Feminism

[UncoordinatedPisces]

[quote="lelizwe"]
However, that being said, those who are wary should have the sense to look into it before they make such a drastic decision to fuel such a fire. People will always twist the words of others if it does not suit their own needs. There is no excuse for making up your mind based on a few misled people. If you wish to be heard, and have the means to do so, educate yourself, please.
[/quote]
I have taken more time than I really should have to really look into feminism, how the movement is shaping and the people who are involved, and I've come to a personal conclusion that I do not want to be part of the movement. This decision has come after a good two years following events and online discussion. I'm allied with them, I share most of their beliefs/values/opinions, but I do not identify with them because of the bad eggs. There are more bad eggs than everyone seems to admit. I'd personally like to use the term equalist but that's become a 'problematic' word in the feminist community, so I go by nothing now.

[quote="lelizwe"]
In my eyes, feminism is allowing women to become equal to men while allowing men the same 'rights' (take that term very lightly) a woman already has - i.e, the seriousness of a rape, sexual harassment and domestic abuse case.[/quote]
I'm not sure why you take the term 'rights' lightly with this, women get far more care given to them in cases of rape and domestic abuse. This is also a perfect time to highlight how unfair the justice system is on men. Why is that men get sentenced for longer jail times than women for the exact same crime? Why is it so hard for a man to have custody over his children in the case of a divorce? People wonder why men's rights groups exist, this is why.

[it means no worries]

I have no problem with most feminists-just with the extreme feminists who support misandry.

[HereWeStand]

[quote="Amy"]I'd personally like to use the term equalist but that's become a 'problematic' word in the feminist community, so I go by nothing now.[/quote]

Why is 'equalist' considered problematic? Isn't it harmful to the movement to exclude terms that emphasise on gender equality by implying that the scale always has to be tipped towards women?

There's also people who go by egalitarianism, but I think the reason why it's not a widely known term is because it's a very vague definition that can include many forms of inequality, while feminism focuses on issues relating to gender inequality.

[Rollo]

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[juhouh]

Of course I hope for better future. To do that, feminism is not the correct way. There should be one ruling class and it is the proletarians, the working class (men and women) as Karl Marx wrote. Let's not isolate them and fight for common good. There are 100 times more inequality between the rich and working class than working class men and women

[ScarsLove]

I just spent the better half of this past hour reading this topic and all I have to say is...

Spoiler: show

[Carl]

I'm not sure why everyone keeps making a big deal, the topic was rocky at first, but for the most part everyone has remained respectful. No one is insulting or directly attacking anyone else, and people are actually discussing the topic instead of just shouting at one another. We've had plenty of these World Issues topics that got way out of hand and were full of immaturity, but this one has mostly remained a mature discussion. I've been keeping an eye on it to be safe, but honestly it's fairly calm discussion and I find it somewhat refreshing to actually have a discussion of this magnitude here again.

[Regulus]

Wow. I leave for a weekend and the first thing I see when I come back is a 6-page discussion on a controversial topic?

Well, there are really only a few things I have to say about this topic. For one, men and women will never be equal. It's not biologically possible. Men have evolved to hunt and fight, and women have evolved to raise children. This is why men are typically larger, stronger, and take longer to mature. As such, this is why men typically enlist in the army or drive reckless. Further, this is why men have higher car insurance premiums. You can keep going in that direction--cause leads to effect, which leads to another cause and so on and so forth. Meanwhile, this is also why women produce milk from their breasts and tend to be more emotionally sensitive. The latter is why women are more likely to enter fields such as social sciences when they go to college, and that's why women don't get paid as well. To counter the gender roles we have established in society, we must work against our own evolution. I think that's a pretty dumb idea.

So what we need to acknowledge is that men and women are fundamentally different. Boys and girls go to the same schools at the same ages, learning the same things and taking the same tests. On average, girls appear to do significantly better on those tests. Why is that, you ask? It's all because the school system we have in place is structured towards women. Because males mature slower, a male learning to read at the age of five shouldn't be compared to a female learning to read at the age of five, but a female learning to read at the age of three. A typical boy is going to learn best in an environment more similar to one in nature--that would involve not just playing and being a kid, but also running around and doing things that are physically exerting. This is why almost every troublemaker in every Elementary school classroom is a boy.

But here's the other really important thing. Believe it or not, I don't support strong societal differentiation between genders for one simple reason. None of that is completely, totally, 100% true for every man and woman in existence. There are some boys who are capable of learning just fine in a typical classroom environment. There are some girls who don't do well in that environment, and could benefit from a form of education more like an apprenticeship. A typical boy is better than a typical girl at math and science, but some girls can still excel in those categories. Everything I said above applies to the statistical majority, not a widespread rule that can be applied blankly to everyone. I, for one, am a male. That said, I am neither very big nor very strong, and I was actually able to read at the age of five. I'm a statistical outlier in those areas.

While it's important to acknowledge the differences between a typical man and a typical woman, it is also important to approach each person on a case-by-case basis. Every person on this planet is at least a little different, and society functions best when everyone is doing what they're best at. I see no reason why we can't just throw tradition down the toilet and start over. It shouldn't kill anyone if we take out societal gender expectations and pretend like they don't exist. But at the same time, let's not force equality, either. In fact, I wish for us to embrace our differences. I'm a man... I don't bleed every month, I don't wear bras, and I couldn't possibly give birth even if I wanted to. Please don't entertain the thought of making any of those things happen just because that would be necessary to achieve equality. There is a such thing as going too far.

In the end, I don't think anything I've said here falls outside a range of thoughts that I would label as "common sense." Nothing I've said here is particularly profound. But I didn't intend to say anything profound--the truth is, anyone who looks at this any deeper is overthinking what is actually an incredibly simple thing.

That said, I'm not a feminist. I'm not a men's rights activist. I'm Regulus. I believe that we should all be treated equally regardless of our genders, as long as that does not defy reason. But I also believe we should also be treated according to the content of our character, regardless of gender.

[Si-Amber]

Men and women will never be equal. The female of the species is far more advanced. If women ran the world, there would be less wars and more compassion.

[it means no worries]

If women ran the world there would be world peace. There would also be a group of jealous countries not talking to each other


It was a joke please don't kill me

On a more serious note-I do believe there is gender discrimination-but not in Europe or the USA. I'm talking about Arabic nations and some Asian countries such as India, Bangladesh etc.