Comedian, Aziz Ansari, of Parks & Recreation fame, has his Emma Watson moment. And he nails it.
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First there was Taylor Swift. And then Joseph Gordon Levitt. Then there was Emma Watson at the UN.
Now—in the above video—Aziz Ansari becomes the latest Hollywood star to hold court on feminism. His appearance on David Letterman is chock full of wonderful nuggets like this:
If you look up feminist in the dictionary it just means someone who believes that men and women have equal rights . . . But . . . that word is so weirdly used in our culture now people think feminist means, like, some women is gonna start yellin’ at him. . . .
So I feel like if you do believe that, if you believe that men and women have equal rights, if someone asks you if you are a feminist, you have to say yes. Because that is how words work.
Like, you can’t be like, “Oh yeah I’m a doctor that does primary diseases of the skin.”
“Oh so you’re a dermatologist?”
“Oh no that’s way too aggressive of a word. Not at all. Not at all.”
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(Photo Credit: YouTube screen capture)
Not a decisive statement at all. He’ll get flak from the left for being “insufficiently feminist.” He’ll get flak from the right for being “too feminist.” Those of us who agree with him will be called wishy-washy or pseudo-feminists or manginas.
At this point in the history of our society, it’s perfectly fair to ask someone what his or her definition of “feminist” is. Obviously there are multiple connotations and even multiple denotations circulating around. No one can actually say “here’s what it REALLY means, so you are using it incorrectly.” (I don’t think Ansari is saying that, by the way. I read his statement as “here’s what it means to me, and under that definition feminism is just common sense.”)
I will address Mister Ansari’s points bit by bit: “If you look up feminist in the dictionary it just means someone who believes that men and women have equal rights” Yes, you are correct. The dictionary definition states that feminism is supposed to mean equal rights for both sexes. “But . . . that word is so weirdly used in our culture now people think feminist means, like, some women is gonna start yellin’ at him. . . .” No, it means that feminism practiced now has nothing whatsoever to do with equal rights. There’s a major gap, if you… Read more »
Words are a product of etymology within a living language. They necessarily drag with them connotations, both logical and illogical. “Feminism” may very well have a historical definition recognized by legitimate lexicographers that equates it with “gender equality.” Of course, it almost certainly has a co-definition that indicates its focus on women’s rights in the pursuit of gender equality. With the evolution of modern sociological understanding, it’s become clear to anyone who truly seeks gender equality that men have clear and significant issues of inequality. In fact, one might reasonably argue that at this point in Western society, men have… Read more »
excuse me if this posted twice (getting tired of the “spammer” label), plus it got me flustered in my proofreading: “DUE to the self-righteous…”
I often wonder how this would play out.
A man is sitting on the street corner talking to his friend, suddenly and without warning another man across the street starts shooting at him with a 22 Caliber handgun, the man getting shot at pulls out a 357 Magnum handgun and returns fire, killing the man with the 22. Would ANYONE and I mean ANYONE say to the man with the 357 his response was too much because of the relative strength of the two guns.
So why would you see a dermatologist as your primary choice in any and all medical condition?
So since GMP approved this article and thus must believe in it. It means we can now STOP saying that there is a patriarchy in Western Society, because the dictionary definition of Patriarchy is
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/patriarchy