Feminism: An illustration
A lot of people don’t seem to understand what feminism is and and how it is different from separatism, so I’m going to use an obnoxiously popular meme to illustrate my point.
The misogynist says, “Woman, go into the kitchen and make me a sammich!”
The non-feminist woman says, “Okay, dear.”
The separatist woman says, “No, you make me a sammich!”
The feminist woman says, “No, you can make your own sammich. And please don’t talk to me like that again.”
The difference is that feminism is the only assertive option. Those who don’t identify as feminist are generally passive to patriarchy in one way or another; either they don’t oppose the sexualisation and sexual exploitation of women, or they feel that sexism no longer exists, or they stereotype men as idiots who only think with their penises, and accept it as normal when a man acts as they expect. They direct their anger towards feminism and feminists instead of standing up for women’s rights.
Separatists are very angry, and have an aggressive ideology. They may view men as morally inferior to women, and may view a simple role reversal between men and women as the remedy for our society’s woes. Some may refer to themselves as “feminist separatists,” but most feminists would do not consider the separatist ideology as compatible with feminism.
Many feminists are angry, too, as we should be. Most people should be angry. However, the feminist philosophy is an assertive one. It involves standing up to power and injustice, and demanding equal treatment. Feminism does not assert that one gender is inferior to any other; in fact, it is the only gender-related philosophy that views all genders as equal. No egalitarian philosophy or strategy can reach its end goal without having a feminist foundation.
I tried to “like” your post, but WordPress won’t let me. Very articulate and well stated IMHO.
Thank you. I don’t know why you can’t “like” this post. Maybe you have to be a WordPress member?
Why does the non-feminist woman have to say “Ok Dear?” There exists neutral mindsets or individuals who can have functional relationships with the opposite sex, sans politics getting in the way. You don’t always have to present an extremist point of view to relay your message or live your life.
Because this is a metaphorical illustration of different philosophies about gender. The non-feminist may not say, “Okay, dear,” in that specific situation, but their general reaction to patriarchy is a passive one. As I already explained, feminism is not extremist, it is the struggle for gender equality.
Politics are all around us, they will always “get in the way.” To ignore politics is to ignore cause and effect.
[...] Feminism: An illustration « sitakali Many feminists are angry, too, as we should be. Most people should be angry. However, the feminist philosophy is an assertive one. It involves standing up to power and injustice, and demanding equal treatment. Source: sitakali.org [...]
Feminism: An illustration « sitakali | Gender issues | Scoop.it said this on 18 September, 2011 at 2:00 pm |
You know, for a long time I believed that we had come a very long way in gender equality. And certainly there are examples that show progress. But I think common representations of feminism are glaring proof that not only is there a long way to go, there is concerted effort in trying to ensure things go no further.
Every example of feminism I can think of ever seeing generally stereotype feminists as one of two things; 1) The hard faced up-tight woman who preaches the inferiority of men. And often this type has a change of heart after ‘getting laid’ by a ‘real man.’ 2) A woman who sleeps with everyone under the guise of ‘claiming her sexuality.’ Teaching that it is good to be overly promiscuous, because that is what makes women an equal of men.
So not only do little girls not have a positive role model to help teach her how to assert herself, they’re taught that asserting themselves either makes them a bitch or a whore. And boys get programmed to both be repulsed by the very word ‘feminist,’ while at the same time feminist women become the ultimate sex object.
No woman who actually exhibits true feminist qualities is ever identified as a feminist. And by confusing what a feminist really is, that removes a very powerful force that women and men can rally around to actually affect change. Obscure the word and dilute the movement.
Or maybe it’s just me viewing things through an overly conspiracy sensative mind.
What examples of feminism are you referring to? Have you read books/blog posts by people who call themselves feminists, or have you only been exposed to people who denounce feminism and create straw-men (or straw-women, lol) feminists?
You should check out the feminist blogs out there, and feminist literature. I’m currently reading two books: One is “Delusions of Gender” by Cordelia Fine, a cognitive neuroscientist. It busts a lot of the pop-psychology and pop-science myths about gender differences. The other is “Female Chauvinist Pigs,” about the rise of female participation in raunch culture. Some good blogs are: http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/, http://msmagazine.com/blog/, http://www.feministe.us/blog/, http://femenins.blogspot.com/, http://blog.shrub.com/. There are also some blogs, like mine, that are not solely dedicated to feminism, but the bloggers are feminists: http://skepchick.org/, http://dbzer0.com/, http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen, and many many more. I’m subscribed to several feminist Tumblrs as well.
I was referring mainly to how feminism is being potrayed in pop culture/mainstream media. I think that’s one of the main reasons for the confusion between a feminist and a separatist. Anyone labeled in the media as a feminist, is generally actually a separatist, or the other extreme, women that argue that promiscuity, strip clubs, porn ect. are good because they flip the playing field, using sex to get what they want out of men. For a long time I didn’t know those weren’t actually feminists. So naturally, I had a negative view of feminism.
Thanks for the links, I will definitely check them out. I’m always interested in learning more about… well pretty much everything. I think I have a much clearer view of feminism now, but I still haven’t had much exposure to feminism from the point of view of actual feminists. And seeing things from other people’s point of view… one of the best parts of being human.
Yes, it is horribly portrayed in pop culture, and it is deliberate. The book I’m reading, “Female Chauvinist Pigs,” is about the whole “flip the playing field” concept.
Yes, this is primarily why most people have a negative view of feminism. People who haven’t grown up with feminist parents almost always grow up with a distorted view of feminism, never having read any feminist literature or actually spoken to a feminist.
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