Welcome to another mytake, but before we start, let me put a bit of a foreword just so you get an understanding what I'm writing here.
This is going to be a small series of the variety of people I have met and interacted with. DO NOTE, that there will be both good things and bad things about them and this is PURELY anecdotal. Should you be part of or against any of the groups you are against, understand that this is not intended to harm or support those groups, but rather my musings of interacting with these groups.
Now with that out of the way, let's get onto the first topic.
Feminists: The fighters for rights
Now, there is no question that feminists are a pretty well-known group, what makes them so interesting is that they have this unique characteristic where many people will either support or hate the group.
I've met quite a few feminists in all kinds of environments. University, School, workplaces, protests/marches, meetups etc.
Many of you will agree that feminism is a blight to the world, often proclaiming female supremacy or destruction of males and those who defend them or they are simply an old relic, no longer needed for your society.
Many of you will agree that feminism is a force needed for this world, often proclaiming the many issues and social injustices that plague the world left and right. Where governments and other high institutes fail to do what is morally right, it is up to the people to ensure and check that the government is doing what they are elected to do.
Whatever the case, feminists will continue to strive for social justice and to support the people that they believe are in need of help.
Amiable exchange, leaking aggression
I've had the pleasure of talking to many feminists, though I don't necessarily see them eye to eye. While their views have slight variances, their core reasons of being a feminists are often the same in most cases.
They were generally affable, eager to tell me about the importance of feminism, why they joined feminism and why there needs to be more action in regards to the issues. They would often talk about the issues plaguing in Australia's society such as sexual harassment in various industry, wage gap and media representation.
However, I didn't want the conversations to be so one-sided. Thus I often challenge their views, often putting a semi-solid argument. Note, this isn't to directly oppose them, I generally do this to see if they just consume what is given to them or if they have done some degree of research to support their beliefs.
Interestingly enough, quite a few have managed to debunk or at the very least put a question on my counter-claim.
One of the most interesting cases is the Karl Stefanovic and Lisa Wilkinson pay issue where the latter left due to pay disputes. They would often point to this as one of the biggest cases in due to the wage gap issue. However, I would often point how Karl (who is paid more of the two), has the responsibilities of working in additional programs such as hosting another show or working as a standard journalist for another news program.
What makes me really interested, is that some feminists would concede that Karl does indeed deserve more due to the extra jobs he undertakes, but that doesn't change the fact that it is still a possibility should Karl and Lisa had the same amount of responsibilities, Karl would still be paid more.
Now, I made it clear in my intentions after this small debate that I had no interest in directly opposing their views, but merely interested in how they arrive into their conclusions through their deductions and investigations.
What is even more interesting is, that some of them admits that some of the vocal minority in feminism often made them question whether they should remain feminists. They joined feminism for the fact that they believe it is morally correct to fight for certain issues not being addressed by our government in a proper fashion. Most infamously this year, Australia's same-sex marriage issue.
Despite that, many of the feminists do appear to be polite and fairly logical in their understandings of what they are fighting for and what they believe to be the correct sources of information. However, their tendencies to dismiss evidence without a proper argument have often left me a little confounded as to why. A feminist, has kindly told me that she often deals with the same 'counter-arguments' and she is simply exhausted trying to provide the same debunk, thus just find it easier to dismiss it without critically looking at it.
I do understand where she is coming from however, feminism often deals with a large amount of information, more troubling for them is the fact that not all of these information are thoroughly supported and that there are certain 'feminists' within their ranks often making false information as well. While there are solid evidence in a fair amount of issues, it isn't uncommon for feminists to face information fatigue of some sort.
The feminists here have been pleasant, though they do make it clear they have their misgivings for certain groups such as extreme conservatives or some members of the Government, they certainly try to be as civil as they can.
Passion that shines bright and burns indiscriminately
Feminists, are perhaps one of the most passionate groups I've ever come across when it comes to exercising their right to protest or host rallies and marches. I've even had the chance to document a few but that's not the point here.
Whether I agree or disagree with what they are fighting for, I find it amazing how their passion for what they fight in to be so vigorous. I've talked to quite a few feminists in this environment and unlike the above, they definitely shown to be far more assertive in what they believe in.
However, I've made no effort to challenge their views but rather just observe as they held speeches about their purposes as well as their chants as they march through the major streets to make a point. Regardless, their ability to round up a large amount of people of all kinds had left a solid impression on me and I do take enjoyment into their fervent push for social justice.
In some ways, it is admirable that they are willing to call for people to take a stand with them in issues they believe needs to be resolved, in my eyes, their passion for what they believe is truly right is quite a marvellous sight to behold.
Anger, far more destructive than any weapon
I have, however, had the displeasure of meeting certain feminists that has proven to be combative or non-compromising. Even worse, they make no indication of either debating or justifying their position, but instead would rather blame another party for their misfortune if it doesn't affect them on a personal level.
While I'm not completely sure why they have such an aggressive push for it, I do believe that their hatred does stem from rather unfortunate circumstances. More often then not, they do make it difficult to sympathise with. Another thing that makes them detestable to those who oppose feminists are often their less than civil means on achieving their goals. In some ways I find, it sabotages their own goals as more people starts to view feminism as a movement for supremacy rather than equality.
Another thing to note, which I find fascinating, is that these 'feminists' mostly appear under very tense circumstances. Another feminist told me that she blatantly dislikes those 'extreme feminists' because it escalates the conflict rather than finding a solution together. She reasons and acknowledges the fact that feminism makes it difficult to believe that it stands for equality thanks to people who used feminism's name for less than stellar reasons. To her and other moderate feminists, it frustrates them because calling them out can prove to be very divisive and will weaken what feminism stands for anyways.
It lead me to believe that angry 'feminists' have in many ways sabotaged their own movement, not necessarily in their intentions, but simply because their aggressive means have driven support or potential ones away from the movement.
In the end, they are just like any other person... human
Whether I agree with them or not, whether I judge them kindly or not, feminists aren't exactly what I call 'very different' from the rest of the public. Like anyone else, they have a strong belief in what is right to them and what is wrong to them.
When they hear stories that really speaks to them, whether it is a high profile sexual assault case or seemingly illogical system that benefits a particular set of people without a reasonable justification, they put it on themselves to make a point to those in power in attempt to make a change for the better.
However, unlike most groups, feminism is in a strange position where they lack a complete overall authority or leadership. While yes, there are feminists that are considered well-known and 'leaders' of the movement, many feminists I talked to have voiced that they don't always completely agree with those 'feminists'.
Secondly, it isn't like a company or club where you have a card or ID saying 'I'm a feminist'. Anyone can call themselves that regardless of their other disposition such as whether they are religious or whether they are liberal or conservative.
It makes feminism very fragile in terms of their unity, I'm sure some of you are aware of fringe groups of feminism such as 'TERFS' or 'White feminists'. There have been large disagreements between some and it often makes it difficult to determine the true aim of feminism other than the vague term of 'equality for the sexes!'
Overall, I find feminists to be very exciting individuals, their passion to fight for what they believe is right is certainly an interesting part of the world. I've no doubt that in the future, feminism will continue to affect the minds of many people of all kinds... whether it is for the better or worse.
Next time on Personal Anthropological Journal
The next group I'd like talk about is Christians. They are perhaps, the religious group I am most exposed to and I have a fair bit to talk about them.
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