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Original poster

New, confused and don’t know where to start

34 replies

Skittlesss · 16/03/2019 18:26

Hi everyone

I used to think feminists were all about wanting women to be treated better than men and I never used to understand.

I know now that was wrong.

I don’t know if it’s because I’m older, wiser and have a daughter now... or what. I think part of it was a conversation I had on here (on my old username before the recent security breach thing) about trans and people opened my eyes to trans-age and the men who “ID” as women in order to attack them... well I think that was a bit of a turning point.

Now I have been thinking a lot and I think I need to know more about feminism. I don’t think it’s about being treated better than men, I think it’s about being treated equally. I work in a male-dominated environment and see it there a lot.

I don’t know where to start learning more. Can anyone point me in the right direction to any “starter” information, please?

Thanks for reading.

OP posts:
Original poster
Skittlesss · 16/03/2019 19:49

The way men treat women is disgusting. I see the crimes they commit against them and then the way they turn things around to make the woman drop charges... and the way the Defendant treats the female officers or even the way her male colleagues treat her with their mansplaining and assumptions that she will look after the kids whilst the big men lock the bad guy up.

OP posts:
Prawnofthepatriarchy · 16/03/2019 19:43

I'm glad it was a helpful thought, Skittlesss. I sometimes come at things from an unusual angle and worry they'll seem odd. But if you work for the police you'll be all too familiar with sex differences in crime.

Katvonchangedlightbulb · 16/03/2019 19:22

Personally I think I was always a self confident strong woman, brought up in a household of strong women. Lots of things never occurred to me before arriving on these boards.
I don't always agree, but I always get food for thought.

Original poster
Skittlesss · 16/03/2019 18:59

Prawn - not random at all in fact I have noticed it as well. I work for the Police and out of the thousands of cases I have dealt with I have only had a handful of women as the Defendant.

OP posts:
Prawnofthepatriarchy · 16/03/2019 18:57

It may seem a bit quirky and random, but one fact I find illuminating and might inform a novice feminist is that 96% of homicides worldwide are committed by men as well as nearly all sex offences. If you think about that for a bit and consider why that might be, what it means and what effect it has on women, you're bound to gain some feminist insights.

Men as a sex assume they have rights and entitlements over women as a sex. Although few men are rapists and murderers, the fact that nearly all of them are men affects how women navigate the world.

BertrandRussell · 16/03/2019 18:37

There is some good discussion on this thread that might help a bit....

Original poster
Skittlesss · 16/03/2019 18:35

Thanks Kat. I will have a look now. Smile

Super - no, but I will google it and have a look.

I feel ashamed that I’m only just opening my eyes now.

OP posts:
SuperLoudPoppingAction · 16/03/2019 18:31

Have you seen Chimamanda Adichie's Ted talk? 'We should all be feminists'

Katvonchangedlightbulb · 16/03/2019 18:31

Welcome Flowers

I think this thread is good www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3145470-Break-it-down-for-me

For me feminism is definitely all about being treated equality. I've found these boards very interesting. Lots of perspectives. One big sisterhood. X

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