Does anyone feel the need to reclaim femnism.....?

[BertrandRussell]

So many important issues just seem to be falling by the wayside. When did we last have any sort of discussion about reproductive rights in US? The Million Woman March-remember that? Weinstein and the follow up? FGM? The abortion debate in Ireland?

So what do people think should be the focus of feminist activity in 2018

I’m going to go for employment rights.

More (well) paid paternity leave for men. Preferably to be taken the month their partner returns to work.
Funding for people taking their employer to tribunal.
Some sort of requirement to offer a part time role in all (or as many as possible) jobs roles. I would love to work part time, but it means getting sidelined at work.

Looking at the prolapse thread, my vote is for female biology

Male violence - what causes it. A concerted effort with input from any relevant source who have legitimate axes to grind.

I don't agree with the comments on the Men's day thread that women do not need to concern themselves about male on male violence. I doubt there are many men who hit men who don't also hit women , children and animals.

This thread is a very good example of divide and conquer used to stop us talking about feminism.

Using gendered insults is anti women. There is no need for misogynists to bother, when some feminists do the job for them.

!st rule of misogyny: Women are responsible for what men do.

Insulting othe feminists because they don't meet your requirements is equally a gift to misogynists.

“I don't agree with the comments on the Men's day thread that women do not need to concern themselves about male on male violence.“

If I said that, I didn’t mean it the way it sounds! What I meant was that women should not be expected to be responsible for male violence and the stopping of it. Men really need to step up. The problem with a lot of the discourse on men’s issues is that there is a subtext that it is women who need to do some5hing about it........

That's why I don't insult other feminists or women I don't agree with. It is possible to disagree without resorting to insults (particularly gendered ones), name calling and ad hominem attacks.

2018: I think a greater recognition that male violence is not only physical. Greater awareness of the ways coercive control works, professionals involved with families trained to recognise it, education that if a woman does not have equality within the home, she cannot participate equally outside it. And if women are not treated equally outside the home, this perpetuates inequality within the home.

And women being respected, recognised, and accepted as the female of the species, biologically speaking. Not lesser, not to be created out of man, not to be turned into man, but women in and of themselves, enough, good enough as they are and only they can be.

dione
The comment you made was pointed, it's pretty clear who you were referring to and implying those feminists are misogynists is insulting.
I find the way you pop up on here to tell us we are doing feminism wrong rather than engaging with the topic at hand insulting too.
It may not be a direct name calling insult but it's still an insult.

Anyhoo...
I agree with beyond
The prolapse thread is eye opening. It reveals so much about societies attitudes to women, particularly post childbirth. Some posters on there are suggesting some kind of action - I could get behind that. It affects all females, there would be no room for intersectional point scoring and any improvement could hugely benefit the lot of most women.

Yes, more recognition of coercive control. My dd was in an abusive relationship for a year, and even though she is an intelligent, switched on feminist, it took him actually hitting her for her to realize what was happening. I’m almost pleased he hit her - it was a proper wake up call. And she is not, sadly, alone.

"What should be the focus for feminism in 2018"

Bringing it all back to basics in language that all women understand. Not every woman has studied sociology. Therefore do not understand the jargon. For example "misogyny" apart from people wrapped up in feminism who seriously uses that word in real life? Burst the bubble and look around most women are just trying to get by. A woman's movement would be amazing, for all biological females. Bearing in mind not all women have the freedom or socialisation to realise they have a choice or option. This is the problem I was trying to express in my last post about the gender pay gap. Most women accept the pay gap at the top end but can't understand it at the same time as they are working minimum wage side by side with their sons and husbands

A woman's movement would be amazing, for all biological females.
Really interested in this. What would it look like, how would it work? I can sort of see where you are going with the comments about pay but I'm not feeling like I understand the end of the train of thought. Are you saying we need to focus on the pay gap at the min wage end or are you saying other things would be more useful focus of a women's movement?

I'm saying stop talking on behalf of the women affected and involve them

“I'm saying stop talking on behalf of the women affected and involve them”

How?

This is optimistic but I think with work achievable. Organised female groups, up and down the country where women can meet and learn. Learn about women's history, gender roles, women's rights, learn the "jargon" learn to think outside of the stereotypes we have been taught to conform to. Most women like I said just accept what they are dealt with as that is how they/we are socialised. It needs to be more than that. It needs broken down. I'm not trying to be an arsehole. I think the media and politics and gender roles are all intermingled into a non coherent mess. People can't see the woods for the trees. Get up go to work, look after the kids do majority of housework and don't realise things could be different. Like I said I'm not trying to be an arsehole. Just recognise the need for all women to come together.

Obviously I don't have all the answers, I just want things to change

I think the media and politics and gender roles are all intermingled into a non coherent mess. People can't see the woods for the trees. Get up go to work, look after the kids do majority of housework and don't realise things could be different
Totally agree. I don't know how to help women. So many are put off by the "feminism" label, others are scared of the scales falling and run away. And there is jargon and language to deal with too.
I do try to talk to the women I know about this stuff but don't know how to turn that into something larger scale....

Ps I don't think you are being an arsehole, am genuinely very interested

I’m almost pleased he hit her

So sorry Bert I’m glad she’s away from him.

There is no gender pay gap at the bottom of the scale, everybody is as equally paid shit as everybody else, that's one of the reasons people from the working classes reject feminism as they think it's full of shit as it does not effect them. I'm not being goady, I'm trying to explain one of the reasons feminism has a bad name.

There is still a pay gap, that's why Birmingham city lost an equal pay claim. Women often earn less for work of equivalent value (e.g. care workers paid less than bin men).
I can see why people might perceive the pay gap stuff to primarily benefit professional women, but jobs primarily done by women are undervalued at all levels.

www.google.co.uk/amp/www.birminghammail.co.uk/special-features/birmingham-city-council-workers-could-13424641.amp

I'm talking about NMW it's illegal to pay any man or woman less.

That's being on the bottom end of the scale

The internet, forums like this, are excellent consciousness raising tools. Way better than the mimeograph machines of yesteryear.