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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsFeminism doesn’t mean a battle of the sexes, but a common goal for all
Feminism doesnt mean a battle of the sexes, but a common goal for all
Those who worry that the advances for womens rights mean disempowering men have it all wrong. Feminism is for all of us, because the inequalities we face are all related
Holding the door open for a woman is not a crime.
Looking out over a sea of hands on a recent school visit, I felt a warm rush of elation at the sight of every single pupil raising their arm to affirm that they were a feminist. Except thats not quite what happened. In fact, when I asked everybody who was a feminist to put their hand up, the result was a paltry scattering or hands 20% of the assembly hall at best. So I asked the pupils to raise their hands if they thought everybody should be treated equally regardless of their sexuality, and every hand in the room went up. I asked them if everybody should be treated equally regardless of skin colour and, again, the response rate was 100%. Finally I asked them to put their hand up if they thought everybody should be treated equally regardless of their sex. Everybody in the room raised an arm.
If you have your hand up now, I explained, then youre a feminist. Thats what feminism means. Apart from a few horrified boys who snatched their hands down in dismay, the general reaction was one of bemusement. Several kids asked if boys were allowed to be feminists, and others protested that they couldnt possibly be, since feminism meant wanting women to defeat, overtake, or generally beat men into submission.
Its not surprising that these outdated and false stereotypes persist, given their stubborn repetition in the media and across the internet. In fact, there seems to be a huge amount of anxiety about the current resurgence of feminism and what it might mean for men. In the past week alone we have seen wails that the sacking of Jeremy Clarkson points to an emasculated BBC, articles proclaiming that UN statistics on sexual violence unfairly malign men, comment pieces that declare the real everyday sexism in the UK to be against men; even Russell Crowe mourning the loss of traditional masculinity.
Whats strange is that often at the heart of this panic is an entirely false dichotomy. First, such arguments suggest that tackling issues such as sexism, street harassment or domestic violence somehow precludes action on problems that disproportionately affect men. The idea that the fight for gender equality somehow erases masculinity or disempowers men seems to be strangely insulting to any man whose sense of identity doesnt come from being offensive to women. Feminism doesnt mean doors cant be held open any more,or the end of flirting, or that men should never again pay a woman a compliment. Thats simple human kindness we should all show one another regardless of gender.
. . . .
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/womens-blog/2015/mar/27/feminism-battle-sexes-womens-rights-men
AuntPatsy
(9,904 posts)niyad
(113,302 posts)closeupready
(29,503 posts)niyad
(113,302 posts)geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)Though you probably should have been a little more subtle and used a similar phrase like "feminazi"
niyad
(113,302 posts)Comrade Grumpy
(13,184 posts)geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)I'm sorry, I wasn't aware that gender equality was a controversial goal outside the Phyllis Schlafly crowd.
mercuryblues
(14,531 posts)it is people who fear having to compete on a level playing field. Perhaps it is fear that men will find their true value when women are treated the same and that scares the shit out of them. If having a penis isn't special, then what is?
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On Wed Apr 22, 2015, 12:49 PM an alert was sent on the following post:
and man-hating harpies.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=6548814
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This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate.
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misogynist disruption--trolling a feminist thread with explicitly sexist language
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Explanation: The equivalent of "woman-hating cretins". Censor both or neither.
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Gormy Cuss
(30,884 posts)geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)Amazing and depressing.
niyad
(113,302 posts)AuntPatsy
(9,904 posts)closeupready
(29,503 posts)I consider myself a feminist in the terms defined in the story; but in response to feminists (like the one I was responding to) who imply that the primary impediment to women's advancement is 'women-hating cretins', I posit that, even though I can't dispute (and actually support) her claim, man-hating harpies (like the feminists who posted last month that, essentially, boys don't matter) also alienate men who would otherwise enthusiastically support feminism of the form defined by the op-ed's author.
I wouldn't have posted that randomly; it was posted tit-for-tat in response to her own offensive bullshit.
Peace.
LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)No doubt, you'll expound on your seemingly irrelevant (at best) response.
Gormy Cuss
(30,884 posts)All social equality struggles are exacerbated by the reluctance of those with power to share it and often, it's abetted by a reluctance to acknowledge the inherent power imbalance.
ncjustice80
(948 posts)Given that they hold all the power in society, whatever issues they jave are frankly minor and irrelevant compared to what women face. That is why it is feminism and not humanism.
niyad
(113,302 posts)Orrex
(63,210 posts)Last edited Wed Apr 22, 2015, 10:50 PM - Edit history (1)
The principles are self-evidently correct and frankly unassailable, yet the false perception lingers that feminism is inherently a pro-women-only movement, as confirmed in the article.
Is it essential that the term feminism be retained if, as shown in the article, the term serves as a barrier to the embracing of its principles?