that the feminism boards have gone a bit bonkers of late

[FunnysInLaJardin]

I am a feminist through and through, but do you really have to analyse every last thing through a feminist lens? The world will be changed bit by bit. You give feminists a bad name by analysing everything to death.

you loved it wmw,

That's a very partisan rendition, whatmeworry, and not at all in line with the threads I read.

The feminist section on MN is like anywhere else here but people see what they want to see.

Yes there is projection and extreme posts that not everyone agrees with but it is like that on most sections of MN.

BF/FF and Relationships and AIBU are sections filled with radical opinions and projection but they are about subjects that we are familiar with, Many people (like me) are not familiar of the history and proactive side of feminism.

They are not bonkers, They just know what they know and talk about it. They do not invade other parts of MN declaring that the rest of us are insane because we do not share their views either.

Why pick on them?

Some of the posters on the site stuff thread seemed right fucked off at what'd gone on wmw.

I like and feel (mostly) comfortable in AIBU because I spend the majority of the time on MN on here, I know how I can sidestep any shit being thrown, or not if I'm in an arse I feel like having a discussion.

Sometimes getting away posting a thread without getting the flaming you expected can feel like a bit of a result

Maybe posting in feminism's a bit like that sometimes for some people?

I do not get threads like this.

OP - is someone frog-marching you into the feminist section and demanding you read the threads? No?

So hide it if you don't like - it's actually not rocket science (though as clearly no-one is frog-marching you in there, I suspect you go in of your own volition and actually enjoy winding yourself up, so you probably won't hide it).

I took the OP to be saying she's interested in feminism but doesn't feel included NurseB, maybe she doesn't want to hide it?

No reason of course to include anyone else, but it can be frustrating.

All I had to ask (under another name, I have had to NC recently more than once) was to be linked to previous threads for people who are new to/are interested in Feminism and everyone was really lovely.

There is a horrible image going around MN about the feminist section right now that is, Quite frankly a load of shite.

I hate this idea that feminists need to censor themselves so they don't alienate non feminists or less radical feminists. I don't think pretending you don't believe in patriarchy etc helps anyone. We are all aiming for equality even if we don't agree on little details. New feminists should hear all the info in order to understand feminism.

What do you think about AIBUs reputation for being A Bit Snippy Krum?

Does it deserve it?

It varies, there's always a variety of responses of people with all different opinions, that's the beauty of forums.
I like that the feminism boards have a mix of different opinions from all different kinds of feminists discussing a very important issue.

But do you think some people might be put off by the posters who are more likely to flame you than not Krum?

It depends how sensitive one is. If its just some good debate then that's all good. I dont often see people be actually nasty.

Isn't AIBU one of the most popular sections of MN, Agent? I'm sure the tone puts some posters off but it seems to attract many more.

The thing that put me off the feminist boards for a while were the needling, trolling and goading, the arguments not so much. I found reading the debates between people with very different ideas to be illuminating and a good way to work out where I stood on the more complicated issues.

I get so frustrated by the way that feminists aren't allowed to be angry the way, say civil rights or gay activists are. The cause seems to terrify people, so they try to silence us. It's pathetic really. Of COURSE we should analyse things through a feminist lens and change the status quo. The softly-softly approach just doesn't work.

Despite my slight disagreement with the OP of the AIBU 'Women Are Stupid' thread i find that i'm actually more feminist than quite a few women i'm friends with; but just not in a radical way.

I don't spend lots of time on the internet so on MN i tend to just post on AIBU & occasionally Mental Health before going on to Facebook
But this thread has made me think that i should spend some time looking at the Feminist section. I am a little nervous about posting there though because i no longer see men as an 'oppressive enemy'.

In my 20s I had negative views on men & could be prejudiced about men - because certain men used to often behave badly towards me (ex-friends / boyfriends / colleagues).

I can now see that the men who i had bad experiences with were basically acting like bullies because i had low self-esteem in my 20s.

I had bad communication & assertiveness skills around men; but (probably due to becoming a nurse) those skills have improved & so has my confidence (i just wish that could have happened before i turned 30!).

Since returning to work from sick leave - i've mainly nursed male patients who stay on the ward from 2 days to several weeks. So it's been interesting getting to know the male patients. (Being a good nurse involves trying to understand patients' worries in order to help them recover).
Obviously men are very different to women in a lot of respects & have their own prejudices about women - but IME you can only challenge male prejudices IME by actually getting to know men & trying to understand why they think like they do.

I don't generalise about men like i used to - having a selection of decent male friends who are colleagues (ie. male nurses, physios, doctors, cleaners etc), neighbours or friends' husbands has really helped me to see them as individuals.

I still have more feminist attitudes than many women i know however - i believe in equality in relationships. I recognise that there are many ways in which women don't have true equality with men in life.

I also met many women who don't seem to want to use the freedoms they actually are entitled to - & that is irritating; but it's their choice i suppose.

Sorry for the essay btw.

I like the feminism section, I find the people generally very supportive, friendly and able to discuss issues without resorting to bullying or talking about crisps.

But people can analyse whatever they want. There are lots of threads on MN that to me seem a bit pointless or tedious, but if other people want to discuss those things, then that's up to them, and no one's forcing me to read or join in. And you get the odd person with 'bonkers' views on any internet forum, in my experience!

I admit I've been a bit at some of the topics in the feminist section, where it does seem that someone is trying a bit hard to find sexism or insults to women where none really exists. And sometimes I've felt irritated by some very negative attitudes, as though some people don't want things to get better and aren't interested in talking about that.

But no I wouldn't generalise that to the whole feminist section, or to everyone who posts in there. There are some interesting discussions.

Yellowraincoat, I am angry. Which post did you report? Can you report posts for being angry now then?

Gotta laugh at the idea of re-populating the Fem boards with AIBU'ers instead of people who feel strongly about Feminism, and thinking it will "improve" things