Katherine Fritz, on the benefits of feminism for women and men.
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This is, I suppose, a follow-up to last year’s “I Am a Feminist.”
In case you were curious, I still have an overwhelming love of using crudely drawn Photoshop illustrations to convince you that feminism isn’t a dirty word.
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This article originally appeared on iambeggingmymothernottoreadthisblog.com. Reprinted with permission.
If feminism is for men then its up to feminists to prove it. I appreciate that there are some out there that want to be inclusive of men. But those feminists have to realize that they are a minority voice compared to a constant barrage of “men can only be allies”, “women’s issues are more important”, “there are no issues affecting men its just men feeling the collateral damage of women’s issues”, “men have to earn the trust of women and feminists”. There are way to many feminists out there that think they can just say feminism is inclusive of… Read more »
I’m not concerned about jokes. I’m an adult, I can handle them and any offense that may occur. I’m not concerned with men being “allowed” to cry or like pink things, or any of the other small potatoes that ideologues pay lip service to in order to give the appearance of taking men’s issues seriously. I’m concerned about being arrested when I call the cops on an abusive partner. I’m concerned about bias in divorce, family and criminal courts. I’m concerned with the fact that male victims of sexual assault, especially by women, are hidden legally and statistically. Each of… Read more »
Agreed, jokes are jokes and can be shared. What concerns me are also the things that feminists claim are jokes such as #KillAllWhiteMen
Wow, some amazing responses. @bobbt … You brought back some good and not so good memories. “What’s your number?” will be emblazoned in my mind until the day I die. Funny thing back then, feminists never mentioned being denied te draft. Heck, for that matter I’ve never known any feminist campaign focused on women/girls signing up for selective service. What a privilege they’re being denied, don’t ya think? I too have asked for someone to give me 5 examples of what feminism has concretely given to men. I never get an answer either. You quote Gloria Steinem? Seriously? “A woman… Read more »
Tom, to this day it amazes me how a movement that could be so vocal about so many things could stand by in silence as their sons, brothers (male) cousins were shipped off to Southeast Asia. (They did issue a statement condemning the draft in 1985!)
1.) Men sent other men to war. Women didn’t send men to war. But I do know that tons of people protested the war back then did they not? Women and men. You seem to forget about all the women who protested the war. 2.) Unfortunately, men (fathers, husbands, boyfriends, brothers,uncles) are every bit as ‘silent’ on the degradation of women as women can be on the degradation of men. “Bros before H***” has become a cultural cliche said with sly smiles and winks. Although we don’t have to perpetuate that cycle. We can choose to be men and women… Read more »
1.) Men sent other men to war. Women didn’t send men to war. But I do know that tons of people protested the war back then did they not? Women and men. You seem to forget about all the women who protested the war Let’s also not forget the suffragettes who went around handing out white feathers to men during World War I. Emmeline Pankhurst did so with enthusiasm. Those shaming tactics haven’t really stopped now in 2015. Discussion of the Refugee Crisis nearly always points out that many of these refugees are “men of fighting age” and it is… Read more »
Yes. I know that the ‘white feathers of shame’ is a popular discussion on MMR sites. But lets also not forget that men pressured and shamed other men into the war probably more then any suffragette ever did. There is a lot of historical information on the complex relationship between father and sons alone and the code of honor fathers expected of their sons and among other men. While I am sure men felt pressure from women, given women’s social position at the time and the general lack of respect for equality men had for women at that time, the… Read more »
Yes. I know that the ‘white feathers of shame’ is a popular discussion on MMR sites I wouldn’t know, I’m not interested in measles, mumps or rubella. Despite your assumptions, I am neither American nor right wing. I live in the country where Emmeline Pankhurst organised her suffragettes to give out those white feathers. ou don’t honestly think that women don’t feel like they aren’t infact also disposable do you? How are women disposable? You may feel you are, but you will always be first on the lifeboats, you will never be conscripted, you will always get preferential treatment in… Read more »
Yes. I know that the ‘white feathers of shame’ is a popular discussion on MMR sites. I wonder why its only discussed on MRM sites. You can’t say that “its in the past” because even almost 100 years later in a day and age where women make up the majority of voters the fact that women couldn’t vote is still invoked in regular conversation. But lets also not forget that men pressured and shamed other men into the war probably more then any suffragette ever did. How can we forget that when its the go to response whenever male suffering… Read more »
If the gender tropes on those coasters were reversed, I would not feel conflicted about being supportive of a female friend who found them offensive. I can have my own opinion, but it isn’t about me. At times, though, I feel like (intersectional) feminism is imploring me to, in the name of fighting all oppression, rail against issues that I simply don’t care about. Eliminating knick-knacks with trite male-stereotyping quips is not going to make me feel vindicated, at all, ever. I would feel good about overturning the decision that awarded primary custody to an unemployed, drug-addicted mother instead of… Read more »
So, my last comment was ‘moderated’ out, what a surprise! Even though it was factually correct, it flew in the face of revisionism, and as George Orwell said “He who controls the past controls the present., and he who controls the present controls the future.”
Look, I probably go back further than anyone here(including the author). I was in high school in the late 60’s-early70’s. I remember my junior and senior years when we started the school year in the fall right around the time of the Draft Lottery. Everyone had the same question for each other “What was your number?” (The crowd I hung with wasn’t going to college, and in those days, if you weren’t going to college, you were going to ‘Nam). Meanwhile, Feminist were marching calling us ‘Privileged’…. ‘huh’? To this day how bleeding out in a rice patty half a… Read more »
The fact that many men have gone to war and died (God rest their souls) for it does not infact mean that men weren’t ‘privileged’ in normal society. Just like the fact that women were treated like second class citizens for generations in this country and others, doesn’t mean that men didn’t have their own struggles and inequalities. Back in the day, women worked in coal mines along side men. The women who worked in the coal mines with the other men where often raped in the mines and did the jobs the other male coal miners refused to do.… Read more »
I agree with all the comments. Until men look inside themselves and admit their hurt, and until feminism really understands that gender role pressures are much more than simply self-imposed inconvenience on men, there won’t be significant change. This morning I was listening to a radio show on which a guy was talking about a comedy show he was putting out about a girl’s experiences with “bad boyfriends.” He made the statement that the opposite dynamic of “bad girlfriends” would be rightly considered misogynist, but exposing male weakness, failure, and maliciousness is OK, because men essentially deserve it. It’s bad… Read more »
Everyone is different. Some want submissive women, some want dominant, some want switches. Some want women to speak their mind, some want them to keep quiet. Both genders get heaps of conflicting messages, men get bad boy/jerks are sexy vs nice guys are boring, women get the madonna/whore issue. Feminism isn’t really for men. It’s for men to pander to women’s interests, help support women’s issues n causes whilst taking a back seat and shutting up. If it were for men then we’d see male issues proportionately discussed, instead of the plethora of women telling men to basically shut up… Read more »
Yeah, for men it’s definitely a ‘one way’ commitment. Whenever I hear these statements of it benefits men also, and I ask for an example of said direct benefits, I’m met with silence.
If it’s not your job to explain, then why bring it up in the first place? It’s like telling someone to “check their privilege” and then offering no real solutions. A lot of people talk a good game, but all it is is just talk.
Sorry, not buying it. Feminism is about Female empowerment period! When school districts across the country recently started changing ‘Take your Daughter to work’ day to ‘Take your CHILD to work’ day, your hero Gloria came out against the change.
When feminists who claim to despise the culture of misandry within the movement make an actual effort to challenge and confront the misandrists that are turning men AND women away from feminism, please do not ask men to fall over themselves in enthusiasm to sign up for feminism. When women like Sharon Osborne lose their jobs for thinking it’s “fabulous” that a man had his penis cut off for asking his wife for a divorce, and when she is requested to apologise on television but instead attempts to excuse the abusive woman’s behaviour, when men who are cheated on by… Read more »
First paragraph should read:
I think its the perpetual ‘Victimhood of the Sisterhood’ combined with the general lack of empathy toward others that turns off many to the ‘woman’s club’ (can’t say the actual name lest I be ‘moderated’ out)