Alright, guys, I was just looking at this thread [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.270981-Poll-Do-you-consider-yourself-a-feminist], and I'm about to go Super Saiyan as a result. There are tons of people questioning the OP's definition of feminism and further perpetrating that feminists are angry, crazy women who want more rights than men.
This is contradictory to the core values of feminism. Feminism, at a basic level, is and has always been about EQUALITY between men and women. It was prompted by women feeling left out when men had more rights than them- i.e. right to vote, right to own property, right to be an individual citizen as a daughter or in marriage, etc. Just read Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Women and you'll know what I'm talking about. But another aspect of feminism, especially more recently, has been the liberation of men from gender expectations as well as pushing for equal rights for any group that is departmentalized against, with the logic that if they are not helped, then women will not receive aid either. In this way, it has taken a much more humanist approach. Every single feminist I have met, and I have met a few unsavory feminists, has gone by this philosophy, and has never believed that women should have more rights than men. Do you really have so much daily interaction with feminists that you can claim otherwise, or just a few flimsy anecdotes? Have you ever actually studied feminist theory? Please stop going by a tired old stereotype perpetrated by the media and actually look at the feminist movement as a whole before you judge it. At least give it the courtesy of a Google search [http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Feminism].
EDIT: There seems to be confusion as to why I have brought up Wollstonecraft. This isn't to say that people haven't changed in the time since the book was written, but rather to give some historical context for feminism and to show that in its inception (though feminism does go back farther than Wollstonecraft, she is a good example of one of its earliest modern incarnations) it was still largely about equality.
EDIT 2: People seem to think that just because I am defending feminists (OH NOES HOW TERRIBLE AHHHHH) that I myself am one of the raging feminists that I claim is largely a mythological being. Actually, while I am a woman and have studied feminism, those studies were largely incidental and parts of courses focused on other subjects. I agree with equal rights, of course, but have never really thought about labeling myself as a feminist. Though, because I do support equal rights, I guess I am. But the main reason I posted this is because I am tired of the "feminazi" stereotype. People who spread it sound to me like Glenn Beck and his numerous and hilarious comparisons of things that don't deserve it to the Nazis. In real life, it's just as wrong as the "lazy mexican" or "dumb black person" stereotypes, and in fiction, it usually makes for boring writing. I just want it to die.
Also, ever heard of hyperbole? I call it a myth, knowing that you guys can probably come up with a counterexample or two, because it is not a proper representation of most feminists or feminist schools of thought. Its largely fiction perpetrated by tired writing in even the best of programs- such as The Simpsons. Please don't discredit my entire argument because of one word used stylistically in a manner you didn't understand.
This is contradictory to the core values of feminism. Feminism, at a basic level, is and has always been about EQUALITY between men and women. It was prompted by women feeling left out when men had more rights than them- i.e. right to vote, right to own property, right to be an individual citizen as a daughter or in marriage, etc. Just read Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Women and you'll know what I'm talking about. But another aspect of feminism, especially more recently, has been the liberation of men from gender expectations as well as pushing for equal rights for any group that is departmentalized against, with the logic that if they are not helped, then women will not receive aid either. In this way, it has taken a much more humanist approach. Every single feminist I have met, and I have met a few unsavory feminists, has gone by this philosophy, and has never believed that women should have more rights than men. Do you really have so much daily interaction with feminists that you can claim otherwise, or just a few flimsy anecdotes? Have you ever actually studied feminist theory? Please stop going by a tired old stereotype perpetrated by the media and actually look at the feminist movement as a whole before you judge it. At least give it the courtesy of a Google search [http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Feminism].
EDIT: There seems to be confusion as to why I have brought up Wollstonecraft. This isn't to say that people haven't changed in the time since the book was written, but rather to give some historical context for feminism and to show that in its inception (though feminism does go back farther than Wollstonecraft, she is a good example of one of its earliest modern incarnations) it was still largely about equality.
EDIT 2: People seem to think that just because I am defending feminists (OH NOES HOW TERRIBLE AHHHHH) that I myself am one of the raging feminists that I claim is largely a mythological being. Actually, while I am a woman and have studied feminism, those studies were largely incidental and parts of courses focused on other subjects. I agree with equal rights, of course, but have never really thought about labeling myself as a feminist. Though, because I do support equal rights, I guess I am. But the main reason I posted this is because I am tired of the "feminazi" stereotype. People who spread it sound to me like Glenn Beck and his numerous and hilarious comparisons of things that don't deserve it to the Nazis. In real life, it's just as wrong as the "lazy mexican" or "dumb black person" stereotypes, and in fiction, it usually makes for boring writing. I just want it to die.
Also, ever heard of hyperbole? I call it a myth, knowing that you guys can probably come up with a counterexample or two, because it is not a proper representation of most feminists or feminist schools of thought. Its largely fiction perpetrated by tired writing in even the best of programs- such as The Simpsons. Please don't discredit my entire argument because of one word used stylistically in a manner you didn't understand.
