Feminism is an ideology run mostly by women who view the world through what is known as the “progressive prism. In other words, if they don’t see ‘progress’, which to them seems to mean not being given what they asked for pronto, then they may decide to resort to ridiculous methods in an effort to attain it. Methods that, to people who aren’t on-board with their crusade, may seem more like ways to get attention. Milking the media phenomenon known as ‘sensationalism’ for what it’s worth.
Because, y’know- it should be crisp and clear to others that a group of adult women marching down the streets with blood stains on their trousers are obviously doing that as a progressive way of asking that sanitary products in female washrooms such as tampons/pads be free, right?
To me, this whole ‘feminism’ movement is a classic case of a group of people (in this case, of one gender in particular) never being satisfied with what they accomplish (better known as the victim complex). Especially if this group of people have been formerly oppressed, this may fuel them failing to ever be satisfied, even if they’re given what they ask for. I’m not trying to ding this on the ‘feminism’ movement, alone, nor am I trying to say that all women agree with this movement.
As a psychology student, however, I’m very much into analyzing the validity of people’s arguments and… this one is a bit of a dud, in my opinion.
‘I’m a real, strong woman.’
Well… okay, okay. Don’t let me impose on how you see yourself.
If you insist on push that particular aspect down my throat, though, let me first ask you-
How do you become strong?
How do people generally build strength? By having every little thing that annoys you removed, and being protected from the slightest inconvenience?
The way to become ‘stronger’ would be by having to endure and put up with things that are more of a struggle than anything else, and coming out (relatively) unscathed. You become objectively ‘strong’ by exposure and resilience. Not by being handed them on a silver platter.
You don’t become more tolerant by having the ‘right’ to reject everyone else’s point of view because not having things go your way hurts your feelings. To be perfectly honest, thinking that your way is the only way that anyone should be permitted to do things sound more like the thought process of someone incredibly narrow-minded. Maybe, as suggested by author Diane Elam, this is a side-effect of sorts of women being raised in a culture where gender equality is for the most-part attained, yet girls continue to be pelted with the idea that we 'deserve' more from a young-age, nonetheless.
That we should continue fighting for women's equality within the workforce/politics, in combination with modern-day or third-wave feminists seeming to be more focused on embracing differences in women (be it regarding orientation, skin colour, religion, etc.) world-wide). With the most recent wave of feminist's focus being less on political changes and more on individualistic identity (non-unified in their goals, to boot), this makes for a messy situation tough to make sense of;
Is there another kind of injustice committed when all discussions must revolve around "the problem of women" in history, science, literature, society, etc.? Feminism as thematic criticism (although I would not want to dismiss it's legitimacy altogether) tends to forget the variety of inflections of feminism. For some, feminism means equal pay, abortion rights, and a partnership in a law firm. For others, feminism means a celebration of women as separate and distinct from men. To others still, feminism is a subversive ideology used to undermine authority and create alternative power structures. There is no thematic identity to "woman" in these various arguments, which doesn't mean that feminism ought not to support them all in different contexts.
Lastly, just little tidbit to finish this up with something that I learned at school ages ago but, correct me if I'm wrong, does seem to ring true (especially in respect to the third-wave feminism movement, as mentioned above)-
Victim/martyr complex- Someone who displays a destructive pattern of behavior in which they habitually seek suffering or persecution as a way to feel “good” about themselves. Actively seeking out suffering or persecution because it either feeds a psychological need (maybe a way to get attention, for example), or a clever way to avoid responsibility.
Alas, what are your thoughts to third-wave of feminism? Do you feel like their goal to seek out equal rights of women in all minority groups, be it based on race, sexual orientation, political affiliation, etc., is valid? Do you feel like their method of working towards this is effective, and if not, what sort of alternative technique would you propose?
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