I’m currently away at a conference, and one of the speakers today was a self-confessed hardcore feminist. She was terrifying. She blamed men for everything that was wrong in the world today, until every male in the room was trying to hide under the table. Whilst she did make many a valid point in relation to gender inequality, it did strike me whilst she was speaking that by presenting her argument in such an antagonist way, she was actually portraying women in a bad light. I felt extremely uncomfortable listening to her, and afterwards, I felt myself questioning my own point of view on the issue of feminism.
Despite being very pro women, I’m also very pro men. By that, I mean that I believe that the only way forward is for both sexes to be completely equal. There are very few issues that are gender specific in my mind, which is why I have never been a member of any female only division, group or club. I often find them intimidating, out-dated and worse of all, extremely bitchy. I also find them ineffective. Yes, there are issues that mainly effect women or mainly effect men, but that doesn’t mean that both genders can’t work together to come up with solutions. I’m thinking in particular of issues such as domestic violence, rape and eating disorders which often have more of an impact on women. However, men are also effected by all these so why do we very often focus on gender specific solutions to them? It makes no sense to me.
True enough, we do live in a pre-dominantly masculine work and women aren’t always equal. We see this in terms of promotion and salary, and other fundamental issues. However, I find elements of feminism to be dangerous as rather than bringing the sexes together, it emphasises the differences between them. By taking such an approach, there’s a danger therefore of losing sight of the inherent similarities. Unity is strength is my mind, and by following an equalitist agenda, we can support those who are discriminated against or victimized irrespective of their gender.
Bethan Jenkins 12:51 pm on 19 July, 2009 Permalink
There are varying strands of Feminism, and it is potentially quite damaging to generalise as you do in this blog post.
I believe that women only groups, if utilised effectively, can be successful in raising issues pertaining to women, and can unite women around specific causes.
We have a cross party group of Women in Politics at the National Assembly, and though it does not meet as often as it should, it is a great way for women politicians to meet, and to organise debates and so forth. I don’t think that this is a threat to the equality agenda, but in fact strengthens our resolve.
We still live in a male dominated society, and the Equality and Human Rights Commission has noted that the pay gap has increased between men and women. Until this inherent inequality is eradicated, I still believe that feminism is important, and that it is as relevant now as it was in the 1970’s- if not more important.
David Phillips 2:01 pm on 24 July, 2009 Permalink
Heledd, I agree with much of what you say. The way forward is surely to be gender blind and treat people as individuals who can all contribute to their communities and fulfill their potential. For sure one area where social justice is urgently needed is equal pay for women, a gap that needs to be closed.
After all a man can just as effectively and wholeheartedly champion the rights of women to have a better screening service for breast cancer or proper support services for single mothers struggling to train for a career, as a woman can advocate on behalf of a man with testicular cancer or suffering with pneumoconiosis.
Ultimately, the test is in the ethical commitment of the individual to secure a society where there is gender equality, in other words what matters is not so much the gender of the change agent but that the outcome for the whole of society is socially just as a result of their efforts.
Dr. Christopher Wood 2:29 pm on 25 July, 2009 Permalink
David> I agree totally. It’s a question of empowerment of the individual and really letting them know that they count for something. Society creates ‘invisible people’ – individuals who end up believing they are essentially invisible/don’t count for anything. Wales has too many invisible people. We have essentially ‘boxed’ too many people, and it has become, essentially, a national disaster, there is a hidden crisis of confidence. Too many of us are now like that proverbial rabbit caught in the headlights of a fast approaching car. It is like we have beached people in ‘low energy troughs’ or perhaps more accurately: “low personal productivity troughs”. To borrow the words from Queen (band): “we (Wales) needs to break free”, and we can do that by ‘doing’ by ‘believing’. We have to reinvent our inventiveness as a nation to break free; regardless of background, race, prospertiy (both physical and mental), gender, etc.
Hannah Rose Mendoza 1:45 pm on 21 August, 2009 Permalink
Feminism isn’t about ensuring that men and women are treated the same or about denigrating the contributions of individual men. It is about realizing the power structures that keep women from realizing their full potential in whatever capacity they wish to practice that. If you value what women do, then you are a feminist. I think it is important to distinguish between radical feminists and critical feminists. Radical feminism largely supports the idea that women can do the same things as men. Critical feminists suggest that the things men have been doing don’t necessarily set a high enough standard and that we shouldn’t push ourselves to be the “same as” but rather recognize and accept that all people are different. Validation of women’s contributions comes through equality not through the elimination of difference either in type or in treatment. It is time we stop visualizing this debate as one gender versus another – there are more than two in any case – but rather about empowering the decisions that individuals make to embrace their own difference.