to think the 'F' word is one we should be proud of......

[PosieComeHereMyPreciousParker]

Thanks to MN, especially dittany, Lenin, BoF and Anyfucker, I have been made aware of my casual attitude to misogyny. This short journey in my reclaiming my old values recently lead me to the London Feminist Network Conference on Saturday. And Oh my God it is one of the most inspirational things I've ever done.

Having money and being relatively attractive in my younger days I was mislead into thinking that being a feminist was irrelevant, after all we had a female PM and then 'girl power' where we were fooled into thinking with the right body shape and a little wit the world was our oyster (farm).

My husband's and friends' response to my recent activities have ranged from being mystified to mockery, from resentment to full on stereotypical prejudice. I am alarmed that barely any of my friends think feminism is relevant.

Am I being unreasonable to reclaim the word feminist to mean a person that wants to rid the world of gender prejudiced?

I realise this is probably a fruitless line of questioning TSH, but don't you agree with the point that you have to target your energies if you want things to change? E.g. there are people raising money for cancer charities, not because they think MS is less important but because they can't raise money for everything at once.

Evil.....I'm loving that analogy, perfect.

TheShriekingHarpy Tue 26-Oct-10 14:16:19
"5dollar shake - humanism is a philosophy or ideology. Feminism is a political movement (generally speaking), so I fail to see the comparison really."

Whaaaat...? Um, me too...!

You're the one aligning yourself with humanism; you're the one saying it's and either/or situation. Not me!!

I'm asking you now just to tell me a bit about humanism and which causes they're highlighting, and you've completely skirted the question. A bit telling, if you ask me.

"Who is advocating that we should only hone in on mens issues?"

Again... . Nobody is. What are you talking about?

EvilAntsAndMiasmas wrote - "there are people raising money for cancer charities, not because they think MS is less important but because they can't raise money for everything at once."

Sometimes being a feminist feels like "if feminists were raising money for cancer charities because they can't raise money for everything at once, feminists would be criticised in a negative way."

mm, it's strange. I certainly wouldn't criticise my friend who has MS for campaigning for better research into MS, or raising money for MS charities. I wouldn't be telling him that it makes him sound like he doesn't care about people with e.g. cerebral palsy or lupus. That would make me sound mad, churlish, and frankly ungrateful for the good work that he is doing.

I don't think that my gay friends would be wrong or selfish for going to gay pride or writing to their MP to protest at homophobic policies at home or abroad. I don't see anti-homophobia campaigners as having "gone too far" or undervalued the suffering of e.g. poor straights.

Would you?

What I really don't understand, I suppose, is why people get wound up about one group campaigning for something, when they agree with the ends they are aiming for. So if you want equality, and feminists are campaigning for equality, why get cross with them? Why not pat them on the back and get on with the bit of the fight that you are taking on (remind me what that was again)?

TheShriekingHarpy wrote - "humanism is a philosophy or ideology. Feminism is a political movement (generally speaking), so I fail to see the comparison really."

Surely politics is the application of ideology?

Posie, referring to a question you asked near the top of this thread, namely "What is anti man feminism?"

I am confident you'd find tens of thousands of definitions if you were to read the thousands of anti-woman masculinist websites on the Internet.

so what sort of actions do you take part in?

Did I say it was a pressure group?

oh yes vesuvia.

for instance: "Feminism is a sexual trade union for middle-aged, unattractive women in a free sexual market"

because no-one cares more about the problems of attracting a man than feminists. :o

It's also what someone at a coconut shy does but that doesn't mean that feminism is one.

TSH....I find it hard to believe that you don't belong to any group.

Do you tell Christians, Jews, Sally Army people, runners, triathletes, anti-poverty campaigners, that they're limiting themselves?

When you self-identify as a feminist, you don't get rounded up and put into a compound where you're not allowed to talk about anything else but feminism, do anything else but feminist activism and think of nothing else than how to overthrow the patriarchy, you know. You're allowed to continue living in the world just as any other person who identifies as part of a group is. Sometimes you can do things that have nothing to do with feminism, like dance to Take That records, or go running, or watch Merlin or go Morris Dancing . I find my thoughts and life are not limited at all, on the contrary, feminism has liberated my thoughts and life, not constrained it.

I agree HB, I feel like I can be a part of something fantastic.

Just catching up with all the posts, but is anyone else feeling that the argument of ?what about all the other disadvantaged groups? is just an example of the general expectation that women have to be the carers of everyone else? How selfish of us not to be campaigning on everyone else?s behalf before our own!

What?s that saying about putting your own oxygen mask first? Can?t remember the exact words, but the general principal seems to fit here - how can I help everyone else into equality if I'm stuck at the bottom of the heap?

I can only imagined that they are:

conditioned?
feel stupid for believing that they have equality?
Gawd knows?