Confused about Feminism
Not me, although I have my moments!
I found Angel’s blog (1SmartMom) as part of a BlogJolt I found. The jolt is fun. It gets people reading here and I get to find other blogs to browse. 1SmartMom struck a cord with me. She makes a lot of sense.
Her post "Fight Like a Girl" set me thinking - I know, I know, thinking isn’t always a good thing here!
Have you ever heard the insult “You fight like a girl”? Well, have you ever seen a mother of any species fight when her child has been threatened. No man has ever been so tough.
I can even agree with most of her religious references and analysis, where I would normally spontaneously combust!
Genesis clearly shows that women are not the problem, but the solution. God says “It is not good for man to be alone”, and then he proceeded to create the beautiful specimen called WOMAN!
So why does Angel say she is confused by "So called feminists". She says we are "outspoken groups who obviously hate men, but apparrently hate being a woman." but then follows it with "I am very much in favor of any gender or race doing or being anything they want to be."
So my desire for this generation of young women is to swing the pendulum of the feminst movement into balance. I want to teach my daughter that she can be anything she wants to be in life, Doctor, Lawyer, Minister, Athlete, U.S. President, ballet dancer, Olympic Champion of Catapulting, or Stay-At-Home-Mom and Devoted wife.
I don’t think she’s confused at all. I think she sees the projected image of a demonised feminist stereotype while balancing that with her own desire for her daughters to be strong and free to choose. It’s a hard thing to reconcile. It’s easy to see and feel the confusion. But I would like to call myself Feminist. But I am no man hater. I have a son (and a daughter) and they have a father. I have a father, I had a brother. I have male friends. I love them all hugely, as individuals. My problem is not with the individual but with the society that differentiates and divides us. The society that demonises the one (women) and empowers the other (men) - for the same thing - being strong.
How can a woman feel good about being female when society, including “feminists”, paints it as a negative thing? Why is it that our success as a woman is measured and weighed by that of a man?
See! I said she wasn’t confused! Get rid of the demonised image of the stereotypical Feminist and see us as people: mothers, sisters, neighbours, daughters, friends, cousins - then we may be able to stand together and achieve the goals Angel speaks of. Our daughters will have true freedom of choice, sons too.
well I think she’s confused - send her to witchy’s place for a good sorting - incidentally there is an interesting take on the old ‘you’re a feminist you must hate men’ canard at biting beaver incisorful blog
Comment by simplywondered — October 4, 2006 @ 7:54 pm
“How can a woman feel good about being female when society, including “feminists”, paints it as a negative thing?”
Crikey. Feminists paint being female as a bad thing?
A tad more reading of feminist analysis required there, methinks.
Comment by witchy-woo — October 7, 2006 @ 11:44 pm
would you like to supersize that ‘tad’, madam?
Comment by simplywondered — October 8, 2006 @ 10:23 pm
**ducks behind sofa**
SW called Witchy “Madam”
I’m scared….
Comment by ethicallyspeaking — October 8, 2006 @ 10:35 pm
oh fuh goodness’ sake, sarah, it’s like you have no idea how they speak in BK. (BK is a ‘popular’ (ish) grilled ‘meat’ (ish) ‘restaurant’ (ishishish), m’lud)
Comment by simplywondered — October 10, 2006 @ 10:11 pm
BK, another one of those “food” places I don’t like to take my kids into.
I’ve never been called “madam” in there anyway. Maybe it’s because I look so damned SCARY
Comment by ethicallyspeaking — October 10, 2006 @ 10:19 pm
bloody hell - i was assuming you’d never go in there.
Comment by simplywondered — October 11, 2006 @ 7:28 am
I reluctanty go in now and then, when the kids are starving and I scowl at the poor pimply youths behind the counter.
Comment by ethicallyspeaking — October 14, 2006 @ 10:55 pm