Discussion about Feminists who end up being sexist themself.

Page 3 of 3 [ 40 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3

yellowLedbetter
Snowy Owl
Snowy Owl

User avatar

Joined: 31 Jul 2010
Age: 32
Gender: Female
Posts: 160
Location: St. Louis, MO USA

22 Apr 2012, 11:18 am

I consider myself a feminist. I didn't always though - I mean I always believed in feminist ideals but I was afraid of the word. I know that sounds silly but seriously how many people say "I believe in gender equality but I'm not a feminist." We're kind of taught to believe that feminists are "bra-burning man haters" and that's far from the truth. Once I started reading up on women's and gender studies I became more immersed in it and today I am very active in my ideals.

It can be very empowering for aspie women who feel like they don't have a voice because they are aspie and female (intersections, fellow feminists??). It's not about bringing down men - it's about revealing the structures in place that have oppressed women, the disabled, people of color, etc. Gender is obviously the structure focused on the most in feminism, but talking about gender constructs and stereotypes is great for men and women. Obviously past and present "movements" do have some problems - but today feminism is less of a single social movement and more like a bunch of smaller movements under the big umbrella of feminism. I wish there were more voices for the disabled of for trans and gender queer individuals but it's always a work in progress. It is threatening for men - admitting their privilege makes people feel like they have to give it up. It's the same for racism, ableism, etc. But no one's asking you to give up your "manhood" - we're just saying that you need to recognize that people who aren't straight, white, cis, heterosexual men have voices and want to use them to have the same rights and social recognition and you.

Seriously, for people who think feminism is some big scary monster, I would recommend getting more involved in some online feminist activism or just reading stuff from some famous women writers like bell hooks, Gloria Steinem, and many, many others. It may seem radical at times - that's a good thing - but it's a great way to find your voice and help others find theirs.



edgewaters
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 16 Aug 2006
Age: 51
Gender: Male
Posts: 2,427
Location: Ontario

23 Apr 2012, 7:36 am

Some of the more radical elements, I find, go too far. For example, there are some who claim that women are totally nonviolent. Give them an example such as, say, child abuse and they'll make excuses for the abuser. Some small number of bigots have also found voice in a feminist context (eg "All men are rapists"). This disturbs me, but its so vanishingly rare and most of the time, people who hold these views don't hold them forever. Nor is it representative of anything but a tiny minority. And this happens in pretty much any movement of any sort. Equal standards must be applied, its not correct to hold one group to a higher standard than every other.

There is also a more widespread phenomena where everything is seen exclusively from one point of view, and all men are painted with a broad brush, and not seen as individuals. This isn't disturbing, it's just frustrating. Thing is, I get it. It's not always easy to let your guard down, not in a world filled with sophisticated manipulation and deceit.



TheHouseholdCat
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 29 Feb 2012
Age: 35
Gender: Female
Posts: 667
Location: Berlin, Germany

01 May 2012, 5:46 pm

Well, all I can say is that there's a certain type of man - I'm afraid they make it too easy to be put into a category - who have always looked down on me. Because I'm not the pretty girl. Because I don't like shopping and make up and talking a certain way. Once I realized that... it made sense to me.

That's basically why I have no problem with feminism. Ha, why should anyone have a problem? If you really think about it...

puddingmouse wrote:
Tequila wrote:
I find extremely masculine - and aggressive - women and men-hating types scary.


Erm, what if some women can't help being 'masculine'? What if they have some form of GID? Even if they don't have GID, I argue that women have a right to be as 'masculine' or as 'feminine' as they like.

I was going to ask something similar to that.

Men can be "feminine" as well, so why can't women be "masculine"? Well, only if you accept the first as well...


_________________
EXPANDED CIRCLE OF FIFTHS

"It's how they see things. It's a way of bringing class to an environment, and I say that pejoratively because, obviously, good music is good music however it's created, however it's motivated." - Thomas Newman


Joker
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 19 Mar 2011
Age: 35
Gender: Male
Posts: 7,593
Location: North Carolina The Tar Heel State :)

01 May 2012, 9:12 pm

I find it funny that they call some feminists sexist which is non sense yes some of them are but MOST of them are not.



01 May 2012, 11:20 pm

theaspiemusician wrote:
So today I was on facebook and I saw one of my best friends commented on a video about Feminists who are sexist. My friend said she didn't understand why anyone would be so sexist and not realize it but she's ok with the feminists who are ok and NOT sexist. After much of the conversation I decided of posting this on here. I think that, in my personal opinion, guys and girls shouldn't fight about things at all. It's kind of pointless to get worked up about things to the point where you become sexist YOURSELF. At the same time I think girls SHOULD be treated more equally. There are things chicks don't get but guys do and I understand that. Equal also means DON'T HATE GUYS. I may be a girl but I hang out with guys more often and get along with them better. Certain ways to distinguish gender don't apply to me so basically I have a very neutral but logical opinion here. The only way gender actually MATTERS to me is when I date, I'm not bisexual. What are you guy's opinions?



In addition to sexism towards men, quite a few feminists themselves(along with entire factions of feminism) seem to be hellbent on telling other women how to live their lives!



Joker
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 19 Mar 2011
Age: 35
Gender: Male
Posts: 7,593
Location: North Carolina The Tar Heel State :)

01 May 2012, 11:24 pm

AspieRogue wrote:
theaspiemusician wrote:
So today I was on facebook and I saw one of my best friends commented on a video about Feminists who are sexist. My friend said she didn't understand why anyone would be so sexist and not realize it but she's ok with the feminists who are ok and NOT sexist. After much of the conversation I decided of posting this on here. I think that, in my personal opinion, guys and girls shouldn't fight about things at all. It's kind of pointless to get worked up about things to the point where you become sexist YOURSELF. At the same time I think girls SHOULD be treated more equally. There are things chicks don't get but guys do and I understand that. Equal also means DON'T HATE GUYS. I may be a girl but I hang out with guys more often and get along with them better. Certain ways to distinguish gender don't apply to me so basically I have a very neutral but logical opinion here. The only way gender actually MATTERS to me is when I date, I'm not bisexual. What are you guy's opinions?



In addition to sexism towards men, quite a few feminists themselves(along with entire factions of feminism) seem to be hellbent on telling other women how to live their lives!


That I will agree with you about.



lostonearth35
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 5 Jan 2010
Age: 50
Gender: Female
Posts: 11,783
Location: Lost on Earth, waddya think?

02 May 2012, 12:20 pm

The past couple of weeks I have been wanting to throttle anyone with a Y chromosome because of sexist, cowardly remarks made by pigs on YouTube and other websites. One *genius* recently told a female YouTuber to go back in the kitchen and that the U.S. did not support women's rights. And once again I am reminded that most men secretly want the women in their lives to be their maids, cooks, and hookers without having to pay them, and despise the fact that women can now vote, go anywhere themselves other than to pick up meat at the grocery store, and can have real paying jobs. :evil:



book_noodles
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 13 Feb 2010
Age: 30
Gender: Female
Posts: 953

02 May 2012, 4:53 pm

lostonearth35 wrote:
The past couple of weeks I have been wanting to throttle anyone with a Y chromosome because of sexist, cowardly remarks made by pigs on YouTube and other websites. One *genius* recently told a female YouTuber to go back in the kitchen and that the U.S. did not support women's rights. And once again I am reminded that most men secretly want the women in their lives to be their maids, cooks, and hookers without having to pay them, and despise the fact that women can now vote, go anywhere themselves other than to pick up meat at the grocery store, and can have real paying jobs. :evil:

Hm. I don't completely agree :? Men are not born with a desire to oppress women; American boys are taught through gender policing to be superheroes and firemen, while girls are given pooping baby dolls and anatomically misleading party dolls and fake kitchen sets.
Aggressive, passive. Saving the world versus child care. It is a disservice to men as well... Though they have less to lose through women's oppression than I do :? Studies indicate that men still perform fewer domestic duties than women, while expecting their spouse's income to equal their own. What utter bulls**t.

In relation to the OP, I see a major problem with people misunderstanding the point of feminism. It's EQUALITY. The right to govern our own reproductive systems, and not be told what to do by old men in the government. It's a matter of supporting the rights of WoC, disabled women, and queer people in the face of an intolerant patriarchal society.


_________________
"If you look deeply emough into any person's soul, you can see the emu within them struggling to get out. Actually, most people don't have emus in their soul. Just me." - Invisible Dave, Lady of Emus