Last week's topic 'Has racism become acceptable?' had a fairly light response. The comments that we did have were from both sides, so once again we have a draw of opinions. However, I have a feeling that this weeks topic may receive some different responses.
So, this week my question is, "Has the feminist movement gone too far?"
This is a difficult concept to put across without ruffling feathers, as pretty much 50% of people are women. First of all, I would like to say that I am not against everything that the feminists have accomplished. Quite the contrary really. I am all for women's right to vote, women's right to equal pay and equal job opportunities. I am also all for women's equal treatment. However, that is one of the biggest problems that I have noticed. Women nowadays are demanding to be treated as equals to men, but they are not treating men equally. If a man was to call a woman fat, she would be in an uproar, however, women feel that it is hilarious to say that a man is fat, tubby or pot-bellied, and he is not allowed to make comment in return. Women demand the same jobs as men, but when they have them, they complain that things are too heavy, or that they need constant toilet brakes. To have women trying to act like men is rediculous. I understand that some women are, how do you say, much more physically capable than most, and that is fair enough. But to have a 50kg lady in a job that involves heavy manual labour is inappropriate at best.
One of the biggest problems that our current society faces is the 'global financial crisis'. Many families in America lost their homes because of the GFC, and many others struggle with the financial woes of home ownership. Yet sixty years ago, there was only ever one parent at work and they were able to cope with the mortgage. So what has prompted this money change? I believe it is the working woman insisting that she have a blooming career, and the feminists insisting that they be entitled to work just as any man does. Having a job and focusing on your career is fine. I have no argument with that. However, when everyone in the country has both parents working and dumping their children in daycare, it makes it practically impossible for families like mine who WANT to have one parent at home, spending quality time with their young children and raising them with their ideals instead of what a daycare teaches them, impossible.
Another big problem we face is the bad behaviour of children. As one of our readers mentioned in 'week 1: Children's Discipline', a big problem with children's behaviour is broken homes. So many children come from broken homes, in fact, there are more broken families in my daughter's class than not. This is from a number of different causes: divorce, seperation, death, and the most common, children born out of wedlock. No matter the cause, not having a mother AND a father around hinders a childs development. They need a female role model to show them how a lady should act and how she should treat a man, and they need a male role model to show them how a man should act, and how a man should treat a lady. Most children are missing out on this vital knowledge. But the root of this problem, is feminism. Back in the sixties, the pill became a revolutionary icon, giving women the ability to control their own sexual choices. This led to the desensitisation of sex, and it quickly became common place to have sex before marriage and to indulge in multiple sexual partners. Just look at society today. It is not uncommon to have sex on one of the first dates. Now, I am not here to debate premarital sex ( though I would like to), but the fact is, having sex makes children. Hell, that IS the point of it. So this trend has caused MANY people to get pregnant with someone that really, they did not intend on staying with long term. I think that our children would greatly benefit from stepping back into the polite past when STDs were unheard of, and sex was a special thing between a man and his wife.
I strongly believe that men and women, in some ways, are not equal. We are made differently, with different strengths and weaknesses. We compliment eachother because of this. I think that women need to stop being so hyprocritical, be grateful for the rights that they have, and accept the differences that make them so special. Women are delicate, and need to be treated as such. Lets face it, most women spend at least nine months of their lives pregnant and EXTREMELY fragile. Men are big and strong so then they can protect their fragile wives and children. In my household we have adopted the philosophy that the man is the head of the household. He maintains the right to put his foot down should he really want to, and has the final say should he wish. The wife is a close second, though she gets an equal say in all decisions and her voice is always heard. The flip-side to the man being the head of the household, is that he is well-aware that should any intruders brake in, it is his job to deal with it and protect his family. I am not suggesting that all families take up this mentality, but at least we all play to our strengths. Why are feminine women who believe in old-fashioned values and the strength of their men looked down upon with distain? Why are women today so obsessed by having 'independence'? Does this really make them happy, or does it do just what it means, make them alone?
Basically, my point has been that while the feminists have accomplished some great things, we have also lost some great things, and the sad truth is that we are not better of. I know that if women did not have the right to vote, my partner and I would discuss our opinions and we would vote together. As I have said, this is a very difficult concept to discuss, but I do believe that the feminist train needs to slow down and reflect on all that has changed.
Please let me know if you agree or disagree with what I have said, as long as statements are mature. I understand that some people will be against what I have said, and I welcome their views also.
-T.J.
I agree that the "Feminists" have created a bigger problem than they could possibly have envisioned.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that men & women are different & I believe that these differences are meant to compliment each other. Men are naturally built to be stronger. There brains are wired in such a way as to want to defend & provide for their partner. Women, on the other hand, are softer & designed to care & nurture their family. Women have a greater stamina overall than men do which is needed when looking after their young. I realise that these are extreme generalisations, but these are the things that the feminists are trying to change.
On the other hand, I do agree that they have helped in bringing equality into the workforce but they have also made it the "norm" for ALL women to work. Why is it that someone who wants to stat home & look after their own children is looked down on while the women who go back to work as soon as they can are praised.
Children need their mothers during those first formative years, after they go to school is a different situation. Then the mother can & maybe should go back to work in order to help with the finances.
Just a quick post on this topic as I know it’s a bit old now. I think it’s important to distinguish between your everyday women who believe that women should have equal rights to men and your radical ideological feminist who is behind the problems. You can, contrary to many women’s opinions, be opposed to this radical ideological feminism without being anti-women and you can still believe in equality for women. From now on when I refer to feminism I’m talking about the radical ideological kind not your everyday woman. It’s also important to see feminism not as the direct root cause of these problems (though it directly plays a big part in a lot of them) but as a subset of the larger ideological evil, that of philosophical naturalism and its offshoot, secular humanism. Philosophical naturalism is the view that matter and the physical is all there is. There is no God, there is no supernatural, all there is, is what we can see, feel, hear, touch and experience. Secular humanism takes the former as fact and goes further to suggest that we can and should create heaven for ourselves. This type of utopianism is, I believe, the leading cause of the problems of today. The problem is, humanity is inherently evil and we constantly want to do the wrong thing. So to obtain world peace the utopianist most use force to obtain his objectives. This is why we live in such a radical political correct culture where the highest evil is to cause offense to another person or tell them what is right or wrong. The correct way to promote change in someone is to promote a change of heart. So its important to see the foundation of feminism to understand the workings of feminism. If philosophical naturalism is true and secular humanism is the answer, then the individual takes the highest priority over everything else. Therefore, the feminist seeks to find happiness in sexual promiscuity, power, career at the expense of God and families which are what should be the highest priority.
ReplyDeleteHas the feminist movement gone too far?
ReplyDeleteI am a 60 year old male. I grew up in an age of style & grace, where men were happy to be men & women were happy to be women. Just because you were male did not make you a gentleman nor wa a female automatically a lady. To be a gentleman you always showed respect to women. Often this meant opening a door for a woman, letting her go first in all things, & never raising either your voice or your hand.
Today these ideas are considered out of date & in some cases offensive by the feminists.
However I know a lady ( my mother) who chose to be a wife & mother. She had the skills to be a very successful business woman had she chosen togo down that path. She raised 4 children, helped her husband run a farm & handled most of the accounts associated with farming. She is proud of her achievements & did not want to do anything else.
Another lady I know is my wife. She trained & worked to become a Registered Nurse. After her graduation she chose to become my wife & mother to our 3 children. Economic circumstances forced her ( not me) to return to the workforce. At this time she chose to qualify as a "Theatre Nurse" & after successfully completing this training went on to be in charge ( after hours) of operating theatres where they were performing open heart surgery, liver transplants & many other major operations.
Both women I have mentioned achieved success & fulfillment in their lives without the need to compete with or become like men. Both are highly intelligent, gifted women who have earned the respect of almost every person that knows them.
This brings me back to the question that (T.J.) posed.
Has the feminist movement gone too far?
My opinion is no they have not gone too far !! The women of today have used this excuse to justify their actions. It's better to have a good excuse than to get up off their backsides & work for the goals that they do not have the courage to set