RE: Dropping F-Bombs: I've Become a *gasp* Feminist!
I can understand how certain squeaky wheels might come to be seen as somehow speaking for all feminists, but it's not like feminists are one-size-fits-all. I've never personally been invited to vote on a platform or anything, lol. To me, feminism is about being aware that there are certain disadvantages to being a woman that are not inherent in womanhood, but are societally imposed or mistakenly held to be inherent. It's about recognizing those things and peacefully working to alter those mistaken ideas when possible. As a mom to a daughter and two sons I feel very strongly the need for balance: to address within society the places my daughter might be slighted without an overcorrection that will mean my sons are slighted instead.
As for requiring feminists to go after the overwhelming bulk of misogyny... I'm not sure how that would work. Do you mean every person who calls themselves a feminist must be fighting all misogyny all the time? I admit I am much more focused on my own family and their experiences for now, but I also know Gillian Anderson is active in and supportive of groups several feminist groups that help women and children in Arab countries to be freed from their domestic situations if they so desire.
As for attacking white men, I'm married to a white man myself and I've only ever attacked him in a good way ;) as I'm sure @lrancap will agree 😂
I read your article about the rape culture and I know there are places this is a big problem and I certainly don't condone it. If it comes up I'm 100% against it as would be any feminist I know personally. I think what I'm trying to say is that the "rules" for being a feminist shouldn't be defined by people that have already decided they hate feminism. And what @nayzer is doing here (bravely imo considering the tone of most articles in the feminism topic) is say, "You can be a feminist and call yourself a feminist without being a man-hating bitch." Not for the benefit of man-hating bitches, but for the benefit of those of us who feel like admitting to being a feminist automatically taints us AS man-hating bitches.
To be clear, I think women in general have been held down for millennia in Western Civilization , but things are changing. Great! My real focus is on Islam. In case you haven't noticed, Islam is coming to the U.S. It has already hit Europe and with it comes Islamic law (sharia) and mysogyny. Have you noticed an increase in women on the street wearing hijabs lately? It is not a fashion statement. It is a political statement that says: "I support sharia and the subjugation of women and live my life according to sharia." Islam is many steps backward for our non-Muslim society in general and for women in particular. This must be stopped.
BTW, thanks for your real and candid discourse. I'm not afraid to deal with serious issues on Steemit and appreciate cogent commentary.
As a newcomer I have to say the level of courtesy shown even when people disagree here is astounding and I appreciate that we can disagree agreeably, thank you for that.
I understand your focus being on Islam, but for me I live in rural PA and truly haven't seen any increase in hijab wearing (or any hijab wearing around here at all). That's not to say it isn't happening elsewhere, but I've kind of pulled back from focusing on big political issues these past few years. My children are 10, 15, and 17, and my main focus has been on what I can do best for them within our small, local world. That may change when they are self-sufficient, but for now I am aiming at raising kids who share my respect of liberty and peaceful, voluntary interactions.
I believe that a generation of children raised with respect and the ability to think critically about the world around them will be the best inoculation against injustice whether it comes in the form of something as mundane as a sexist school principal telling the female student body their clothing choices are responsible for the males' falling test scores or as blatantly horrific as gang rape to punish a woman for "promiscuity." It just so happens that in my corner of the world, the more mundane is what affects me personally, so that's what I choose to focus on for now and I want to be able to say that is feminist enough to be a feminist ;)
At this point I'm basically writing a whole new post so I'll take my leave but I hope you don't mind if I tag you when I post because your thoughtful comments have actually helped me clarify some things in my own mind. Thank you and best of luck!
Thank you and perhaps we'll butt heads again sometime;) I'm not afraid of animated discourse and if you see untruth in my posts, please feel free to point out the errors in my way of thinking. Have fun!