to hide the feminism topic?

[CerealOffender]

the thread titles are all so serious and worthy and make me feel frivolous and unsisterly.

TSH I'm not Avoiding The Question - I have made it clear what I think on you being called an MRA.

As for this;

"I mean, is it fair or just to refer to another MN respondent as an "MRA", "Anti-Feminist", "Misogynist" or whatever on the grounds that they have opposing views... It may be that they are in favour of porn, oppose the criminalisation of prostitution (in its entirety), dont subscribe to the Susan Brownmiller school of thought on rape etc etc any views really, but specifically ones which oppose your own branch of feminist ideology. Is it fair?"

I'm not sure that I have ever called someone antifeminist. However I am of the opinion that porn for example is misogynistic and would no doubt say in a discussion about porn that I find the arguments to support porn misogynistic. Therefore I wouldn't call an argument (or a poster) misogynistic simply because they held opposing views but because IMO the view they hold is misogynistic. No doubt the poster in question would then argue why they didn't think their view was misogynistic. Chances are that we wouldn't agree. That is what debate is I guess.

Abs - no one (apart from that particular person on chat) is saying you have to get on with all other women or that you're not allowed to get along with men. This is a stereotype of feminists that you are attributing to the section with evidence from a different sub-forum to back it up with. Anyway, I hope you've hidden chat too, after all that's where you actually got called 'unsisterly'.

Have just looked at it for the first time. Clearly I am not a feminist!!
I find all of the really virulent battering on about what is and is not a feminist issue very tedious. I also think people are imagining gender bias where it doesn't exist - I work in a very elitist and historically male dominated profession and can honestly say I have never once felt it was a disadvantage to be a woman. Times have changed - move on people!! The OP is not being unreasonable - I too shall be avoiding the feminist threads in future.

People who don't think childbirth for example, is a feminist issue (i.e. something that concerns women directly) are well advised to avoid the feminist section.

MsRisotto - I hide it because I get about three posts in to every thread on that topic and think "FFS; this is ridiculous" for various reasons, including the fact that there seems to be an "acceptable" form of feminism on there and that other views are not necessarily taken on board, and I'm not the first person to point this out. This is my experience - I'm not saying that this is a "stereotype of feminists".

I hide the feminism topic as a whole because I find myself hiding almost every thread that appears on there, and it saves time to just avoid it. I don't hide chat, because actually the rest of that thread was amusing/reasonable, and there was arguably only one idiot on that thread.

Things in which women would ideally like men to be involved - and, indeed, in which men would like to be involved given the chance - (e.g. childcare) can surely not just be defined as "a feminist issue" pure and simple.

(Can someone give an example of something which only involves women and doesn't impact upon men in the slightest, and where our involvement or opinion, even to the smallest degree, would not be needed or helpful or welcome?)

Fairy nuff. We are going to have different takes on those ishoos for the reasons you state. Are they "feminist" issues then? And what issues are there (if any) which are purely "men's"?

UnquietDad - the way I see feminist issues is as things being discussed within a feminist framework so it doesn't mean that I'm not interested in what the impact on men is or what their thoughts are.

So for example I would say childbirth is a feminist issue - but that it is also an issue for the whole of society.

There is a thread about it here.

You might like the Feminism 101 thread also.

Good to see this topic has provoked such a debate. I think it shows - whatever your view - that feminism is relevant to a lot of us on MN.

Lenin - in the nicest possible way, do you not feel like you're banging your head against a brick wall here? :)

But then again male circumcision is often done in infancy and the decision is taken by the mother. So it involves women as mothers.

Must admit I do wonder at all these people who are posting here after visiting the feminist topic only to come over all Mary Whitehouse-ish.

Butterfly - you are definitely right about that. In that respect, it is different from the rest of MN and doesn't help to dispel the "humourless feminist" stereotype, and is likely to provoke the response "FGS can you people not take a joke?"

Because generally, this is a place where people crack witticisms. There are very few topics or threads on here where someone can make a joke and it doesn't help or isn't welcome. Bereavement or serious illness, obviously. But I've even seen grim humour shining through from those involved in that.

AbsOfCroissant - That must have been for 'Douchebag' surely? There can't be any disaggrement that Liz Jones is a terrible human being surely?

ILoveDonaldDraper - are you interested in why your profession has more men than women and what sorts of things could be done about it?

What I find genuinely refreshing in the Feminist section is that you get different view points and the ability to see things in a differnt way = one which is not seen in the mainstream media.

So it acts for me like a critical thinking execise.

"I could say I think that it's a shame boys aren't as freely allowed to express their feminine/sparkly sides as girls are to express their tomboy sides (although girls are encouraged to do this less these days, perhaps) but you could feel that that wasn't an issue for you, or not hugely important.
"

Well I see that as a legitimate feminist issue. The upbringing of boys as feminists being vital for the future of both adult men and women.

A subject being a 'feminist issue' does not mean that is is only a feminist issue or stops being any other sort of issue.

For example FGM is a feminist issue but it is also a human rights issue.

Maternity care is a feminist issue but is also a public health issue.

Saying childbirth is a feminist issue does not mean that it doesn't affect or concern men (after all around half of the babies being born will be male!) - it is just saying that it falls within the realms of what affects and concerns women.

And fwiw I don't have a problem with Feminist section being 'humourless'. Not every area is ripe for comedy