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`Feminism is a crazy movement characterized by the fight for equality regardless of gender. Although equality for all people is a founding notion in this country, it seems as though people are taking it too far on all sides of the argument.
Today, the feminist movement entails many aspects including: Legal rights, reproductive rights, equality in the workplace relating to maternity leave and equal pay, and protection from violent acts committed by men toward women and girls. It is wonderful in theory, but has the movement taken an extreme turn that makes it laughable?
Honestly, sometimes feminists come across similarly to Pro-Life extremists who bomb abortion clinics. It is necessary at times to get across your agenda in big, bold ways, but often it may seem as though they are trying to force people to believe women are better than men, instead of being equals.
Sometimes, the big and bold statements are perceived as catty and crazy. Women have protested their femininity by burning bras. Although the symbolism of the act is clear, I have to wonder, what did their bra ever do to them other than support them in all they do?
There are also men who have a chauvinistic mentality, and are equally as extreme as some feminists. We consider it abusive when a man thinks he owns a woman, or believes that he can control her life. We look down on men who think they have an inherented right to superiority in all aspects of life. We also consider men who are strong, successful leaders to be high and mighty, but when a woman tries to attain the same status, she’s a bitch.
Men who show any sort of softer emotion are frequently called “gay.” Why is it that men cannot express feminine qualities the same way that women cannot express masculine qualities?
I have also wondered from where the feminist movement is rooted. Is it possible that the root of all evil in this situation is, in fact, men? I wonder how many feminists were physically or emotionally hurt by men in such a significant way that the feminist movement became their coping mechanism or their way of covering up their pain. I wonder how many feminists saw abuse toward their mothers at the hands of their fathers. I wonder if feminism is a movement that is deeply rooted in pain. There are many ways to interpret this movement.
On one hand, it is unfair to think that all women belong in a kitchen, where they cook dinner for their beloved husbands, and care for their blessed children. However, it is also unfair to say that a woman is brainwashed when she wants to be a housewife. No matter how you spin it, it is truly a matter of personal choice, and what works best for your lifestyle. There is nothing wrong with the “June Cleaver” lifestyle the same way there is nothing wrong with wanting to be a prominent member of the business community as a woman.
Feminism is needed for the progress of equality. Today, women are paid almost a quarter less on the dollar compared to men. There are so many extremists on both sides of this issue, that it is really inhibiting the progress of humanity. Neither sex is better than the other, and lifestyle is a matter of choice. It should not matter if a man wants to be a stay-at-home dad. We shouldn’t have to live in a world where one sex is abusive toward the other, and, yes, women abuse men too.
Instead of fighting about who is better or who should have the control in relationships, why can’t we just love each other for who we are and all the great, diverse qualities and abilities everyone has? We should converge both movements, and make one big movement for the love and equality of everyone, regardless of gender.
Oh, honey. Did you really just say that women who seek to end discrimination against people based on what kind of genitalia they have… are *like abortion clinic bombers*? I dearly hope for your sake that you don’t think you’re going to be a journalist when you grow up. Nothing but disappointment and sadness can lie down that road for you.
Ashley, you wrote “Women have protested their femininity by burning bras.”
No, they haven’t. Trust me. It is a myth which got its start in a satirical piece about feminist protesters whose author came up with the idea inspired by draft-card-burning anti-war protesters. Read Susan Brownmiller’s “American Feminine,” or look up the September 1992 issue of “Ms.” magazine in which the author of the piece explains herself.
“… why can’t we just love each other for who we are and all the great, diverse qualities and abilities everyone has?”
With that sentence, you sound like a feminist. A real feminist, as opposed to the crude “bra burning” caricatures you believe feminists to be. Unfortunately the rest of your essay reminds me more of young women who say, without a trace of irony, “Oh, I’m not a feminist — I just believe in equal pay for equal work,” as if this simple concept could be taken for granted and isn’t a principle which many women (including me) had to work very hard to get across to their employers, some of whom had to be persuaded by legal action.
It’s clear you have no idea how much you owe to the feminist movement and instead try to make some kind of point by railing against the “feminazi” stereotype, a straw man (or straw woman) if ever there was one.
Nor does your article provide even one example of feminism having “gone too far,” despite the claim made in both the headline and the body.
Feminism has always been “laughable.” While women like Alice Paul were arrested, force-fed, and abused for wanting the right to vote, men who feared ceding one iota of their power ridiculed them. But you owe your right to vote (something else I would guess you take for granted) to the “laughable” women’s rights movement.
Try doing a little more research, rigorously questioning your suppositions, and editing your writing more carefully. It’ll be good for you.
P.S. This:
“sometimes feminists come across similarly to Pro-Life extremists who bomb abortion clinics”
is an example of a “false equivalency.”
Feminists are like bomb-throwing terrorists only when they throw bombs. If you have any specific examples of “similar” behavior, please share it. Otherwise, you are just throwing words around, and that’s not a nice thing to do to words, or logic, or whatever argument you’re trying to make.
I remember reading about women fighting for equality by burning their bras and marching and whatever else they did to become “equal” to men. Even to this day, women still complain that they get treated unfairly compared to men. I say malarkey! Let me explain why…
1.When parents split up, the primary custody of the child (by default) goes to the mother. I’m not saying the father doesn’t get custody, because they do. They just don’t get it by default. They have to fight for the custodial rights, and usually end up with weekend visits or something similar. Even if they get 50% custody, they are still financially responsible to 100% of the child. They have to pay for the child when they are with them, and have to pay child support for when they are at their mothers. I’m not saying it happens this way every time, but the majority of the time.
2.If the police are called to a domestic disturbance, and both the male and the female admit to hitting the other, the male is placed under arrest. It is then up to the officer to decide if the female will be placed under arrest or let go. On a very VERY rare occasion does the female get arrested without the male getting arrested too. (Remember I said that they BOTH admit to hitting the other)
3.Young women get better insurance rates than young men. In fact, insurance treats men and women differently for nearly every type of policy. Especially medical insurance.
4.Case and Point: I have a friend who recently underwent surgery to have his prostate removed due to a very aggressive cancer. This left him “unable to perform.” With the proper medical prosthetics, he would be able to perform sexually, but his insurance denied coverage for it. He would have to pay for it on his own.
He and I are on the same insurance plan because we both work in the same lab. Today, I received an “important notice” from our insurance in the mail. Apparently there is a “Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act of 1998.” With this act, women are covered (under OUR same insurance plan) to receive breast reconstructive surgery and two postoperative breast prostheses. This includes reconstructive surgery to the breast that had the cancer, and reconstructive surgery on the other breast to make it symmetrical in shape and size.
Basically, under our insurance plan, men are not covered when they lose their ability to perform sexually due to cancer, but women are entitled to cosmetic surgery
on their breasts when cancer ruins the shape of them.
There are many more instances in life where women are treated better than men, and yet they still argue that they are treated unfairly in society. Everyone is treated unfairly in society, it what makes society…society.
Maybe if men started burning our underclothes and marching up and down the road with picket signs, we’d get preferred treatment in society as well. No, we’d just get ridiculed.
LOL. Talk about too little too late. Calling for moderation in the feminist movement is like saying Oliver cromwell may have left some bad feelings in Ireland, though he otherwise did great work.
Feminism is about gender superiority. It is about boosting females as a group no matter how this affects individual males. No feminist cares about the fact that 60% of college graduates are now female (in fact, we are expected to celebrate; so much for equality).
Despite claiming to support equal opportunity, feminists actually support affirmative action (discrimination against men), from which middle class white women are the biggest beneficiaries.
No feminist cares about the fact that 4 times as many males commit suicide as females or that the male suicide rates have been increasing.
No feminist cares about the decreasing sperm count and testosterone levels in men that has been ongoing for decade due to unexplained “environmental” factors.
No feminist cares about the unfortunate men and boys who they bypass in Haiti when they deliberately encourage discimination along gender lines in aid distribution (how very disgusting).
I could go on but I don’t want to bore you. Know this: Feminists have had their day and the young men who grew up in this feminized system have yet to have theirs. We’ll see what’s what a few years from now when those men achive power despite the best efforts of their feminist mothers, sisters and teachers.
Until that time, enjoy your ill gotten gains, sisters. We’ll see you on the other side.
Ashley,
I agree with you in that neither sex is better than the other. But I do not think you should have started your article with “Feminism is a crazy movement…” because that is an unfair and overgeneralized statement. The feminist movement helped us gain the right to vote, among many other things. The whole point of feminism is equality for both sexes. Yes, true, there are radical feminists, who think men should be exterminated and whatnot, but they are a very small minority in the movement. Most groups have individuals who go too far- but we shouldn’t let that small percentage of extremists ruin it for the entire feminist movement. Feminism, by its true definition, is almost axiomatically a great thing for us.
Sam