Feminism

I think there was a thread about this awhile back. Personally, I'm a feminist... I'm all for women's rights and advancement.

I too am shocked when I hear people (women especially) talk about feminism as though it's a bad thing.

I don't know why women wanted to be equal when we were ahead! Even Gloria Alllred, one of the most outspokien feminists ever said it is just not working. I believe women and men are equally smart, able, and talented, just not in the same ways. I think each have their own place in the world, and the workplace. I think there are jobs that women should not do, and there are jobs men should not do, just because of different ablilties. Feminism is not making the world better for women in general.

Feminists to me are people who burn their bras, and think their equal in everything that a man does, and if this is the case then i've yet to see a female bricklayer climbing 30' up a ladder with a hod filled with bricks

Don't get me wrong, when it comes to sharing responsibilites in the house etc...i wouldn't slander anyone for it, but when it comes to cleaning the house, ironing etc.. i believe it's my job to do those things, but thats my opinion.

Ive been called a feminist a few times in a bad way. Usually its when I say something is so wrong, or sexual advances have been turned down - I get a look of disgust "feminist!"

So what? If you don't like it, too bad. I am just standing up for what I believe in. LOL - I remember I read a book - Shere Hite's report - a big book but fascinating to read - when some saw me reading it, oh my god, shes a feminist!

I studied women's studies in college as well and loved it. My focus was lesbian studies though and still very interesting.

I am woman, hear me roar!

I am proud to say that years ago my boyfriend was a temporary vice president for the local chapter of the National Orginization of Women!

In a perfect world there would be equal rights for EVERYONE.

Feminism is a GREAT thing.
What I can't stand are some woman (usually in the public eye) that take feminism to the extreme.
Around here, they are called Feminazi's (not my word, don't flame me).

I chuckle when I hear women complain that chivalry is dead.
It's not dead at all, it's cowering somewhere in a corner, hiding from the extreme feminists.

Hear! Hear! I think what we have is a situation where a movement began because there was a need, but the extremists immediately grabbed the soapbox for their own -- to such an extent that the term "feminism" became distorted. Instead of a movement of moderates dedicated to addressing injustice, it became known by the antics of the extremists, and everyone got tarred with the same brush.

I guess I think of myself as a feminist, inasmuch as I identify with the drive to address those inequalities the movement set out to address, for instance, equal pay for equal work -- to me that's a no-brainer. The loudmouths are more interested in the spectacle than the cause, and it's a shame that they have given the movement a black eye.

I consider myself a feminist, even though I don't think I do enough to further womens position in our society. My husband didn't even know how to cook when I met him and I taught him too cook so I wouldn't be the only one working in the house. I am not outspoken as I would like and I think many women have forgotten where women were 100yrs ago in the U.S. and forget women are still sufering today. I think some women and girls are to concerned with looks and material things to be concerned about real issues. Cheryl

I'm a feminist and proud of it. Then again, oddly enough, when I first started coordinating the feminist group on campus I was dating a guy in the Promise Keepers! It was pretty funny! He was a really great guy though and I'm still friends with him. My fiance was pretty shocked, when we first started dating, that I didn't mind having doors opened for me or him paying for dinner. We were actually just talking about this the other day. How I'm now closer to 30 than I am to 20 and how much more mild I have gotten- but then again I always enjoyed being a woman and doing girly things. I just believe that people should have equal opportunities. I've known kick butt female firefighters that were tougher than my dad, I've know female lineworkers (ie phone company) and female construction workers. I think if you are good at the job you should be able to do it. I know that I could never do any of these jobs, I'm just not built for it!! I would never look down on a woman for being a stay at home mom or a housewife. I believe firmly that we are all called to different things at different times in our lives and I don't believe that any person should be able to tell us we can't follow our callings- assuming it is a genuine calling and not just something that someone kinda wants to do. If you can do it, do it!

There are so many "types" of feminism- that it's really up to the person to decide. Marxist feminism, libertarian feminism, radical feminism, pro-life feminism (did you know that Susan B. Anthony and the Grimke sisters were all pro-life?), you name it- there's a feminism for it. To me it all boils down to equal opportunity- and that doesn't mean just let anyone do anything, but give everyone an equal shot. A female firefighter may not be able to as easily throw someone over their shoulder- but you know what, you aren't supposed to throw people over your shoulder, you are supposed to drag them. When my fiance was going through the physical/practical parts of his EMT/firefighter training there were ladies beating the men with their times. Someone may have lesser abilities with strength, but you need smaller people to be able to wiggle through tight places, etc. It's all about what would be best for the profession- not necessarily strength- but like I said, I've met women who could kick my weight-lifting firefighting dad's butt.

"Feminism is the revolutionary idea that women are human, too." 'Nuff said.

Being a country lady, I was raised that the way to do things was "be practical and find the best person to do the job". I've been accused of being anti-feminist because I now play the old-fashioned ( including all the housework, ironing, etc.), housewife role. This perplexes me because when I was single, I got my annual 5 cords of wood using my own Husqvarna chainsaw, split it myself with the help of my daughters; bucked my own hay; serviced the swamp cooler, did my own oil-changes, tune-ups, snaked sewer drains myself, etc., and I was a 5'2", size 3-5. Now I'm married and I'm more than happy to let the big guy do the tough chores, he's got the size, weight & strength to make the work look easy. And IMO, and yes, this is an incendiary one, SORRY IN ADVANCE, I think that women's sexual liberation has hurt women but benefited men - a middle-aged woman is still so easily replaced nowadays both in the workforce, and in relationships/marriage; it SHOULDN"T be that way, but society still places emphasis on looks, hence all the plastic surgeries, quest for diets that make our figures look more youthful,etc. I am saddened at how often incredibly talented, experienced, agreeable women who were laid-off or took a buy-out during company mergers are passed over for the youthful ones again & again (these are cases that I have personal knowlege of). It happens in the restaurants, too, when you compare tip-averages; cute bimbos can often make more buck than the attentive, effiecient mom-type for the same amount of effort ( I'm the mom type that worked twice as hard to keep my average sales & tips at the top - I had kids, horses,cats to provide for). One other thing that always yanked my chain - in the restaurant where I worked, we had a guy-waiter sucessfully challenge to be allowed to be a cocktail-server (the only male), he wasn't good looking or even that efficient (based on his sales average) yet his tip-average was wayyy above even our most "hot babe" female cocktail server's; goes to show us that we need to raise our boys and girls to appreciate women more!

I think like the term "Liberal" people have *******ized the term feminism. It really is about women being able to be who they are meant to be, I thus think it gives men that right too. Yes, I like to cook, I like to decorate, but I also like be independent.

The label "Feminist" has become a tool, that is used to degrade female activists. Do you like to vote?
The women who to dared go against the grain, and fought for our right to vote were call feminists...in a negative way.
Equal rights under the law, is what it is all about.

This is one of my favourite essays on the topic of feminism, from one of my favourite online writers.

Sars at Tomato Nationsays pretty much what I think.

It is splitting hairs for women to start saying, but I like to have men open doors for me, no way am I a feminist.

I am a feminist. I disagree with a lot of the radical rhetoric attached to the feminist social movements of the late 70's. I believe that all people deserve equal respect, regardless of their gender. That's what feminism is about. If you believe that men have a higher authority in this world because they were born male, then you are not a feminist.

I don't believe that women and men are the same. (thank God for the differences). I don't think that all men and all women are equally qualified for all work. But I do believe that all human beings deserve equal respect, and that is what feminism is all about. And I believe that women should have choices, and not be told that they MUST be a stay at home wife and mother, nor should they be told that they MUST go out and have a career.

Thanks! He is.
Where did you get it? I want 2! (Well maybe one pink, one blue )

Well said! We can be both feminine and be feminists... or not. It's up to US.

Thanks for the link...I love the shirts & the site.

Thanks, Amy! Great website - I saved it under favorites.

I proudly consider myself a feminist. By that I mean someone who understands the struggles women have to cope with - we earn less than men (still!!), are still violently attacked and have to fight for that, believe in reproductive rights tho I donn't see that as just a feminist issue and I am active in politics, not strictly as a feminist but it is not as easy there for a woman either. As Charlotte Whitton (former mayor of Ottawa) one asserted, "For a woman to get ahead, you have to twice as smart as men to get half as far but fortunately that's not difficult"

I have never burned my bar (don't get that whole thing but then I do understand the difference between liberal feminism, radical feminism and socialist feminism.) nor do I hate men - like them VERY much, lol - I do see some improvements but I also see many young women taking so much for granted, sighhhh!!

This is kind of a side note. There has been a lot of divorce in my family. As a result, my brother and I seldom had men around. In my family women were NEVER put in second place.

When I was married to my first husband and we were having problems, I called my grandmother. I will never forget her words. "Honey, you have to understand. He's only a man." I'm not male-bashing, here. I love men and don't agree with that kind of thinking, but I will admit being amused that my grandmother said that.

That's interesting. My sister started catering lunch for the "church ladies". She loved them, and said they are all feminists even though they don't know what it means. Men were marginal to their lives, and they had active, fulfilling, interesting lives all involving socializing with other women.

It's just when women wanted something other than the lives they were assigned that issues started.

Along those lines, an 80 something friend of the family told me once,all men are "littel boys" and as long as we know that women will be aok. But expecting more leads to disappointment. It really is true. I don't think its' a put down either,it's just fact and women expect men to be like these saviors for them and they get disappointed.

Same thing happened with animal rights. PETA gave the movement a stigma. As for feminism, to me it is about equal opportunity and equal pay. I could write a book about all the examples where I have seen women passed over in favor of men for higher level positions and be paid less for the same work. We still have a long way to go!

Regarding the semantics of "feminism" and how that word is viewed today, I think it is a lot like "Animal Activist". Certain groups, who may have the best of intentions, have spoiled the term for the rest of the people who aren't so radical. I simply will not tell people that I'm an Animal Activist (even though with Stray Pet Advocacy and Save Samoa, I really am) because I don't want to be lumped in with PETA, ALF, etc.

I do not think men need to be marginalized in one's life if you are a feminist. There might be a name for that but it is NOT feminism!! In fact, some of the men I work with - and many if my male students I would consider feminist in the way they regard women. Twenty yrs ago - as a young medical resident, I was hard pressed to find female mentors. Today, young men have no trouble at all accepting a woman as a mentor, teacher and friend! So there HAVE been some changes!! (But stil some needed). The school I teach at had the first woman Dean of Medicine in the country - and there is one more now!

But it is more than just women achieving positions - it is helping other women AND also making the medical field more welcoming and easier to naviagate for women patients and others! Making medicine more women friendly I guess (ie like more clinical trials that involve women - for a long time, only men were included in clinical trials even about breast cancer!!), ensuring more comfort for women, etc. Not sure if I am just rambling or making sense, lol

Yeah it's gets this baggage. And my liberal analogy is good too, once was a day you were either liberal or conservative. No one said one was a "whiner" it's just what you believed or didn't. Kennedy called himself and Johnson "liberal" in their 1960 convention never thinking that was a liability.