Feminist. That's what most people would've labelled me. Why, you ask? Because I strongly voice out about women' rights and mistreatment. However, I do not see myself a feminist, in fact I detest being considered one. Why, you ask again?
Feminism by right is about women treated as being equal as men.
What is Feminism?
Feminism is a range of social movements, political movements, and ideologies that aim to define, establish, and achieve the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that societies prioritize the male point of view, and that women are treated unfairly within those societies. Efforts to change that include fighting gender stereotypes and seeking to establish educational and professional opportunities for women that are equal to those for men.
- Source wikipedia.org
As I mentioned earlier, I strongly voiced out of women' rights and mistreatment, especially in the working industry. I'm frequently upset at how women are being subjected with double standards, objectified and seemingly have unwritten expectations how to act.
However, as the years go by I begin to realise two troubling issues; feminism movements nowadays stray too far from its initial idealism and that men also suffering double standards.
From what I observe, rather than fighting for women equal rights, feminism nowadays are more about trying to be superior than men. At this point they're doing exactly what men had been doing to the women in the past. To me, modern feminism does not hold all the values of the original feminism. I feel that they have tainted what feminism is initially about, and it disgusts me. Sadly many women support feminism without truly understanding the real original values of feminism. They view all men as the same. Man hating to be exact; without realizing that they themselves while being within the feminism cluster also makes themselves all the same as well.
It comes as no surprise when feminism is often viewed with ridicule.
Due to this "new ideology", I am therefore not "qualified" to be considered as a feminist. I, for instance, have no problems with having a man in my life. I don't mind having my man taking care of me or even lead my life. While I believe that women deserve equal rights in the working industry, that only applies if they deserve it. What I despise is when female employees are as competent as or superior to other male employees but end up with lower pay/compensation/rank. Part of me understands why in some cases, men might be prioritized over women; hormonal changes (especially during period) and pregnancies may affect decision making and production pipelines.
I can hear feminists screaming from far now.
Enough with the sarcasm. Now onto the second issue. While we are busy fighting for women's right, we fail to notice how men are struggling as well. Toxic masculinity also causes them to have unwritten expectations how to act. Men were expected to lead therefore they need to be tough, both physically and mentally. This can be detrimental to their mental health, since unlike women, they're not free to express their emotions. In recent years we see an increasing number of male rapes and domestic violence cases. Yet we barely hear the media talking about any of them, and why is that? Because men were not expected to get raped or abused, especially by women. Society expects them to be superior to women.
This may come as a surprise to you, but men also suffer from double standards. We all frown when a man hits a woman, but what if when things go the other way round? Why is it not an issue for a woman to slap or hit a man when their feelings get hurt? If men are expected to be civil and not to raise their hands, why can't women do the same?
And if feminists are screaming for women's equality, why do they upset when women get hit but celebrate women hitting men?
With LGBT movements become more prominent now, it's upsetting to see many women not supporting their fellow women when they undergo transition. A transgender woman is not considered not a biological women (admittedly there are some sound arguments with regards to this) and a transgender man is a traitor to their gender. If feminism is about supporting women, they should be supporting anyone who sees themselves as a woman, and help those who suffering gender dysphoria.
At this point, I don't see myself as fighting for women's equality but I'm fighting for gender equality. I believe that once everything become equal then there shouldn't be any problem. I won't lie, with the recent rise of 'men objectification' in media, I wouldn't find any troubles with being a woman. I don't mind women being objectified if men are being objectified as well. If men find this uncomfortable, then imagine us throughout the years!
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