Feminism - College Project

OP, when you "studentsplained" the difference between sex and gender to us, you missed out a crucial feature of the current debate, which is that gender now has two quite distinct meanings.

The first (as it has traditionally been used in the social sciences, including women's studies) means a set of stereotypes about behaviour, social roles, appropriate dress, behaviours, occupations etc. deemed by a given culture to be appropriate for one biological sex or the other. In this sense, "gender" is experienced by most women as an oppressive imposition. It's something that's done to us not something we identify into (because who in their right mind would identify into being treated as a second class citizen).

The second (as more recently used, post Butler's work, by trans campaigners) is as an internal sense of something or other. Its supporters claim this something or other is an internal sense of womanliness or manliness, though I've never seen a definition of either of these which doesn't ultimately boil down to a list of the stereotypes in "gender, original meaning thereof". Furthermore, it's something (like experiencing the ineffable presence of god, or believing one has a soul which was once that of Cleopatra) which some people claim to experience, and others claim not to experience. In other words, it makes a lousy basis for legislation.

One thing however is very clear - across all of history, and all of geography, women have had a shitty deal relative to men to a lesser or greater extent. Okay, I hold my hands up and say I'm relatively lucky - in that I wasn't aborted before birth, left to die of exposure, had my genitals sliced off with a rusty razor blade, forced into marriage as an only-just pubescent child. I merely had to take my then employer to court to get paid the same as my male colleagues. So on the grand scheme of things fairly minor and thankfully legally rectifiable (though nearly 50 sodding years after the equal pay act you'd think employers would actually pay their staff equally rather than forcing them to resort to law).

So my question to you would be this: you say you're a feminist. Why do you think all this shit happens to women? Women in the sense of "the ones with ovaries and uteruses (that can be forced to carry children against their possessor's will) and vaginas (that can be sewn shut) and clitorises (that can be chopped off)", not in the sense of "the ones who like pink sparkly shit"? As a feminist with radical sympathies, I have an explanation for this - biology makes us vulnerable to men's violence, and our reproductive capacity gives men the motive to want to oppress us. Do you have any explanation, or do you believe the whole shitstorm is just some weird cosmic coincidence?

and that feminist issues are their issues

How are the random 5 issues listed below, issues that biological men have?
Access to sanitary items, and safe changing facilities
Wage gap
2 women being killed each year by their partners or ex partners
The Husband Stitch
Access to adequate maternity care

???

Such a sweet..... um...girl???!!

Yes, feminism is defined as the advocacy of women’s rights. I believe this to be all women. Trans included

Do you look at this person and see a woman? Would anyone? Would you strip off in a shower with them - accept them as a Guide Leader in your daughters Guide Troop? What experiences do they share with real women ( and PLEASE don't say they are "oppressed" too!)

So if you don’t agree with gender norms how can a biological Male be a woman? If gender is socially constructed and external rather than an innate part of ourselves then what is a woman other than an adult female?
To accept a biological Male can be a woman because they ‘feel like a woman’ implies that gender is innate and therefore gender stereotypes are real.

I believe that trans women are women

Again, yeah we can see that. Problem is, they are men. Which is why your study is flawed from the off.

I believe that trans women are women and that feminist issues are their issues - that’s my opinion. As feminists we should recognise that they will have female struggles as well as those that the trans community or general LGBTQ+ community has. The same way that white feminists should address that black females also deal with racial issues. In my opinion, feminism isn’t so ‘black and white’, or ‘male or female’, especially in today’s changing society.

Yes, feminism is defined as the advocacy of women’s rights. I believe this to be all women. Trans included.

Unfortunately I am told to use this question at the beginning of all surveys I create within college - while it may not be the best attempt I do use the word ‘other’ as to not exclude. Gender roles are absolutely a problem within society - I believe that everyone should have a choice in how they express themselves. No type of self expression should be deemed womanly or manly. Part of the reason I am passionate about advertising and PR is because I would like to change the social ‘norms’ it often expresses.

It is about women supporting one another and to me that is inclusive of ALL women

I understand the aim of wanting to support other women. I really do. But I then have to ask: what is a woman? If you're defining 'woman' as a gender that people can identify as, you can't do any analysis of structural sex inequalities. I realise that this analysis is not the aim of your project, but honestly, if 'woman' is a category into which anyone can identify, it's meaningless, and there's no feminism unless you redefine it as a fuzzy 'equality for all' movement. Then it's not a 'dirty' word so much as a pointless one.

Equality for all is an excellent aim. But feminism, specifically, is about the liberation of women. Adult human females who face oppression because of their female biology. Not anyone who likes the pink stereotype set better than the blue one.

Also, nobody is taking issue with you asking basic demographic questions in your survey. It's the assumptions behind the use of 'gender' instead of 'sex' in the question that we're critiquing.

I will repeat, only answer this survey if you are happy with the questions.

Many of you seem to be making presumptions of my opinions based on the survey, which was only intended to gather opinions on feminism. It perhaps does only refer to a very generic idea of feminism, but as I only have 10 free questions and this survey is, I must stress, a SMALL part of the overall research project, they had to be simply put. I will also be holding a focus group and studying various articles, online blogs, forums, reports, books etc. The first and second question is something generic that I have always been told to do at the beginning of the survey by my lecturers. It is also something that many websites do, including this one to gain a profile of an individual.

Again, feminism is a broad subject and we all have our beliefs, opinions, and views. There are a number of you that are making me feel like I do not have the right to call myself a feminist while knowing very little about me, making fun of and picking apart everything I am saying. Some even making presumptions about my age and how long I have been a feminist.

I am a feminist. I address that some feel that it is not an identity, but I do feel as though it is part of mine. To me, feminism is about freedom of choice, it is about equality - this sometimes merges with my hopes for equality in the LGBTQ+ community too as I am a part of it. It is about women supporting one another and to me that is inclusive of ALL women. I personally feel that the trans community, and EVERYONE has the right to be a feminist. Trans people are just as much female or male as anyone else and not simply 'men in dresses'. BUT this is MY opinion.

Again, the survey was not intended to express any sort of type of feminism, so I am sorry to those of you that feel it does. If I could address other types of feminism within it, I would. However, my report is set with the purpose of addressing media, celebrity culture and brands and the way they are influencing feminism, trying to figure out if it is still deemed a 'dirty' word within society.

I will continue to educate myself on feminism, much like I'm certain everyone here is doing and loves doing. I will continue to stand up for the rights of females and the LGBTQ+ community.

I would like to thank those that have answered the survey.

I'm afraid it does focus on one, and only one type of feminism roisin.

The type that accepts sex role stereotypes are a fundamental and innate part of a person's inner self, and which are predominantly linked to ones biological status.
This is what it means to believe in 'gender'.

Gender is this idea that people with ovaries generally have pink fluffy girlbrains ('cis' woman gender identity) and people with penises have blue macho manbrains (cis man gender identities) and trans people have a 'mismatch'.

Many (most) feminists will tell you that this is the opposite of feminism, despite it being quite popular as an idea at the moment.

What are your thoughts on the subject?

I am doing this to pass a course. It's a small project focusing on opinions towards feminism. Please, answer the survey only if you are comfortable to answer.

(Also wondering why you've namechanged?)

I cannot change this now as I only get 10 questions. My survey does not focus on this question and more on the opinions towards feminism. Please, only answer the survey if you are happy to answer.

I am an Advertising and PR Student. This is an industrial investigation which I have chosen to focus on feminism and the ways in which it is represented in media, by celebs and brands etc. This is simply to find out opinions, whether they are positive or negative or whether you are unsure. It does not focus on one type of feminism, more on attitudes towards it.

I think that by 'intersectional' they mean 'women as well as men' rather than actual intersectional.

If my results are skewed, this will be brought up in the report. Do not fret.

How will you know if the respondents are all biological men or not, if you do not include 'sex'?

I read through your survey and am wondering what course it is for? I'm not sure I know what you mean by 'Feminism' . You don't seem to be using a political definition; a Marxist view; is it second-wave; third-wave; radical feminism?
Are you approaching it from a sociological perspective or a media studies/representation one?
If you haven't had too many responses yet then it would be worth writing a brief introduction explaining your focus; the meanings of the terms to you etc. For example, you used intersectional in your post but I'm not seeing an appreciation of Crenshaw in your approach.

I have managed to change the wording so that it now says, 'Are you a feminist' instead of 'identify'. Thanks for feedback.

I have shared the survey elsewhere, on social media platforms etc. I have created and distributed surveys before and was recommended to share it here by my lecturer. SurveyMonkey shows you your results and analyses them. There are other methods of research in progress to gather a wide range of responses.

If my results are skewed, this will be brought up in the report. Do not fret.

You are automatically excluding a very large proportion of feminists by framing your language in the way you have. So many that your survey will be methodologically very suspect.

(why have you namechanged?)

Yes, well, I think you'll find quite a few people think Mumsnet should know better.

Classifications don't work unless they have definitions. How will you have any idea whether your respondees are mostly male or mostly female? How will you avoid having a self-selecting sample of 'those who consider that gender is more important than biology'?