"I don't like being called a feminist. I'm a woman. That's it."

*crucial as in a crucial issue for feminism, before you or anyone else jumps on that.

Oh, sorry, I don't have access to everything you've written (a lot is deleted), and I can't be arsed to drag through searching.

What a pity.

Not sure why I should have to, anyway. If you don't believe these things, you only have to say so. You're anti-porn, anti-lapdancing, you believe sexism still exists, you think male violence against women and children is crucial (and don't instent start 'what about the men' comments), and you think the whole of society colludes in that violence?

I'm really pleased (no, honestly, I am).

No, the reason feminism will not get any traction, is because on the whole, men as a group don't want it to and they control the media and most of the messages which we receive.

The history is that every single human right women have managed to gain, has had to be wrested from the men who govern us with very little support from other men.

But we're not even allowed to name the agents of our oppression - men - without being accused of being extremist ranting loons.

That's what we're up against.

If black people weren't allowed to point out what white people as a group have perpetrated against them, racism would still be a respectable mainstream position.

As sexism is.

Whatever, LRD. Proof would be nice, so I will await a quote or two.

See, I am not the problem. Whatever I think, I am the enemy, so to speak, so at least in your eyes it's natural that we would disagree. But rants like Fastidia's are the reason that this branch of feminism never gains any traction with most people, male and female, and I doubt that it ever will. So yawn away at me, but extremist ranting does far more harm than good.

And men as a group are made up of men as individuals, with their own views, beliefs and wishes. Unless we are all the same. What is the view of women as a group? Fastidia's, or the woman's in the OP?

Erm, namechange, think I have seen you (personally) saying you do want some of that stuff. Glad to see you've changed your mind, albeit tacitly and at a rather opportunistic juncture, in order to be rude to fastidia. It's almost like you're proving her point, but too stupid to see it ...

oh what a surprise, some guy comes on to tell us we're doing it wrong.

How many times have we covered this, men as a group. Feel free to be outraged on behalf of your poor oppressed sex though.

Feminism can only be popular in the current climate when it espouses all the stuff men want .............................. real liberation is lapdancing and expressing our power....

So that is what men want? Really? Thank you for telling me what I think. Well radsplained. Perhaps this preachy attitude has something to do with why the author in the OP, and other people like her, really don't like feminism as espoused by some of it's followers..

Brand feminism is always going to be hateful to the majority of young women and all aged men while we live in patriarchy and while we have a media so firmly espoused to undermining the goal of feminism.

Feminism can only be popular in the current climate when it espouses all the stuff men want - the pretence that sexism doesn't exist anymore, ignoring the pay gap, pretending objectification is just a bit of fun, ignoring the levels of male violence against women and children and the collusion of the whole of society in that violence, pretending that we don't need to fight for equality any more because we've already got it and real liberation is lapdancing and expressing our power by er, taking our clothes off and doing all the childcare and domestic labour without complaining or questioning why it's all panned out like this.

When feminism embraces that shit, men will like it and inexperienced young women who haven't done the reading, will be proud to call themselves feminists because they know it won't affect their chances of getting a suitable boyfriend.

It won't actually change the status quo and liberate women from patriarchy though. But men will like it and throw feminists patriarchy-cookies so that's all right.

I'd be annoyed with anyone who claimed I wasn't a feminist.
Sheriff is a twit and agree with others she sounds young and naive.

Maybe you have to experience a but more sexism if you don't get it? If I had only ever been a sw in a quite woman friendly environment with mostly quite nice, enlightened men (colleagues) then it would probably be much easier to convince me that sexism had somehow become less of a problem lately.
However, all those years in various private sector jobs of being harassed and undermined because I am a woman (main crime), who isn't a pushover and is unite attractive (not smug you understand, just an additional problem for misogynists unless I agree to sleep with them) and so on completely compounded the feminist values my own mother raised me with.

Meanwhile gaining a greater understanding for the v present time need for feminism through experiences with men in my private life wasn'tuch of a challenge.......sigh. The sheer plethora of buffoons I have met with alarming understanding (or lack of) of gender divisions has been staggering .

I'm a proud feminist

There's no such thing as 'the brand 'Feminism'. What do you mean?

Do you mean you feel really guilty for not being nicer to this woman?

Fair enough, change how you act.

Or do you mean, you're fine, but you think we're all being nasty so we should change?

If so, how exactly is you telling other people to change any nicer than her, or me, or anyone else doing it?

Rather than sneer, or condemn the journalist isn't it about time the brand 'Feminism' looked at itself and how it appears to young educated women and wonder where and why it has gone wrong in the popularity stakes ?
It's so negative.
Radical feminists shout down, belittle those outwith their circle of thought. Imagines the welcome for a new member sporting false eyelashes, killer heels and a lust for men ... .
Wonder if something similar to 'sponsor a child' was transposed to a women ie directly pay her the equivalent of a weekly wage, and anything earned over, As so many wages are p* poor in comparison it wouldn't cost much ?

What makes me laugh is that she decries feminism but them goes on to espouse some quite feministy views.

She puts down the everydaysexism project as having no purpose other than reassuring women that they are not alone but to me that's a great purpose. Part of the effect of the silencing of feminism is to make women feel isolated and the realisation that you are not the only one and you're not making a fuss is a wonderful feeling.

Unfortunately I think I could have written something very similar when I was at university, or just after I finished my BA.

I think she will eventually figure it out and be ashamed of the article. But I think it's very interesting that so many women don't really get interested in/become aware of feminism until their mid to late 20s. I'm guessing it's because if you are a white, relatively privileged woman most things now are good for you up until the point you leave HE, so you don't see the need for feminism until later. It makes it easier to swallow the message from patriarchy saying that feminists are narsty.

No, not at all! I just worried my anger about that article was spilling over.

I didn't read you as combative LRD. Think it was probably me who was sounding a bit spiky .

Stewie I enjoyed the last piece you wrote and my children read it too.

Oops - getting confused what forum I'm on - I keep forgetting how to format italics properly on here.

Oh, I think we are very much on the same page, mignon, I'm not meaning to come across as combative towards you, just angry at this sort of thing.

I think you're spot on when you suggest ideas of feminism are deliberately skewed and that's a reason people feel hostile towards it.

Someone needs to learn proof-reading skills.

From the article:

Yes it's statistically "wrong" only a quarter of women are MPs.

A quarter of women are MPs?!

Clearly she means, "yes it's statistically wrong that only a quarter of MPs are women."

It's a shame really, because I get the point she is trying to make (I'm not saying I agree with it, but I get it), however it all gets lost in such a badly written article.

BTW Does the Huffington Post employ Copy Editors? or in the interests of self reliance, did Ms Sheriff insist upon editing her own OpEd?

Because if she did, she did a lousy job.

And Candidate selection Committees....ever heard of them Ms Sheriff?

LRDTheFeministDragon

I agree with your post above regarding her mocking/cruelty towards particular women and you write eloquently and passionately.

I did not mean to imply that a lack of 'want' to form opinions about being a woman should be equated with any negative assumptions about character/the person. It is of real interest to me (as the Mother/StepM of grown daughters ) as to why some younger women/teenagers are so anxious about or hostile to Feminism. I often find that there are errors of definition and once they have read a little about it, they realise their ideas about it have been (deliberately?) skewed.

Yes, you may be right there are many who haven't thought. I suppose I feel a bit defensive of the women I know.

I do see what you're saying (and it's not naive). The reason I say 'cheap and easy' is that I think these are opinions all over the press at the moment. This women is re-writing things she's read elsewhere. She writes with a lot of confidence because she is very familiar with the style of writing and the 'voice' she's using.

It's a bit like, if someone writes a very polished opinion piece about how mumsnet is full of harpies, smug middle-class mums ... you can immediately imagine how that piece will go, because that's a piece that's been written a lot of times.

I can accept that ventriloquising someone else's opinions isn't a cardinal sin, and it isn't unusual for someone starting out to do that as a way of finding their own voice. But it is still something I think she deserves to be criticised for, because her work is shutting down debate and is remarkably cruel towards other women.

She's saying using the word 'feminism' 'doesn't do us any favours'. She's assuming there's an 'us' (ie., women), from whom she deserves 'favours'. Yet she's quite happy to mock her lecturer and another student in her class (both of whom I'm sure will know exactly who they are). And she's happy to tell feminists to shut up while insisting they are speaking over her and mustn't do so.

It is damaging, I think, because they way I'm seeing it is, there was at least one person in her class who was given an opportunity to express an opinion in the minority (by putting her hand up), and she's basically been slapped down by Voice of Handmaiden.

Think there are just as many who haven't really given this a thought as have. That's not to say that once you start to engage them, that they would not then start to form and develop ideas.

Being naive, with a 'cheap and easy' opinion (interesting choice of words there.....) doesn't warrant dismissal. People can change and grow. Better give them the chance by opening and keeping a dialogue. Maybe the writer will read and grow via the reaction to her piece.