Feminism: Not Just For Women
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[social_warfare]
Feminism is not just for women. Men should be feminists, too. That’s right, I said it. Now – before you get all bent out of shape, let’s explore exactly what feminism means.
According to Wikipedia:
Feminism is a collection of movements and ideologies aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights for women. This includes seeking to establish equal opportunities for women in education and employment. A feminist advocates or supports the rights and equality of women.
I suppose my first question would be, what about this definition would make someone from either gender not want to be a feminist?
The word has found itself in some unfortunate circumstances as it has been thrown around by seemingly anti-male women in order to over-exaggerate their equality, which defeats the purpose. Man-bashers are often equated with feminists when they are very much not the same thing.
The very notion of equality within feminism is where the focus has to stay. Equality does not mean bringing another down to lift yourself up. I believe the “extreme” feminists need to take heed of this while they wave their banners and demand the male race to bow down.
That’s not the point. It’s not a war, it’s not a competition. It’s not about women beating their chests, tossing their men to the curb and saying “WE CAN DO IT!” It’s a collaboration between the sexes. That is the only true way to create equality.
Notice in the quote above I bolded the word equality. The point is that we are all on the same team. We are all equal members of humanity and all have unique things to contribute to society. Women run companies (and countries), start businesses, create art, raise families, make important decisions, and build their own success(es), just as well – if not better in some cases – than men.
So, what exactly is the hold up here? Why are women still oppressed or treated unfairly in some cultures? And how can we help the rest of the world progress to these realizations?
To be an oppressed party, there must be an oppressing party. As a man I am embarrassed to say that the only reason this is a problem is because men have created it. However, I am also proud to say that for the same reason, we are the solution.
Gentlemen, we need to take initiative and be militant against any sort of mistreatment or disrespect of any individual based on gender. We need to promote and speak out for equality. We need to accept the ideas and thoughts of a female co-worker the same way as we would a man’s.
Why wouldn’t we?
Equality is a funny thing. It is different than being the same. Anatomically and biologically we all know that women are different than men – but that should have no bearing on the level of respect we give each other. Because of these nuances as well as their differences in life experience and upbringing, they are able to offer us valuable and unique perspectives on the world, shining it in a new light.
Real feminists are not against men, they are for equality and the greater good. If this notion makes you nervous, remember that people of quality do not shy away from equality.
I’m on humanity’s side, whose side are you on?
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James, what happened to this blog post?? I can’t click over to it
Bob
Hi Bob,
I was undecided about keeping the post up or re-publishing it at a later date. Try it now, it should be working.
Gender stereotypes hurt men just as they hurt women. The same system that calls women weak and emotional demands than men be stoic and strong, never able to express emotions (other than anger or lust) or be vulnerable without being called a “sissy”, to the detriment of mental health of men everywhere. Any system that stymies the personal expression of the individual because of categories like gender or race or orientation is obviously bad news. When men and women alike strive for equality, everyone wins.
So true, Beth!
We have a university project on gender empowerment and I’d LOVE to include this post and Beth’s comment. It was beautifully phrased. And an amazing blog post. Would that be alright?
Our site is : facebook.com/speakequality
Hey there, that would be great! Please feel free to include whatever you’d like and let me know if there is any other way I can help.
Also, this article may be of interest as well: http://jamesmsama.com/2013/12/08/we-are-equal-but-not-the-same/
Thanks again!
– JMS
AWESOME! YES, this is exactly what we’re talking about on our page.Our professor has challenged our group to get a minimum 5,000 likes to a social media page, and try and have people from all around the world, with different opinions, comment and voice their opinion. We have weekly themes- this week is feminism- and we could use all the help we can get. If you’d like, please join our page and share it with your network.
I’ll be posting a link to your blog tomorrow morning. Thanks for letting me share it!
I love this! You have said so many things that I think all the time but don’t always know how to put into words. Love this post! Thanks for sharing!
Hi James,
My name is Alex and I just had a quick question about your blog. Please email me back at your earliest convenience!
Hi there…Jamie? Alex? Haha.
Please let me know the best email to reach you at and I will get in touch.
Thanks,
– James
I love your posts brooo…
Beautiful, THANK YOU for this – seriously. I am so tired of people viewing feminism a negative light! Every time I see a feminism-bashing comment I feel the need to say something, which usually turns into a mini-novel, obviously, so it gets frustrating! Ahh! So again, thank you 🙂
I think I actually disagree with you here. Not because I oppose equality, I’m firmly with you on that, but because I think there comes a time where we must accept that public perception of a term has redefined it. And in the case of feminism, I think that time has come. When the words and actions of the extremists causes large numbers of women to refuse to identify as feminists, and gives truth and validity to the far right pundits, then the time has come to coin a new term that describes philosophies of gender equality.
[…] What happened? Empowerment, equal opportunity, big salaries, and finally, equality for women. One of the many reasons why these things are great (yes, I am saying it’s great) is because it allows each individual in a relationship to be just that – an equal individual, as it should be. I am a strong advocate of equality for all. […]
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