To be a bit dismayed if 4 million women visit this site,why are there so few posts on the feminism threads?

[Scarletohello]

Ok so I know there are lots of lurkers but if there are really millions of women who go on MN, why are so many threads on the feminism section consisting of so few women? It doesn't make sense to me as so many issues that
women post about on many different topics are actually feminist issues when it comes down to it...

I find the feminist forum quiet intimidating and I say that as an active feminist who was a Greenham and who did her dissertation on 'Women and Urban Planning: Patriarchal Control of Public Spaces'

it just seem a bit to full of wordy 'intellectual' arguers rather than activists - which is fine - just not my cup of tea

I would say I was a feminist but not a mumsnet feminist. When I read about people getting upset about pink Kinder eggs etc I just can't relate to it.

The whole gender neutral obsession puts me off.

But to be there there's plenty of that in chat and aibu too.

Alot of AIBU stuff concerns feminist issues. Women sticking up for themselves and regarding themselves as equal to men is women being feminist. A feminist section sounds like either a waste of time if only feminists are on it as everyone would be agreeing with each other or a bear pit if the trolls come out to play.
Life is a feminist issue, it doesn't need a special section.

Threads do not have to be in a specific named topic to be "feminist". I've put it in inverted commas because many do not self-identify as feminist, but IME most (even all?) espouse the basics of feminism if framed in terms of equality, autonomy and respect.

I think the huge number of threads about what the FWR topic is (or isn't) were very off-putting.

I do still post there sometimes, but probably wouldn't if I wasn't so cussed (having been flamed for 'only being there to criticise' and various other disparaging comments).

It can appear to be a bit quichey, but then so can most of the quieter boards. Posters know each other, there's a shorthand. But it's like anything, it's what posters make it. If there are only a small number of very committed and well-read feminists generally on the board, then that's the level the threads will be at. Just like on the SN boards there are a disproportionate % of threads about ASD - like attracts like, no-one else feels welcome, it all becomes an ever-decreasing circle.

Fwiw I've found the board supportive, challenging, good-humoured and actually life-changing. And certainly not men-hating - many posters have, for example, boy children.

We;re all feminists. All feminist means is someone who wants women to have the same rights and responsibilities as men. There is no hierarchy of feminism.
Although some in that section seem to think there is and that they are at the top of it. Wrong on both counts.

I don't think anyone on here doesn't think women should have the same rights and equality as men - they just don't make a specialist subject out of it.

Agree tankytoppy.

I do think most people are feminists but not the extremist type in the feminist section. What is perceived to be intellectual, interesting discussions is actually professional arguers. Just look at how posters here have described it. Not very appealing is it.

Agree with most of the above. I lurk but I disagree with abortion to term and views on transsexuals .

I'd still class self as a feminist though.

I am always amazed when women say they are not feminists, given the dictionary definition: "advocating the rights and equality of women"

I read between the lines and assume that (like me), they probably just don't like to label themselves.

If I tell people I'm a feminist, I fear they'll assume too much about me...and normally negative assumptions too.

I'd hate anyone to think I was similar to Germaine Greer for example, or held some of the views/attitudes of the more hardcore feminists in FWR.

A few bad apples can do a lot of damage to what people perceive as feminism in general.

I'll stick to being me and holding feminist views. I'll just leave out the label.

Love the idea of a 'feminist lite' topic.

And all the gentle, fluffy, harmonious things my imagination is associating with that

It's an oxymoron isn't it? To challenge things as they stand means being forceful and determined (things women are slated for) are inevitable.

I find feminist views across all sections of MN so I wouldn't be dismayed by the small numbers on the 'feminist' section of the site.
I don't post there for a number of reasons. I object to the notion that feminism needs to be delineated and contained. Personally I also find that section is dominated by a narrow, prescriptive view of feminism that is elitist, damaging and misrepresents the many different waves of feminist theory. It has little resemblance to the envigorating, exciting and inclusive feminism I encountered when I studied feminist theory and imo it also doesn't represent the breadth of debate in the feminist movement.

I don't agree with that at all Used I have seen countless posts along the lines of 'well, boys will be boys' or 'it's natural for people to worry about girls more than boys' or 'well SAHD's are one thing, but I could never leave my kids and go out to work.' MN is a female space (generally) and all power to it, I love it here. But it's not a feminist space at all.

60+ posts now OP

Do you have any thoughts on our replies?

Hmm just went to have a look at it and there is a thread wondering why more women don't go on there by a woman who wants to "educate more women on feminism."
Says it all really, and she probably thinks men are patronising.

I do go and lurk on there sometimes but my sense is that there is one brand of feminism deemed acceptable to a group of dominant posters and that when people voice an alternative view they get lots of very dismissive response which seem overly aggressive or patronising. To me it doesn't seem as supportive or diverse as other areas of MN and the tone of many posts is overly aggressive or patronising.

There seems to be a particular type of feminist angst on there that I don't identify with.

I love it. You don't have to agree with everything you read, but if it makes you think or do some extra research. And there is no big boss of MN feminism. If you have a different view, then express it.

2rebecca yes, I found OP's desire to 'educate' women on feminism somewhat patronising. Just because I choose to spend most of my time on AIBU does not mean I don't subscribe/empathise/understand feminism. It's just not a topic I want to debate to death every day.

Yes, Scarleto, how do you see it?

I'm a feminist, I read the forum and find it very thought provoking, but it's quite intimidating, in some ways. I just don't have the language. It seems to be full of very articulate, intelligent women, which is a good thing, but I don't know much about feminist theory and I'm not very articulate (especially as English isn't my first language and I can't make my point as effectively). So I read it and it gives me a way to express some of my opinions, but I don't feel I can join in.

'60+ posts now OP
Do you have any thoughts on our replies?'

She's too busy using this thread as fodder for her TAAT to reply:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/2222982-Why-a-lot-of-women-dont-come-on-the-feminism-threads

Oh goody

people come to mn for different reasons. some (like me) are fighting a big "ism" in life and have no energy left for others.
judge if you want op, but a lot of people have bigger fish to fry