Are you a Feminist?

Feminism: "the advocacy of women's rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes" 

Do you consider yourself a feminist?

Have you ever given much thought as to whether you are a feminist or not? Was there any defining experience or moment that made you want to "fight" (or learn about) for equality between the sexes because you felt discriminated against? If you aren't a feminist, is it simply you do not know much about it or not given it a lot of thought before? Or do you disagree with feminism totally? If so, can I ask why? 

What are you thoughts on feminism itself? 
What are you first impressions of feminism? Do you know much about it? Do you think it affects you directly? Has it even helped you, or maybe it hasn't helped you? Have you experienced sexism for yourself? Does sexism even exists? This might be a curious question, but I've heard and read about how some people (women included), have felt that there isn't any more "real" sexism left; some women don't and have never felt discriminated against for their gender. Some think, we have, on a whole, achieved equality between men and women. Women can vote, they have jobs, they can do as much as they want and whatever they want.... just like men. Some feel, those who continue to advocate for feminism are simply being too sensitive. Do you agree with this view? 
Does feminism leave men out in the dark? Is it actually more of a movement about getting women to be superior to men? Or do you think feminism actually helps to advocate women's rights just as much as men's rights in some issues? 

Do you think feminism is still relevant today? 
Is feminism outdated? As I said before, it seems like we've achieved equality between the sexes. Should feminism be left to the history books? Do we need feminism anymore, especially in this day and age? Like.. what more can feminism fight for? 


Honestly, I'm just curious as to what soompiers thought about feminism. I've recently gotten quite interested in the topic, and am no way an expert or even have a hefty knowledge about it. If anything, I'm still coming to learn more about it and along with all its various and complicated issues. But I want to know how soompiers felt, especially since most soompiers are young teenage girls, and feminism is such an "old" movement. That's not to say, I'm trying to exclude male soompiers, if anything I want to know more about what you think about feminism! I've written quite a lot of questions, but you don't have to answer all of them, its just some food for thought. 

To start the ball rolling, yes, I would consider myself a feminist. In the past, I never thought I was ever truly discriminated against for being a woman. No-one ever said to me "you can't do that because you're a woman". But, obviously sexism isn't always so brash and direct. It can be very subtle. And having thought back to my experiences I realised I was treated in a certain way because I was a woman, or more accurately because I was a girl at the time. However, I only really came to claim myself to be a feminist as of last year/this year... this was when I actually started studying and learning more about feminism itself. Before last year, I didn't really have any idea of what exactly feminism was and how it worked, or even how it benefited me. I was very much one of those who believed that on a whole men and women were equal, we had all the same principle rights as men, and couldn't see what more feminism could do. I hadn't realised that such issues as porn, or feminine appearances etc were real topics of feminism, or that, that was anything to deal with in those issues. There's still a lot of kinks within feminism I'm trying to work out for myself, but on a whole I think feminism is still very relevant for today, and that we are still in need of it. 

Feminism is the most extreme example of penis envy.

I will state my opinion from my religious perspective.

I believe in equality but not feminism. Feminism and equality may or may not be the same thing. I will explain why below. I believe patriarchy still remains relevant and valuable today. Hence why males pay for most dates instead of females, or instead of splitting. Males have to lead, protect, be the foundation of a family.

Each gender has their own respective roles and responsibilities. Sure, they can interchange the responsibilities while other roles and duties shouldn't be tampered with. God made man and woman equal. One is not below or a slave to another. Both genders deserve credit for anything accomplished. Some females are better technicians than men. Some men are better cooks than women. Etcetera.

- I agree that females deserve as much pay as men in terms of business.
- I disagree that females should be able to do certain jobs as men such as military or racecar driving. That's asking too much for a gender not necessarily designed to fit that role. It's based on standard biological and psychological factors. Females do not usually have high testosterone, rage, killer instinct like men do.

All females deserve absolute respect. There are tons of sexual harassment and rape being swept under the carpet. In high-end corporations, in the militaries, etc. Look at India and Middle Eastern countries.
In general, I do believe feminism is relevant today. Not necessarily extreme feminism. If a guy messes with me on the street, I punch him in the face. If females wanted 100% equality, I'd punch a female in the face if she messed with me. Is that right? Obviously not. Be careful how you define feminism and lose the double standards.

Do you consider yourself a feminist?
No.

What are you thoughts on feminism itself?

I'm all for fairness regardless of gender and believe that feminism has achieved milestones in establishing that fairness. However, there are far too many idiots who use feminism the same way the Westboro Baptist Church uses god. I've seen too much misandry and ignorance that shout feminism to defend their bullcrap. Until feminism starts to seriously curb and reprimand this portion of their community, I can't fully respect them.

Also, even legitimate feminism has some serious criticisms that it needs to face. I read an article earlier about women who jog feeling harassed by men who are behind them. It came off absurd given that the whole article was about how the woman FELT, and nothing about what actually happened. The woman could've ran into a public park with people walking around, sat down at a bench to rest, if the guy stopped and chatted, she could've made her feeling known and both would be on their way. If he was was attempting something, well he'd certainly be less enthusiastic about doing so with others around. Now, what did she do, she kept running with the idea that she's going to be raped, judged him to be a criminal, and acted from one assumption to another, all of this justified by how she "feels" rather than reasoning.

I share similar sentiments toward feminism as

(language NSFW) does, but am more willing to give it a chance, because there are still some important issues that feminism can help with.

Do you think feminism is still relevant today?

Absolutely. There are still critical issues, such as the disparity of women in engineering, mathematics, and computer science. I don't agree with the sentiments that companies should more or less apply gender based affirmative action as that won't the core issue at hand, which is women aren't really expected or encouraged prior to university to pursue these areas. I went to uni as a comp sci major and my uni had a 7 female to 1 male ratio, but my department may as well have been a Buddhist temple. It was probably the only area where the ratios were switched around and twice as high. I can only imagine the gap getting wider without a better appeal toward women, and maybe feminism can help there. I am of course also fully aware that the male majority in these fields need to help create a more female friendly environment and demonstrate  the appropriate respects that follow as there have been very poor examples.

jgman said:
What are you first impressions of feminism? Do you know much about it? Do you think it affects you directly? Has it even helped you, or maybe it hasn't helped you? Have you experienced sexism for yourself? Does sexism even exists? This might be a curious question, but I've heard and read about how some people (women included), have felt that there isn't any more "real" sexism left; some women don't and have never felt discriminated against for their gender. Some think, we have, on a whole, achieved equality between men and women. Women can vote, they have jobs, they can do as much as they want and whatever they want.... just like men. Some feel, those who continue to advocate for feminism are simply being too sensitive. Do you agree with this view?

zulmme. said:Before I posted this I read this http://www.buzzfeed.com/ailbhemalone/19-examples-of-everyday-sexism  because I wanted to understand what “sexism” means for others.  It’s shocking for me why a woman would be offended by that. Ok, some were rude remarks, but I really think that lady doesn't have a sense of humor. Even if it may appear as “sexism” it isn’t done with bad intention. ( the 5th point was epic ) Also some fields are more appealing to women than men and viceversa, it's a fact. I don't think a woman should be offended if a man acknowledge she's  good in a field dominated by men and take it as an insult for women, that man only show his admiration. He doesn't think women are too stupid to understand mechanics, he knows that, in general, women are not interested in mechanics,so he doesn't expect you to know. Some people see first the glass half full, others see first it half empty and take offense easily.

lol. Am I the only one that finds the entire list on that website appalling? I hear of similar stories and never witnessed those crude sexist remarks said in person. Men shouldn't joke on that level.
#2, 5, 6, 13, 17 are expected/typical in daily life in the city streets.

Oh dear god, the responses on this topic are about to get my blood boiling. To keep this short, yes I'm a feminist and so should everyone else. Feminism doesn't mean let's go attack men. It means, hey it's not fair that equality isn't well, equal.

Mannosuke said:
If a man walks up to you and asks how much do you want for your body, you're just going to laugh it off cause you have a sense of humor?

Feminism is totally retarded.

A woman is a woman, with their own characteristics, and so too is a man a man, with his own characteristics.

The two are not equal. Why are we playing this game with ourselves?

This is kind of like children pretending they're dinosaurs or superheros, except now, the children don't think they're pretending.

We're both human, in that sense, we are equal.

But are all bears equal? Are all dogs equal? Are all monkeys equal? Obviously not.

A chimp and a gorilla?

Polar bears and grizzly bears?

Oh, what about chiwawas and pit bulls?

Advocate rights for yourself within the honest capabilities that entails a women, but don't advocate them on the grounds of equality, because equality is not entirely true.

Equality is 1=1. So Women = Man, is complete bogus, that doesn't mean you're inferior, it just means you should stop comparing yourselves to another gender, with different capabilities and characteristics as your own gender.

Just sport what you got, and stop making simple as-is facts into complex matters.

Feminism has been warped lately by SJW. I do support equal rights.

wexbelongxtogether said:

I don't really think I can call myself a feminist. Of course I'm an advocate for sexual liberty and anti-richard simmons shaming, equality of pay, perception, etc. However I don't know what fourth wave feminism is about, or more like, feminism in industrialized nations. There are so many theories about what is empowerment, and people I know are talking about how skinny jeans are empowering for women but I just don't understand such concepts. I guess the term humanist would be what I'm qualified as? 

Feminism is bs they expect to be equal yet there's double standards. You know the man should pay the bill, the man needs to open the door, and men can't hit women cause "it's wrong."

I saw a video where there was an experiment between abuse in a relationship where first the man would be abusive and then the woman would be abusive. No surprise no one stepped in to help the guy getting abused by his gf. But plenty told the guy to back off when the man was being abusive to the gf.

Feminism my richard simmons.

5880

said:

Do you consider yourself a feminist?

No.

What are you thoughts on feminism itself?

I'm all for fairness regardless of gender and believe that feminism has achieved milestones in establishing that fairness. However, there are far too many idiots who use feminism the same way the Westboro Baptist Church uses god. I've seen too much misandry and ignorance that shout feminism to defend their bul

lcrap. Until feminism starts to seriously curb and reprimand this portion of their community, I can't fully respect them.

I think the issue about feminism is everyone has their own distorted view of what feminism is or should be. It's already obvious in this thread that most cannot agree on the definition of feminism.

5880 said: Do you consider yourself a feminist?
No.

What are you thoughts on feminism itself?

I'm all for fairness regardless of gender and believe that feminism has achieved milestones in establishing that fairness. However, there are far too many idiots who use feminism the same way the Westboro Baptist Church uses god. I've seen too much misandry and ignorance that shout feminism to defend their bullcrap. Until feminism starts to seriously curb and reprimand this portion of their community, I can't fully respect them.

Also, even legitimate feminism has some serious criticisms that it needs to face. I read an article earlier about women who jog feeling harassed by men who are behind them. It came off absurd given that the whole article was about how the woman FELT, and nothing about what actually happened. The woman could've ran into a public park with people walking around, sat down at a bench to rest, if the guy stopped and chatted, she could've made her feeling known and both would be on their way. If he was was attempting something, well he'd certainly be less enthusiastic about doing so with others around. Now, what did she do, she kept running with the idea that she's going to be raped, judged him to be a criminal, and acted from one assumption to another, all of this justified by how she "feels" rather than reasoning.

I share similar sentiments toward feminism as

(language NSFW) does, but am more willing to give it a chance, because there are still some important issues that feminism can help with.

What she feels is her own problem. I can understand being wary of walking out of the house and being wary of what could happen outside, but her rushed judgments and mentality was practically paranoia.

Let me tell you a story about "feelings." 4 - 5 years back, friend and I went to a Merced house party, drank some beers, walked around the house, opened a door, closed it, couple in bed at it, continued mingling before we left. A couple days later, friend is telling me that the guy we saw in bed was accused of rape. Sounded like a load of horseshit since our memory of that night told us she was fairly enthusiastic about what was going on. Cops are investigating him at this point. About a year later, we're talking about that guy again, turns out the girl ended revealing to a friend that she felt bad after having sex with him, and decided to say he raped her to feel better. She apologizes to campus police and him. End of story, case is dropped, no one is punished. Never mind the fact that she filed a false charge, wasted their time in a year long investigation, and ruined his reputation and academic career. No, she gets told to not do it again. People like this girl use the word "rape" like a get-out-of-jail card; justified by what she feels rather than accepting responsibility. This, and multiple other cases (particularly Elizabeth Jones only getting arrested after 11 false rape charges), have made me steely toward anything regarding rape. I only care about what actions actually happened, how you feel is yours and your psychiatrist's problem.

5880: Yes, the author in the article did perhaps come across paranoid in her experience, but I'll argue feeling paranoid is part of the parcel of feeling nervous and cautious, especially in that situation. Sure it can be argued, that maybe her paranoia was totally irrational considering (a) the guy didn't do anything to hurt her in the end, ( she was in a public setting at a time of day, where the likelihood of a lot people being there would "keep" her safe. So considering (a) and (, you could say she really had no plausible reason to be paranoid, and conclude that her "feelings" were stupid and irrelevant. What happened, or more accurately what didn't happen, is what should be justified, or matter, in this situation, not her feelings. 

But that's where I absolutely disagree, why? Because if a man was in her situation, chances are he would not have experienced or felt the same intimidation and fear that the writer as a woman did. Let me make this explicitly clear, I'm not saying men in public when alone do not, or have never felt scared in public. I am sure anyone, regardless of gender, have felt at one point worried or scared when alone in a public setting. However, there's, I think, a huge difference. Anyone, including men, would feel nervous and worried to walk alone in the dark on the street, in public etc. But, how many men would feel worried and intimated in a public setting, in broad daylight with potentially lots of people around, and say a female, he didn't know, appeared to act "suspiciously" or got too close? I would guess very few would feel the way the writer did, if at all. And that's the point, men do not have the same experiences as women in such a setting as described by the writer, especially in an experience as hers, where you are in a public setting, in the day, with potentially a lot of people around you. Men don't have to worry about that, but women do. Why? Because of what girls have been taught over and over again, men you don't know who "trigger" the feeling of threat to your sense of safety, i.e. appear to act suspiciously etc, will and can hurt you. And most or worst of all,  girls have been taught, and I would argue particularly with the situation regarding rape prevention is, that it teaches girls that it is their own responsibility to protect themselves. Not to mention, men are physically stronger than women so if something were to happen (although it didn't), a female would not be able to defend herself in the same physical capacity as a man. Considering all this, I'd argue the writer's feelings, any women's feelings in these kind of situation, is totally valid and relevant. This whole thing, if anything, is simply about empathy, and how what could be a very normal and safe experience for you, is not for someone else. So in these cases, what happens isn't at all important, but how that person feels, is. 

What happened to the guy in your story, absolutely sucked. Sadly, there are women who do this, who make false rape claims, and they not only hurt the guy in question, but hurt progress for women too. They hurt genuine rape victims with their actions, and makes it that much more difficult for someone, who went through a traumatic experience, to come forward. I agree with you, what she did to the guy is wrong, and what is unfortunate and sucks even more, is that there isn't any real support for men who experience false rape claims, where they can get help afterwards. The girl in question, may have used her feelings to have justified her actions, even though it was evidently very wrong to do so, but it doesn't negate or devalue the feelings that the writer experienced in the earlier example. Technically, the writer did not use her feelings to justify any sort of action, especially towards the man in the park. If anything, she did nothing at all. 

5880 said: