Has anyone changed their views on Feminism/women's role in society as a result of things they have read on here?

Janos, I completely and utterly agree with you

I have always held certain views, but never been able to articulate them

or, when I tried, because I hadn't thought them through properly, I would get shot down as a moaning old shrew or just clam up

now I don't care if I am thought of as frigid, boring, shrewish...in fact, I am positively liberated by it

I have picked such a lot up, about how to respond to casual misogyny, how to use that "really....< raised eyebrow >?" response to great effect because I am more confident that if someone argues shit at me, I can better wipe the floor with them

I also appreciate my DH a lot more, but that is another thread

Yes! Thank you so much!

ilovemydogandMrObama, is it this thread of feminist book recommendations?
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/adult_nonfiction/753589-Key-feminist-texts-for-me-to-read-and-leave-lying

What I love about the feminist topic is that there is such a mine of information all polarized into one neat succinct area. . There was a brilliant book list about a year ago (not the one started by ribenaberry). Any idea where that one is, dittany? Think it was around 800 posts, but lost it after MacBook died.

Have to say, I have gotten more active politically in RL since discussing the feminism generally on MN.

Good on Dittany for starting topic, or rather asking for it to be a topic...

I could have written that OP Janos, and your additional post about how it "validated" things that were always there but you couldn't articulate. I have learned so much from this section of MN, even though I rarely post. I read and follow links and learn; and things make so much more sense in my mind.

I need to thank Dittany as well, it was her posts (and other posters too obv, but hers stood out) on a porn thread in AIBU that set me going on the path to feminism, she was excellent.

I feel empowered when I come here. It is so good know other people just get it.

i have always challenged casual misogyny and have been given a lot of stick for it ranging from being accused of being lacking in humour to outright hostility towards me.

this section feels like a very safe place in comparison to out there, feminism or women's liberation (and the liberation of all people including men) as I prefer it is under attack as never before from the voracious consumerism rampant in our society.

it's depressing. and this section uplifts me as a result.

i have always challenged casual misogyny and have been given a lot of stick for it ranging from being accused of being lacking in humour to outright hostility towards me.

this section feels like a very safe place in comparison to out there, feminism or women's liberation (and the liberation of all people including men) as I prefer it is under attack as never before from the voracious consumerism rampant in our society.

it's depressing. and this section uplifts me as a result.

I am intrigued by the idea that other sites wouldn't provide a space like this - whyever not?

EAM, i know. wouldnt that be cool.

I feel we should have cake.

How I wish I knew a group of people like you IRL.

My views have been both strengthened and changed by reading all the interesting threads in this section of Mumsnet, for example those epic threads about transsexuals. I also find myself more angry about sexualisation of children, pornography and abuse than I was (and I was already rather angry about them before I joined MN!).

Obviously, I don't agree with all other posters all of the time, who does? I thank dittany and the many other posters who have made this a very stimulating and thought-provoking part of the Internet.

I think feminism has suffered from not having forums like this to air our views, leading to isolation and a feeling of "am I the only person who thinks x?". I haven't found anywhere else on the web where a group of English-speaking women from far and wide can come together on a daily basis to discuss feminism in depth. There is always something to respond to. That is really wonderful and I am so glad that I found you! I'm looking forward to reading and contributing to many more good threads.

Yes, this subject on MN has definitely made me rethink some views, solidify others and made me realise why I have always felt uncomfortable about some things. It has absolutely influenced the way I raise and will raise my daughter. I need to do some more reading too though - maybe would be helpful to have a 'feminist bookshelf' thread with recommendations as I know a lot have been recommended but scattered across lots of threads?

Yeah, so a big shout out to Shrieking, SomeGuy, DP etc... At least we know we can't relax while you're out there :)

Picking up on what BIWI says - the reaction of some of the antifeminists/nonfeminisits are often quite but also interesting because they reinforce my views and help me understand why I think what I do. The arguments are generally fairly easy to de-construct and so clearly reflect the patriarchy. The same themes come up time and time again and it helps to be clear in one's own thoughts by encountering opposing views.

Me too - thanks to dittany (and plenty of others like ISNT, Herbeatitude, Stayfrosty, etc).

What is great about dittany is that she is so uncompromising and unapologetic about it all that she encourages the rest of us to 'own it' too IYSWIM.

We're so used to misogyny that we don't even see the outrageousness of it all half the time - women like dittany help me to see that there is nothing extreme about my views and that I have every right to hold them and express them.

Thanks everybody.

sorry ISNT, didn't mean to hyperlink you!

And also for every woman on here who gains a bit of strength from finding they're "not the only one", that is going to radiate out to their family, their colleagues (ISNT) and their friends.

I think I've just got lazy about it all and become blind to certain things, so the threads on here have been quite a jolt - in particular the strength of some of the anti-feminist sentiments have been quite an unpleasant shock.

And another round of applause for dittany from me, too.

Great thread!

Yes MN has completely changed things for me. I always knew that I was a feminist, and that things weren't quite right, but I never talked about it or read about it or anything. The reasons I knew I was a feminist were similar to Janos' - the way boys and men treated me when I was a teenager and young woman, my discomfort at things like page 3, being patronised generally...

Then I came on here and came across a thread where Dittany was in full flow and I'd never seen anything like it before in my life! It was brilliant. Seeing her and others on threads expressing what I felt, it was a total revelation.

I think that Dittany is brilliant - I also don't always agree with her but the clarity of her views is so important. So many times I will start to be persuaded to weaken my original feelings and then she will come on and say something utterly straightforward and to the point and bolster me back up again.

And she takes a huge amount of flak for what she does so .

And now look at me - just put in an amazon order for some books, just started reading Sexual Politics, I'm going on the london feminist day thing in october, and keep having massive rows with my work colleagues! Umm... hooray!