What's your take on feminism? Can feminism be sexist? Can you be anit-feminism and not be sexist? [16]
Top Responses
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I believe feminism is not sexist by necessity but is almost always sexist in practice. Feminists often try to force girls to leave stereotypical roles, but that simply sets new gender roles rather than eliminating them. A feminist would frown on a woman who aspires to be a house wife. Does that woman not deserve her freedom of choice? Why is it unacceptable for a woman to fill that role if that's her desire? Feminists also tend to practice reverse-sexism and hostility toward men.
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TaliTalulla's responses are protected.
We have a lot to be thankful to feminism for ( speaking as a female ). The vote. Equal pay. Maternity rights. Women fought long and hard for these gains - sometimes with grave consequences. But, the zealots took over and went too far, making feminism a bit of a dirty word. I don't think genuinely striving for equal rights is sexist, but abusing a man for holding the door open for you is. There is a bit of a trend in the UK, in certain quarters, to treat men like they are idiots, and to ridicule them purely because they're men - now, that is definitely sexist. But, sexism towards women is still alive and kicking in many areas, unfortunately.
Sierralass's responses are protected.
Feminism has taken on many forms and definitions over the years. Some people say that chivalry is dead, that men no longer treat women as they should be treated...but if that's the case I think militant feminism is to blame for that. I totally believe in equality of the sexes but I still think it's proper to do things like hold a door open for a woman and let her enter/exit the building first, but I've actually had women get mad at me for doing that!
And there are some feminists that take things to the extreme. I had a professor in college who wanted a manhole cover to be called a "person-hole cover", just because she didn't like that the word "man" was being used. That's a bit nuts.
I believe in human rights regardless of gender. This does not include the commercial human rights proclamations but actual, civilized human rights. Feminists can absolutely be sexists - some women can be proverbial dicks about it and use it to discriminate men and undermine the men's roles in the society. I am anti-feminist, the commericialised feminism and I am a sexist at times - they are two different concepts. But most of the time I'm just sexist to my boyfriend and for the most part it's just for fun.
Mild forms or acts of feminism are fine because they help promote equality between the sexes. But extreme feminism is just stupid. It's basically female chauvinism. And last I checked not body likes chauvinists. So yes, I believe strong acts of feminism are sexist acts because they push for the power of females OVER the power of males. Additionally, I think if you are anti-feminism you are at least a little bit sexist because you are against women's push for power. I guess it sort of depends on how stong of a supporter or how strongly you are opposed to feminism that would qualify you as sexist. I would consider a very stong supporter of feminism sexist against men, and conversely, a strong anti-feminist to be sexist against women. There's a nice balance in there somewhere. I consider myself right in the middle, therefore not sexist. I believe both sexes to be equal.
By definition I have no problem what so ever with feminism. However, for most it has become more than just its definition. Yes, you can be all of those things on either line of feminism.
I support equality in almost all it's forms, and feminism certainly something I support to an extent; the issue is, when a group feels oppressed and wronged they tend to project those same actions onto those they feel are being treated better than themselves and I notice this particularly in feminism where malicious intent is assumed when it just was not there.
I've met plenty a 'feminist' that would rant on and on about how man is the scum of the earth, completely oblivious not only to the fact that this doesn't qualify them as a feminist but rather a bigger but also utterly clueless to the hypocrisy of such a widely sexist statement from someone claiming to stand for equality on behalf of their own gender.
Unfortunately, this kind of behavior can be observed in a handful of groups; notably alternative sexualities and people of different race, along with the gender clash in question. So, it's worth pointing out that this is not an exclusively feminist trait nor is it really representative of feminism itself, which makes the question a bit hard to define; feminism, as it is intended to be, is not sexist in my honest opinion. I always envisioned feminism as an opportunity to try and prevent the oppression of the past to ever resurface, and level the playing field more than it already is; not standing by the belief that one gender is inherently better than the next.
The idea itself isn't sexist as much as it is those that drastically misinterpret the concept and fight for it for the wrong reasons. Alternatively, I don't think being anti-feminist is sexist either. I would personally argue that it is more likely to be rooted in sexist intent, but there are many valid reasons to be against feminism or at least not support it; call me ignorant, but I don't feel like western society is oppressing women nearly as much as it used to, we've come a long way and one could certainly argue that there's a degree of equality amongst us; I reckon those which oppose it for rational reasons would suggest that more doesn't necessarily need to be done, or that some of the demands are not for the sake of equality but rather for the sake of setting the scales out of balance once again but this time in the favor of females.
The goal should not be shifting the oppression from one hand to the other, but rather removing it altogether and considering the majority of feminists I have met seem to support the former concept it is no surprise that people don't support feminism while still believing in the importance of equality themselves. Like it or not, the negative minority is starting to speak for the group itself and are the main reason such misinterpretations exist in the first place.
I don't probably understand the term, Wikipedia describes it as Ladies Right so I guess there's a broader complex happening which doesn't necessarily mean it's sexist. Though Wikipedia's view maybe wrong or this page is to suggestive of those things so certainly criticise it if it's inaccurate.
Their site is here -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism
I hate feminism! It's so irritating. I'm sure it didn't used to be sexist originally when it actually made sense, but now that the genders are basically completely equal (here) it's just over the top and ridiculous. It is sexist much of the time. Some feminists act like men are inferior and the cause of all the world's problems.
I'm basically anti-feminist, and I am not sexist. I do recognize that there are actual differences between males and females, making them generally naturally better at certain things, and equality does not mean making them completely identical. Some people might think that's sexist.
bahaha! I'm not touching this question with a 10 foot pole!!! Except to say I am for equality between women and men as well as everyone else. :)
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