Feminism

[goodkate]

Can somebody please explain to me what feminism means exactly. I asked dh if he thought I was a feminist and he burst out laughing and then nodded his head vigorously but I'm still not sure what it means?

Throughout history, women have always struggled to gain equality, respect, and the same rights as men. This has been difficult because of patriarchy, an ideology in which men are superior to women and have the right to rule women. This ideology has permeated the social structures of societies throughout the world and as a result, even in the new millennium, women are still struggling for rights that most men take for granted. The struggle was even more difficult for women of color because not only were they dealing with issues of sexism, but also racism. In order to fight patriarchy, feminism and feminist theory was born.

What is feminism? By general definition, feminism is a philosophy in which women and their contributions are valued. It is based on social, political and economical equality for women. Feminists can be anyone in the population, men, women, girl or boys.

Feminism can also be described as a movement or a revolution that includes women and men who wish the world to be equal without boundaries. These boundaries or blockades are better known as discrimination and biases against gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status and economic status. Everyone views the world with his or her own sense of gender and equality. Feminists view the world as being unequal. They wish to see the gender gap and the idea that men are superior to women decreased or even abolished. There are many different types of feminist theory and each has had a profound impact on women and gender studies.

The first is cultural feminism, which is the theory that there are fundamental personality differences between men and women, and those women's differences are special. This theory supports the idea that there are biological differences between men and women and sexism can be overcome by embracing the "women's way."

The second type is individualist or libertarian feminist. This feminism is based upon libertarian philosophies, with the focus on autonomy, rights, liberty, independence, and diversity. Next, there is the radical feminism; this theory began during the Sixties. This ideology focuses on social change, and "attempts to draw lines between biologically - determined behavior and culturally- determined behavior" in order to free both men and women as much as possible from their previous narrow gender roles.

Finally, there is liberal feminism, a theory that focuses on the idea that all people are created equal and that education is the primary means to change discrimination.

from this article

Thank you for your quick response - its good to have an educated explanantion.

I have 2 points to add.

1. I have always thought that men are ultimately inferior to women. That may sound flippant and patronising but I genuinely think that women are wiser, maturer and more responsible.

2. I have treated everyone as an equal to everyone and expect to be treated as an equal (despite my deeply held believe about men I still respect & love them and treat them as equals). If they think they're superior/inferior then thats their problem.

Do these points make me a feminist or just patronising?

1)Feminists don't generally consider men to be inferior, although there is no doubting that some do.

2. Although both sexes should be treated and accepted as equals, women have suffered years of misgynistic oppression. So whilst we want to be treated equally and on face value it may appear that we are. in actuality it is quite often not the case.

your view is a bit patronising, i wonder, do you think that there currently is equality of opportunity for women? do you think that you would get an equal chance at any given job interview for instance, that men view you as equal?

do you consider any inequalities down to gender or do you feel that there are other factors in place.

i feel it is a little simplistic to announce - 'i am a woman, ergo i must be a feminist because i believe we should be equal' so i think if you want to adopt an ideological/political standpoint, perhaps you should look into more than the obvious one

I just came back to expand actually as i felt my respnse was a bit...well basic.

Custy makes an excellent point.

could i also point you in the direction of the feminist section. We are blessed with some seriously intelligent and informed posters in the section who i am sure will help guide you through deciding where you feel most comfortable.

but as custy so rightly says, you don't have to be a feminist just because you want to be treated equally to men

Thank you for your responses.

I have never been made to feel that I was treated less equally than men and continually expect to be treated as an equal.

I may be naive but I don't think so. Maybe I'm arrogant about thinking that woman are superior to men but quite frankly I know that women have suffered terribly in the hands of men and continue to do so, so I don't really give a damn if I am considered to be so.

The point is that if men, (not all men but out of 6 billion I would suggest a majority) think it is necessary to make women suffer to feel better about themselves then that makes me feel and believe women are 'superior' by default.

I'm a feminine woman, didn't go to university but managed to hold down a high pressured job in the City in my twenties and early thirties. I never intended to do a high adrenaline man's job, I never acted tough and I have never felt badly treated by a man even in a testosterone powered man's world. By the time I got married I had my own assets and by the time the dc came along was happy to be a SAHM for many years. My SIL's think they are feminists, don't try to make the best of their femininity, have never really engaged with working live and feel very down trodden. They on the other hand went to Russell Group Uni's and could argue with MNetters far better than me. I have always thought it rather a paradox that I was completely independent by the age of 30 whilst never wanting to equal or a feminist whilst they felt that there was a fight that needed fighting.

Onceamai, I am not convinced that working until your mid thirties in order to be financially independent and then have children is really a practical or desirable solution to the issues that women face. If all women did that, many would find themselves infertile by the time they had gained this financial independence. Asides from which, we don't have an economic structure that would allow all women (or even all men) to be wealthy enough to have such independence.