I have been feeling that I need to explain my opinions for quite a while now, but have been afraid to voice them because of fear that I'll upset all of the feminism fans out there. Is that what feminism stands for? Being afraid to voice opinions?
I have noticed while scrolling through BuzzFeed and Facebook that feminism is becoming a massive deal.
To be honest, I think the time for feminism has passed. #controversial.
I'm not saying that I don't believe in gender equality. However, back in the 1900s when feminists first raised their voices, women of that time could not work and could not vote. We can luckily do both of these things now thanks to those women who sacrificed so much.
I recently shared this link: 11 Things That Are Supposed To Happen On Real Dates That Don't Anymore on my Facebook page the other day. A good friend of mine said that it was gender stereotyping and that I should take flowers on a first date.
I believe the opposite. I think men should be chivalrous. I am a very traditional person. Is that so wrong? Why is it gender-stereotyping if I agree with everything in that article?
What do you consider gender-stereotyping? I don't agree that all women should be in the kitchen, but I also don't want men to stop being polite, or men to stop buying me drinks at the bar just because "they don't want to bought into the stereotype of believing that women can't buy their own drinks". I know someone who refuses to be bought anything by a man. What if he wants to buy her something? She is degrading him by not allowing him.
Another friend of mine once asked me "why do you wear so much make up and high heels all the time?"
She asked if I felt like I had to wear make up. What sort of a ridiculous time do we live in if people begin to question the things that make me feel good. I wear make up because I like expressing myself and enhancing my features. It also gives me half an hour every morning for some Me Time. I wear heels because I am short.
I have been judged by my feminist friends because they found out that I would like a traditional wedding. Y'know, one with the big white poofy dress in a church with people wearing massive hats. Surely it's against the "feminism code" or whatnot to not respect my views?
And does it not work the other way? When we see a picture of a half-naked woman, people think it's degrading. However a half-naked man is considered eye candy. Is there going to be a rise of "masculists" who feel that the men in this world are being degraded and are not treated fairly?
People bring feminism into situations where it is not needed. I have discussed with many people various characters from books that the author "portrayed in a sexist manner." What if that's just the way the character is? So what if it's a woman who enjoys baking? So what if she gave up her job to raise her child?
In real life, the choice of a woman to leave her job and to raise her child is a very personal one, and therefore should not be attacked by the feminist views out there.
In conclusion, I am all for gender equality. However, I don't believe in feminism.
Feel free to discuss anything I have written in the comments, I would welcome any other points of view. :)
=) I have watched a documentary on that theme.. It said that men and women should be equal, have the same rights and stuff but also that we should be aware of our differences and be proud of them. Because, it is a fact, we ARE different.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on pretty much everything here. I think of myself as a fairly traditional bloke, and I do like to bring flowers to dates, or to buy a girl drinks, partially because its traditional, and partially because I think its a nice thing to do. However, in doing so I often feel awkward - I don't want to offend her by unintentionally implying that she can't get one herself. Of course, if she were to offer to do the same for me I would have no objection! As regards the provocation of a sort of "masculinism", unfortunately that is already a thing, evident in so called 'men's rights' groups, most of which are in fact unintelligently reactionary and sexist. Thanks to such groups and other factors I do believe that there is a role for feminism today - I believe there remains something of a gender gap in the world of employment, and in culture as well - for evidence you only have to look at 'newspapers' such as the Sun. Perhaps the best way to achieve gender equality is to rebrand feminism as something that reflects the fact its aim of equality - I rather like 'humanism', but sadly I think that one's taken.
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