MyTake on Feminism

[KingJessie]

What sort of picture does your mind paint you when you hear the word, 'Feminist'?

An angry and topless woman waving a flaming bra in the air with one hand, exposing her unshaven armpitts while she holds a microphone in the other and shouts insuts directed at men?

Most likely.

There seems to be a bit of confusion as to what feminism really is. Though, this idea will vary from person to person, I can only share with you my understanding.

I myself sort of have a bit of a problem with the word. Feminist, by word, implies an attemp to dominate and undermine men. A better word would be 'Equalarian'. For any woman who argues the rights of women, but neglects those of men is not a true feminist. A feminist argues equality.

Yet even today, some people still try to deny that such a thing as female discrimmination exists at all. "Hey, you guys got your right to vote? What are you complaining about now?" Yes what I think is ridiculous is the fact that women had to be allowed to vote in the first place.

Let me tell you why women are still undermined today, and why we women still have our panties in a bunch.

Let me start with this. You may have seen it on the internet before. Middlesex University did a study which compared extracts from men's magazines and comments from convicted rapists. Read though, and see if you can tell which articles are from which source.

1. There's a certain way you can tell if a girl wants to have sex. The way they dress... the way they present themselves.

2. Some girls walk around in short-shorts... showing their body off... It just starts a man thinking; if he gets something like that, what can he do with it?

3. A girl may like anal sex because it makes her feel incredibly naughty and she likes feeling like a dirty slut. If this is the case, you can try all sorts of humiliating acts to help live out her filthy fantasy.

4. Mascara running down the cheeks means they've just been crying and it's probably your fault. But you can chear up the miserable beauty with a bit of the old in and out.

5. What burnis me up sometimes about girls is dick-teasers. They lead a man on and then shut him off right there.

6. Filthy talk can be such a turn on for a girl... no one wants to be shagged by a mouse. A few compliments wn't do any harm, either. "I bet you want it from behind, you dirty whore".

7. You know, girls in general are alright. But some of them are bitches. The bitches are the type that need to have it stuffed in them hard and heavy.

8. Escorts... they know exactly how to turn a man on. I've given up on girlfriends. They don't know how to satisfy me. But escorts do.

9. You'll find most girls will be reluctant about going to bed with someone or crawling into the back seat of a car. But you can usually seduce them, and they'll do it willingly.

10. There's nothing quite like a woman standing in the dock accused of murder in a sex game gone wrong. The possibility of murder does bring a certain frission to the bedroom.

11. Girls ask for it by wearinf those mini skirts and hot pants. They're displaying their body. Whether they realize it or not, they're saying "Hey, I've got a beautiful body and it's yours if you want it."

12. You don't want to be caught red-handed. Go smash her on a park bench. That used to be my trick.

13. Some women are domineering, but I think it's more or less the man who should put his foor down. The man is supposed to be the man. If he acts the man, the woman won't be domineering.

14. I think if a law is passed, it should be a dress code. When girls dress in those short skirts and things like that, they're just asking for it.

15. Girls love being tied up. It gives them the chance to be the helpless victim.

16. I think girls are like plasticine, if you warm them up, you can do anything you want with them.

Could you guess? Here are the answers.

1. Rapist

2. Rapist

3. Magazine

4. Magazine

5. Rapist

6. Magazine

7. Rapist

8. Magazine

9. Rapist

10. Magazine

11. Rapist

12. Magazine

13. Rapist

14. Rapist

15. Magazine

16. Magazine

Next, lets look at a first world issue for women; the trillion dollar beauty industry. Every year, women are forced into thinking that they need to spend hundreds of dollars to 'fix' themselves, as if they are broken somehow. Breast implants have always been a thing, but now, we are seeing a staggering rise in butt implants and fat injections due to the media's focus on having a big booty.

If you are angered by the fact then men who are victms of domestic violence are often scoffed at for being a 'pussy', then why are you not angered that female victims of raped are still asked, 'What were you wearing?'

What about female circumcision on little girls to prvent their sexual pleasure in third world countries?

While I must agree women are not equal physically, as a man's testosterone does make him stronger, a person should not be seen as worth any more of less than another simply because they have different genitals.

A woman who demands to be waited on, paid for and pampered, but still wants equal rights is not a feminist. These are trivial things compared to the bigger picture. Women are still undermined every day. It's not about complaining that "She has bigger boobs than me and it's not fair because men see her as a sexual object and I'm just as pretty and blah blah blah, rant rant rant."

What I am essentially trying to point out in this myTake is that the idea of feminism is sorely missunderstood. The dictionary defines feminism as, "the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men." And the fact that the word 'Feminist' is seen as a dirty word today should in itself, illustrate how far we have to go until women really can claim equal rights.

Thank you, and have a nice day. Now, I must go. My bra is on fire.

[Fizpop]

Its funny how you point out that the word "feminism" undermines men and than later you speak about how everyone who believes in equality is a feminist. Haha

Anyways, I think I should make the much needed point that the word "feminist" IS gender neutral. A feminist is any person who believes in the equality of the sexes.

Words like craftsmanship, refers to the term craftsMAN not craftsWOMEN, yet the term craftsmanship is gender neutral.

It also stunns me that you suggest that because the word feminism obviously comes from the idea of femininity that it automatically cannot be for men as well. Some men are feminine. Some women are masculine. Its okay. It shouldn't matter.

If equality has anything to do with it anyway.

[OlderAndWiser]

This is analogous to being proud of the South. Many people will brand you as a racist if you feel any pride about the old South. That is not what we are proud of, but they make it the issue in their head and then dare to tell us what we are thinking and feeling.

[AleDeEurope]

You just said what the definition of feminism is: "the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men." What about rights of men equal to those of women? That's the problem with feminism, they just fight for women, and forget about men. And you will ask "what problems does men have?". Well, what about divorce, when the man gets ripped off half of his money? What about a man being accused of rape because, when he was drunk, he had sex with a drunk woman? Both were drunk, but the guy is the bad guy. What about male circumcision? You just talked about women circumcision, but male circumcision is more common, yet you didn't even mention it. What about women beating up or raping men, and no one does anything to prevent this, just laugh at it? What about when a woman gets a smaller sentence for doing the same crime a man did?
I'm not against feminism, actually I support it, but I don't agree when they say they fight for equality, cause they just fight for women. And I support those feminists that fight for equal rights as of those of men, not those "so-called" feminists that fight for women's superiority.

Like I said at the beginning, feminists just fight for women, forgetting about men's problems, and that's why many men don't support feminism, or don't take it too seriously, cause you can't expect people to fight for you, when you don't fight for them too.

[AleDeEurope]

Oh, and about the beauty industry, it's you the one that wants to get implants and put on makeup, not us. Men don't care, some will do, but none will force you to do it. Also, don't women say that they wear makeup cause it makes them look beautiful? Don't try to blame men for this, if the beauty industry is so rich is because of women. Just look at women's magazines and all they talk about is how to be more attractive. You're your own problem here, don't blame us.

[KingJessie]

I'm sorry, but if you read the myTake, you'll see I covered most of that. That was the point of the Take, to try and erase these misconceptions about feminism that you have mentioned. It seems you have just read what you want to read in order to conserve your views that women hate men.

[AleDeEurope]

In your Take you never mentioned the topics I said, and I read it all, so if I missed them, just point them out. And I know what your Take tried to say, but the point is that feminism doesn't fight for men's rights, if they do, show me an example of a feminist group talking about rights for men.

You say I just read what I wanted to read, but you did the same by not reading that I support feminism. How can I say that women hate men when I support their cause?

[genuinlysensitive]

This should be a mytake, as opposed to the OP drivel!

[JSmith925]

I completely agree with your take. I am very passionate on this subject and could easily add a hundred lr so pages. (I’m sure you could too!)

When men address the topic of “feminism,” they speak as if about some bizarre, recently discovered species. But the women who seek equality are our mothers, sisters and wives. Why would we NOT want them to have opportunity?

Much of the problem can be traced to radical feminist ideology. The inteligencia that are spouting rhetoric advocating lesbianism and the reduction of the male population, etc. only serve to alienate men while accomplishing very little to advance the position of the average women. In short, these fanatics are not the movement; they are IN THE WAY of the movement.

The other half of the problem is chauvinism. These are the Neanderthal thugs who blame their pathetic lives on the progress of women instead of their own lack of creativity and motivation. Their solution is to reestablish a social order that borders on chattel slavery.

As far as I am concerned, you could take both of these groups, move them to a remote island and I would not miss either one. What we need is a practical revolution of thought that solicits the involvement of both genders and seeks to free them from confining traditional roles. We need a cultural shift that accommodates the differences between men and women while making the most of their individual strengths.

We can never call ourselves a modern society until we live up to the tenets of our constitution and every member can pursue life, liberty and happiness, regardless of race, gender or creed.

[Octavion]

Here's the biggest issue with feminism that is keeping it from getting much accomplished
"Though, this idea will vary from person to person, I can only share with you MY UNDERSTANDING."

There are a lot of people with their own understanding of what it is and some of their understandings are polar opposites of each other. The "movement" is too loose and disorganized and a lot of it is people fighting against each other both donning the term feminist. I'm not even referring to the psycho "feminazi's" either. Fairly mature open minded people are fighting for opposite actions within the movement. Also I'm not sure what you think can be accomplished about those comments made by rapists. No amount of social change will make them any different. Those people will always exist no matter what. So there's nothing you can do to make them change their views on women. What they do is already illegal with hefty lifetime punishments. I'm not trying to crap on your beliefs everyone deserves to have respect and be no less than anyone else. I'm just saying that the feminist movement is inhibiting itself just as much as it's critics are and you're focusing on areas that revolve around psycho rapists that has nothing to do with society itself and just is them being evil people. Society didn't turn them into a rapist they turned themselves into one.

[boreddragon]

I agree with a lot of what you said, just wanted to point out that the reason she posted the statements from rapists was not to reinforce how terrible they are but to show how they are virtually indistinguishable from the men's magazine articles.

[Not_Helping]

What I don't understand is the love story between this term and modern society. 3rd Wave Feminism is a headless chicken claiming all sorts of random and completely unattainable goals, none of which are even centered on any main ideology such as civil rights, that works more or less as a buzzword and insult just as "idiot" which refers to a person with an IQ of less than 70 became so mainstream no one knows that at all.

The ironic part of any term that is "open to definition" is that it loses it's identity and subsequently runs the risk of being completely meaningless. Feminism, a political term, should not be subject to such just as no other political movement is really subject to whim when it is actively working towards a specific end-goal.

This troubles me deeply. It has brought about other words into the fray such as "Egalitarian" which doesn't mean at all what people think it means in political philosophy and in reality you now have an under-educated population declaring what things are, are not, and practically fighting like dogs and cats among one another over the right to own a term no one is even actively using appropriately.

The very phrase "I am for equality!" is intellectually lazy.

[ThisDudeHere]

I am not a feminist but I believe in egalitarian, civil and social and etc equal rights. I don't need a label of a deranged movement in order to believe in something.

Furthermore, the problem with every feminist that tries to credit feminism as a whole is that you're a tad bit intellectually dishonest. Instead of methodically making reasonable arguments as to which brand of feminism is true and correct, you simply do the "oh those other feminists are evil and they're just mirepresetnin' but we're the real ones cuz we said so"

The main problem here is that no matter how much you sugar coat it, feminism IS NOT a unified movement or idea. It is as varied as are Chinese dialects. Simply stating THAT yours is the correct brand, instead of explaining WHY it is the correct one will not work. And again, the "they're bad, we're good, they soil our name, don't listen to them" will not do as an argument.

[Jimrat86]

Well played.

[Anonymous]

No true Scotsman fallacy. If they identify as feminists, they are feminists, no one has the power to say they aren't true feminists. Mens standards for attractiveness are just as unrealistic as women's. personally I've put thousands of hours into the gym and am just now starting to look like I should according to the media. Take the rapist/magazine argument and reverse the roles. No one would bat an eye. Feminists seek not only to reform social conventions but laws as well while they already have superior protection under the law than men.

[KingJessie]

You are right, but I am just saying that by my definition of feminism, this is what I think it stands for. Male standards of attractiveness are just as high, but there's still a fair bit more pressure on young girls and women. Though, I did regard the beauty standards to be a very insignificant issue compared to the bigger picture.
And I don't deny there's a huge stigma on male victims of rape. Many people see it as a joke, actually. But the truth is, you don't find this sort of stuff in Women's Magazines and the purpose of that part was to point out how young men are conditioned to view women as sex objects. Of course not all men are rapists, but the media, that evil illuminati thing telling women that all men should be Channing Tatum, tries to portray it that way.

[Opinion Owner]

I'll buy it. I do have one thing to say though. Studies have shown that a man viewing parts of an attractive woman stimulates the same part of the brain as tool use. This means that without even meaning to, men are constantly objectifying women. It is just part of the male brain, I don't think it is due to conditioning.

[Maverickj]

@KingJessie

100% wrong. There is not necessarily more pressure on women. In fact, women can get laid any time they want to. Men don't have that privilege. You are blatantly ignoring men's issues, just like every other self-proclaimed feminist.

[anon4122]

I agree but here is why people see feminism in such a negative view. College campus feminism has taken the spotlight and it entails every bad view people have of the movement. the new generation of feminists throws a fit when Christina Hoff Summers a much older and experienced feminist come to talk at there school because she disagrees with them. Those same feminists try to defend 3rd world abuse of women because of "muh colonialism" and "muh cultural imperialism". or "muh racism" usually these happen if we would have to criticise some parts of Islam to fix the problem. As for the beauty industry I have noticed that girls in my experience are more judgmental of other girls appearances then most men.

[anon4122]

Also I am not a feminist for this reason and a few others like for example how enraged they get when you don't use the label even if you agree. Or there idiotic views on sexual abuse (rape crisis, I don't want to hear the defendant's side of the story, and men can't be raped.)

[Anonymous]

I don't need to call myself a feminist to support those things. Your incessant need to get everyone to join your team and wear the label is annoying. Focus on the ideas not the label. "Feminism" has been spoiled - the well poisoned by crazy women, just drop the label and let them be crazy. Stop trying to tell me what I am, what I identity as is completely fucking irrelevant to the issue. Feminism being a dirty word isn't an indicator of how far you have to go, it shows what you've done. It's a dirty word BECAUSE of feminists, because the movement ran itself into the ground. Feminism was fine.. but feminists ruined feminism. If you desperately need a label, be egalitarian or equalitarian or equalist or whatever.

Watch in amazement as I don't call myself a feminist and continue to support equality... TADA!

[phanindra554plus]

I think you are not telling what is feminism you are telling your definition and not only woman man also suffering so many problems because of inequality but I don't want feminism because I saw the both the sides of it so fight for equality not for feminism.
Then everyone will support you.
Feminist means supporter of females rights where is the equality (where is the men) in that word. so let us start the fight for equality.

[Pedantic]

One thing I like the article for is that there isn't any justification for rape, and a woman can look nice or go where she wants (within reason -- even as a man there are things that are just simply unsafe to do, while technically from a jurisprudence point of view is a right to do, is otherwise a Bad Idea

[Pedantic]

wow I used greater/less than signs '

[Pedantic]

and yes, it will chop your post. LOL.

[Marinepilot]

Feminists will be left for much younger, prettier and nicer women. Why you ask? Because they treat their men like shit ! They fucking deserve to die alone as a crazy old cat lady. I'm sick and Goddamn tired of being put down, denigrated and ridiculed
by a bunch of ugly ass bitches who have their drawers in a wad because no decent man wants them. Feminist to me is another way to spell LOSER !

[KingJessie]

I'm a feminist. I'm not ugly, old or mean. I think I'm rather polite and respectful.
I think your comment stands for itself, sir. There is no need for me to tell you why I think you have issues with women. Perhaps it is not the women you meet that are the problem, maybe it's your attitude towards them.

[ClariceOwen23]

Well I'm a feminist and I'm in a relationship with a really smart and attractive man. Now why don't you say again that no decent man wants me? To me, you sound like someone who "puts down, denigrates, and ridicules" people he doesn't even know.

[Michelle892]

Who messed you up mate?

[Nuqood]

This article is akin to the bully tactic of "You believe in equal accountability and opportunity for everyone? You're a feminist".

I also believe that people shouldn't kill each other, but that doesn't make me a Christian. Bogus article; narrow sighted with sprinkles of entitlement, victim mentality, and over-exaggeration. The first world needs feminism as much as it needs someone to invent the wheel.

[Maverickj]

You call yourself a feminist, yet your article is heavily biased, and implies that only men can be rapists. You are not a feminist, you're just a whiny misandrist.

Tell me one thing feminism has done for men, and I'll change my stance on it. Until then, I consider myself an egalitarian.

Do you have any idea what kind of issues men face? Men can go to jail if a woman wants him in jail. All she has to do is cry rape. Case in point, Tyler Kost.

[CityBoy773]

Feminism is equal rights for women...

[Maverickj]

And that's the problem, I guess. Equal rights, but only for women. What a sham.

[KTLost]

Are you kidding me? Equal rights 'only for women'. Do you realise what equal means? Rights for women are far behind those for men; the rights we fight for are for women BECAUSE YOU ALREADY HAVE THE RIGHTS WE ARE FIGHTING FOR.

[Maverickj]

@KTLost

You act like men have it better in every possible way, while this is completely false. Domestic violence victims often don't receive help. A woman can make a false claim of rape against a man, and he will go to jail. Case in point, Tyler Kost. He's been in jail for a pretty long time now, because a few women wanted to get revenge on him, so they falsely called rape. He's still in jail, even though evidence came to light that they were lying.

The Duluth Model is widely used to handle domestic violence cases. Yet this model almost literally states that women cannot be aggressors, and that men are always the aggressors in these cases.

Women will get child custody the majority of the time.

And most importantly, the funding for male rape survivors in the UK has been cut to zero. That's right, *zero*. Apparently, men don't deserve help? But by all means, keep clinging to your idea that women have it so much worse. You'll probably mention the pay gap, which has been debunked.

[KTLost]

Just because feminism is called 'feminism' doesn't mean it's only for women, just as 'man'kind doesn't solely refer to men. Fighting for feminism is fighting for equality, on both sides. Just because people are advocating issues related to women including prejudice, rape, sexual assault, domestic violence, blatant objectification in the mainstream media, discouragement from men-centric fields, as well as everyday things such as equating the feminine to be weak and submissive to men, etc. The fact that people are fighting for equality and justice in these areas doesn't mean they aren't fighting for justice in ALL areas. You can't say that one issue is more important than another. As for the issues about false rape claims, that's a failing in the justice system as a result of gender prejudice - the exact thing feminism is trying to abolish. In working towards equality between the sexes, these things are also put under scrutiny.

[Maverickj]

@KTLost

Then tell me, what has feminism done for men? Because feminists are directly responsible for creating aforementioned Duluth Model. You never hear feminists actively opposing misandry, they just say "we're not all like that". At the same time, the "radical" feminists are actively fighting to keep their privilege.

And also, why did you mention rape and domestic violence being a women's issue? 40% of domestic violence victims are men, so maybe we should stop focusing exclusively on female victims?

Once again, what has feminism actually done for men? I want to hear cold, hard facts, not what people are supposedly "putting under scrutiny".

[KTLost]

Part of the reason that male victims of rape and domestic violence is the fact that their masculinity is seen as something that can only be preserved by being 'tough' and not speaking out about it; feminism works towards abolishing strict gender stereotypes and allowing everyone to express themselves however they want regardless of gender. It's not about pitting genders against each other, it's about realising that genders shouldn't even be a factor in how someone treats another.
To answer your question, feminists are actually responsibly for changing the FBI's definition of rape in their "Rape is Rape" campaign to remove the female specification to include men. That's just one example among others that are beneficial to BOTH genders. You have to stop thinking of it as a 'who benefits more' because that's just divisive. It isn't a competition, and it isn't about favouring genders.

[Anonymous]

Women literally have more rights than men in the west (yes they do! i invite you to do as much research as you want), why aren't feminists trying to get men more rights or trying to take away rights from women to fit their supposed subscribed idea of equality?

[Michelle892]

"why aren't feminists trying to get men more rights" LOL

[Opinion Owner]

If they truly where feminists by definition, they would be

[Maverickj]

@Michelle892

Why are you so opposed against men having equal rights to women? Sexist.

[Marinepilot]

Because they are hypocrites !

[9mfeo]

I think you should familiarize yourself with more feminist literature. Your point of view is ok, just not yet complete. Keep thinking and reading more things about feminism in your community. Thank you for your view point.

[Butterfly1002]

Wow I would love to see such a comparison to what is said in women's magazines... but I"m not sure where you would find someone that far out there who thinks the things I've come across in women's magazines...

[BertMacklinFBI]

im all for equality, but lets just call it equality right. fuck it.

[YolaMoore]

Such a great take. I have read many, many takes on feminism, considering its pretty much all that anyone on here ever talks about, and this one was a standout.

[CityBoy773]

Am I a feminist if I just want equal rights for men and women, and that includes women signing up for the draft?

[PT1911]

$5 says some feminist will say women shouldn't sign up for the draft...

[CityBoy773]

I think new age feminists will do that.

[anon4122]

new age feminists are gonna sink the movement in my opinion.

[CityBoy773]

I honestly agree. I mean, it started out good, but they began taking shit too far. Back in the day, it was good. Great even. Now, its ridiculous. As always, good things never last.

[Anonymous]

I think feminism is just a horrible word and the concept of it promotes injustice. The word has to be defended a lot because a ton of what they do is ridiculous. It's about time for that movement to die and for egalitarianism (true equality) to take over its place.