredeemably evil." In both cases it wasn't the intent, but that's how things have gone.
I'm a bisexual female, but I'm not feminist. I do not hate men, I don't put one gender, or sex, above the other. Both genders are equal, and I feel no need to celebrate femininity or being a woman. What's the point? I know my views are not welcome in the lesbian community though, which is why I often feel excluded and looked down upon. I don't have the right views, because I'm not a feminist. The only thing I have in common with lesbians is that I sleep with women, but I would never label myself a lesbian (well.. I am bisexual, but you get the point), because I refuse to be put into a box of a man-hating feminist lesbian, because that's not who I am at all.
I would say that feminism itself is a good thing. True, some feminists are fairly extreme, but then again, there are extremists in every political group.
