Girls and Guys (and any others also) Has real feminism died?

The last century was greatly important regarding women rights and the idea of what feminism was could be clearly seen. What is feminism doing today? Don't misinterpret me, I know there are still few groups fighting for that, but I cannot see the same spirit of the last century. Feminism as a whole has been reduced to attend some irrelevant meetings with no real future or participating in the Day of Women (it means that we reckognize women fully for a day and then we forget about it). Where is the feminism today? Has the X Factor,soap-operas kind of television programmes, female magazines and another **** destroyed it? Let's start a hot debate :smile:

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Reply 1

SoulfulBoy

Where is the women movement? I cannot see it.

Reply 2

karateworm

Feminism is generally accepted opinion I think. I mean, I know there are difficulties... but pretty much everyone in this country excepts that women should get equal rights to men.

Reply 3

SoulfulBoy

Original post by karateworm

Feminism is generally accepted opinion I think. I mean, I know there are difficulties... but pretty much everyone in this country excepts that women should get equal rights to men.

What is accepted is a fixed view of what feminism should be (and thus, is). I cannot see that concept moving forward.

Reply 4

Ellim

Original post by SoulfulBoy

What is accepted is a fixed view of what feminism should be (and thus, is). I cannot see that concept moving forward.

I don't think that is true at all. I think part of the problem of the public perception of 'failing feminism' is that feminist movements have become misaligned though academic differences. Now a standard response to someone telling me they are a 'feminist' is 'what kind?'

Plus, I personally think that a few branches of feminism have 'ruined' the public image of the overall cause. Originally feminists were fighting for equality - as the majority of feminist movements are today. Some, however, have take it too far and it seems to have swung into misandry.

Reply 5

LemonKitty

There seem to be two very different forms - the original, where brave women fought hard to achieve small things and worked towards achieving equality, and the modern form, which is just women babbling on about how amazing they are, how terrible and evil all men are, and how we are better than men. I guess you could call these neo-feminists.

While of course I am very grateful for what the early feminists achieved, I have no time for people who think themselves better than others, including this second group.

Reply 6

SoulfulBoy

Original post by Ellim

I cannot see that energy of the last century in women nowadays. That vision of what they wanted to do and confidence on how they would do it. :frown:

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 7

ipulledhermione

Feminism, imo, really ought to be in the face of protecting womans image and expectation in society as those are where women in the western world are largely misrepresented. Of course feminism is alive, i hope it is. Women are often forced in to a corner by their own 'liberated' interests. Especially nowadays after being objectified by all those around her she now objectifies herself.

I'm not well. I'll get back to this later.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 8

IlexBlue

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 9

Chris12002

Original post by SoulfulBoy

Where is the women movement? I cannot see it.

In the kitchen?
:awesome:

Reply 10

SoulfulBoy

Original post by IlexBlue

I think the need for feminism has pretty much died.

Are you saying that we have reached real equality? Because only then should feminism disappear.

Reply 11

missygeorgia

Feminism has evolved. We're in the third wave of feminism which is much more global, much more about class, race, nationality, and about decontructing the idea of 'woman' itself and the gender/sex binaries. So yes, of course feminism is still massive, but it's much more tied up in all the other issues as well.

Also, I really hate how people completely ignore the rest of the world when they talk about feminism. Does nobody know anything about the blossoming feminist movements in, say, Iran, and Nepal?

Original post by IlexBlue

I think the need for feminism has pretty much died.

LOL

Reply 12

SoulfulBoy

Original post by ipulledhermione

We will wait for you, Hermione. :blushing:

Reply 13

jolteon

women must realise that gender stereotypes are a load of cow excremeennt and that their asserting that they are better than men is as aretarded as men asserting their superiorirtty to women

Reply 14

missygeorgia

Original post by LemonKitty

Yes, that's a totally valid distinction, if you read the Daily fricking Mail.

Otherwise, that's a complete misrepresentation of feminism, on both accounts. Facepalm.

Reply 15

ScarlettMelody

I think feminism is more about everyday equality now instead of the battle for womens rights it used to be, there isn't such a need for radical feminism today although there are still smaller inequalities in society. I consider myself a feminist but then i feel that anyone who considers women and men equal is!

Reply 16

Ellim

Original post by SoulfulBoy

I can see that energy of the last century in women nowadays. That vision of what they wanted to do and confidence on how they would do it. :frown:

It's unfortunate, but unfortunately I think it's a product of the original feminist movement. There are girls who are told that they are equal to boys and they can do anything and that's the message they hear - but, like many movements, there are girls who are told the same thing and start to believe they deserve more in order to make reparations for the past.

I don't consider myself a 'feminist' but rather an 'equalist' - I believe in equal pay for equal work and equal rights. I don't, however, believe that corporations and governments should be setting quotas for the number of women, blacks, Asians, gays et. al. because I find that just as discriminatory, as though these groups of 'minority' people would not be able to secure those positions with their own hard work and merits. All I want is that the best person be offered the position regardless of their gender, colour, race, sexuality or any other point of difference.

Feminist movements in the past (the Suffragettes for example) needed to fight against prejudices that were significantly more overt than the prejudices of today. That's why the label 'feminist' was appropriate. I personally don't believe it is as appropriate today, particularly outside of academia. The subtle prejudices that exist now can only be combated by a combined effort of all minority (whether self-perceived, socially-perceived or actual*) and majority (again, regardless of perception) peoples.

So, to come back to the original question I don't think 'real' feminism has died, but like all political movements it has changed as needed - in some cases for good and in some cases for not-so-good.

*What I mean by this is regardless whether that group actually is a minority - 'feminists' still label themselves a minority even though they are not. In the past the term was used because females were a political minority and an economic minority whereas today they are significantly less so.)

ETA: Of course this is not entirely true of all 'feminist' movements - there are much more grassroots feminist movements happening throughout the world, I think someone above mentioned Nepal. From having (very limited) first hand interaction with Nepalese women who are beginning to embrace these 'feminist' ideals I feel as though they are starting in a better place than Western women did. To begin with, the contact that people have with the western world, and aid organisations and NGOs give a lot of these women more confidence to stand up. Sadly, this isn't true of everywhere. HOWEVER - I also suspect that there are some western 'feminists' battling on behalf of women who neither want nor need defending.

I wish I knew more about these 'other' situations, but as I don't the comments I have made above respond directly to my own personal first hand knowledge and situation.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 17

BorisMalden

Original post by missygeorgia

If you're deconstructing the idea of 'woman' and the gender/sex binaries, then how is it even feminism? Feminism strikes me, by definition, as being rather concerned with gender.