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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Feminism: chat

Original poster

do feminists speak on behalf of all women?

46 replies

losamsterdamos · 05/01/2018 01:45

something I see over and over is feminists mention something followed by "this offends women" or "this offends all women".

I remember a while back there was a campaign to put stickers that read "this offends women" on copies of The Sun in newsagents.

Feminists may well be offended by certain things but should they really be speaking for everyone?

OP posts:
Pythoness · 05/01/2018 01:46

Yes. All women have an interconnected hive-mind and we all get offended by the same things.

birdsdestiny · 05/01/2018 01:53

Pythoness said exactly what I was thinking. Grin

MrsDoyleFallingOutTheWindow · 05/01/2018 01:54

Plus, they're doing it to piss you off. They are literally the enemy and all you need worry about.

badabing36 · 05/01/2018 01:55

We might not get offended by the same things. But we do speak for all women in the fact that we advocate for the safety and dignity of all women, whether they agree with us or not.

Weezol · 05/01/2018 01:56

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BitOfFun · 05/01/2018 01:58

God, yes, you can't move for feminists just fucking everything up for women everywhere. I'm so fed up with them sticking up for women's rights and shit.

badabing36 · 05/01/2018 01:58

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3130651-To-have-lost-any-remaining-shred-of-belief-that-this-country-gives-a-toss-about-women-and-girls

Wondering what your opinion is on a few things that have been in the news recently op? Are you upset by them? Or uninterested?

EarthwormsAndSnails · 05/01/2018 02:25

I completely agree. I always recoil when I hear them make a sweeping generalisation. Everyone should speak for themselves and not for the "behalf of women".

OtterInDisgrace · 05/01/2018 03:05

Rolls eyes.

What bit of fun said.

MrsTerryPratchett · 05/01/2018 03:28

On a day when a rapist of possibly 100 women is being readied for release after an utterly pathetic sentence, what I REALLY CARE about is feminists speaking about other women's feelings. Pfft. I mean feminists, right? Trying to pretend women are discriminated against as a class. Arseholes.

PocketCoffeeEspresso · 05/01/2018 07:56

something I see over and over is feminists mention something followed by "this offends women" or "this offends all women"

The first is more normal - women as a class. The second, well, the first thing that leaps to mind is the #YesAllWomen hashtag.

And in these cases, I think you have to treat it like physics, and take the 'all' as a rule of thumb in the same spirit as 'assume the earth is a sphere'

And it's not like non-feminists don't do the same and worse: Women are terrible parkers, women are over-emotional, women love shopping, mums go to Iceland etc.

You can choose which group speaks for you best (personally I'm an excellent parker, live abroad so don't shop at iceland, and do find the sun's page 3 offensive)

TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross · 05/01/2018 08:06

Well, of course if only those interfering feminists had campaigned for women’s rights just for themselves instead of insisting that all women be given the vote, and that all women benefit from the changes made to the laws governing employment, property and divorce, not to mention rape within marriage.

How very dare they assume that all women would like the opportunity to vote, and to receive equal pay, and to benefit from the legal right not to be raped by their husband.

I feel your anger, OP. Oh, wait.... Hmm

Gileswithachainsaw · 05/01/2018 08:09

Well they can speak for me. I might not always agree but I cannot thank them enough for educating me.

I can't ever hope to remotely be able to call myself one there's just to much to learn and understand that I'm not sure I have the intellectual capacity to take it all in.

So the more the merrier and thank you all

FrancinePefko · 05/01/2018 08:18

I am happy never speak because feminists do it for me. It means I can stick to my knitting and getting my DH's dinner ready.

ATeardropExplodes · 05/01/2018 08:23

Feminists may well be offended by certain things but should they really be speaking for everyone?

Who else will be speaking 'for women' if feminists didn't?

FrancinePefko · 05/01/2018 08:26

In fact, whenever anyone asks me anything, I say "Excuuuuse me, but do I look like a feminists??? How should I know?"

FlaviaAlbia · 05/01/2018 08:31

Everyone knows they based the Borg on feminists. Duh.

PricklyBall · 05/01/2018 08:36

I would think exactly the same as every other feminist in the world, except I can't think at all because of having a lady brain n'all. All it does are feelings about fluffy kittens, not actual, y'know, real-life, male-type thought processes.

eirlysse · 05/01/2018 08:39

Is Mumsnet the only way you can get women to talk to you OP?

Thanks there there little sad flower

Thermostatpolice · 05/01/2018 12:13

No they don't. Women have a range of opinions on feminist issues. Surely everyone knows this?

FrancinePefko · 05/01/2018 12:18

Er no I'm sorry Thermostatpolice but that is simply not true. Women have no opinions on anything which is why we have the feministism to tell us

Datun · 05/01/2018 15:59

Only women who are concerned for their safety and want to be the architects of their own destiny.

If they are not bothered about that, then no.

And they, of course, are perfectly within their rights to set up a group advocating for danger to women and all their decisions to be made by a man.

IrkThePurist · 05/01/2018 16:55

We're told what to sticker and object to. By Head Office.
If women liked any of those things they'd put stickers on them saying 'Women Approved'.

I remember a while back there was a campaign to put stickers that read "this offends women" on copies of The Sun in newsagents.

By 'a while back' you mean 30 years ago during the anti Page 3 campaign. And you forgot to complain about how these actions infantilise women.

Xenophile · 05/01/2018 17:02

I get all my thoughts, beliefs and activism from Feminist Central Office.

We are a hive mind, along the lines of the Borg.

Resistance has been found to be empirically futile.

Xenophile · 05/01/2018 17:03

The hive mind says you're a prick OP, just thought I should let you know.