I have no idea what I'm talking about?
You have provided a non-comprehensive list of things you have no meaningful understanding of, yes. However, I really don't think that's fair to readers of the thread. Listing ll of those things (which, again, you have no legitimate platform to discuss) might give the impression by omission that there are other feminist issues which you do understand.
I assure you, readers, this is not the case. Avorne is fighting the bad fight based on a series of faulty and misguided assumptions.
First, let's address the issue of etymology. It seems like a lot of people on the Internet don't know what feminism is. At first I thought this was a serious problem, potentially a dangerous one, but then I remembered that the following view is held almost exclusively by those whose opinions are not and should not be valued by anyone, so it's all good.
It seems like a lot of people, our dear Avorne included, seem to think that feminism is not an inherently egalitarian movement. This is largely because the name is feminism. The core principle of feminism is the fundamental equality of men and women. That's the entire concept. Holding that either gender is inferior is anti-feminist. It's not about female superiority.
The reason it's called feminism, then, is because historically it fights against a societal and philosophical tradition of male superiority. To fight for equality is to fight for the advancement of the position of women in society. They are synonymous. If you say you want equality but don't try to improve the social and legal situation of women, then you aren't working for equality. This is especially true during the time of its inception.
Some have suggested that the very label feminism causes issues, and that we've grown past the past and that we should change the name for clarity. My issue with this is two-pronged:
First, the name
feminism, as Nicho has kindly explained, makes it clear that the movement is aware of and attempting to correct the social injustice faced by women. Again, most gender equality work is going to surround working for women's rights, simply because women have it worse almost everywhere. In terms of legal and social hierarchies, women are traditionally the oppressed group, and attempts at equality must reverse that. Trying to hide that fact under a manufactured label is only going to make people falsely believe that social status has been equalized.
And even if it had, which it hasn't, so what? You really think the best way forward is destroying evidence of our history and philosophical traditions? Even if you get your way, come up with some new word and throw every bit of historical and philosophical literature that intimidates you down a ****ing memory hole and stop calling it feminism, will there be any pragmatic benefits?
No, not at all. This is because, and this was a fact that took a long time to dawn on me, because people who say they're against feminism based on the name literally don't know what it is. It's like when Christians don't read the Bible. These are people who can't be bothered to even read the wikipedia page on feminism, which makes the core philosophy of equality rather clear. I doubt most of them, our OP included, have even heard of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, much less read any of her work. Rather, they just arbitrarily detest feminism because of their own misinterpretation of the name and willful ignorance. Actually read some feminist literature before attempting to discuss the philosophy.
I really want to hammer this point home, because the irony is that these are the same people telling Christians to read the Bible. You think you have some intellectual grounds to criticize something you literally have made no effort to understand at all! No, don't post a ****ing article about some bull**** you read on menarebetterthanwomen.com on how feminists make up statistics. That article is probably a little biased. Actually explore the philosophy at all before trying to say
the entire thing should be destroyed. I mean, Jesus Christ, I think that would be pretty basic to anyone who supposedly values critical thinking.
By the way, I'm assuming you have not read a meaningful body of feminist literature because the alternative is that you have really poor reading comprehension.
So yes, in short, people advocating a change of name are the worst kind of ignorant people: ignorant people who want to destroy the history of what they don't know, so everyone else can't know either. So that wraps up the topic of the label "feminism."
At this point, I'd like to take a brief interlude to quickly address an issue. You keep talking about "extreme" feminists. First, those who claim women are superior are anti-feminist. Except maybe Wollstonecraft. She might get an honorary feminist badge. I'm sure you don't understand why, because that would require an extremely basic understanding of the history of Western philosophy, which you clearly lack.
Anyway, those views are anti-feminist, and, for the most part, don't exist. No, don't post a bunch of links in response to that statement. Stop. Close the google tab. All that will do is demonstrate that you don't get how the spotlight fallacy and confirmation bias apply to you, even though it's really obvious. A formal philosophy of female superiority is just not a view held by many at all. Sure, sometimes you're cruising tumblr and you wind up talking to a fifteen year old girl who's barely taken a poop big enough to hurt telling you about how the plight of men could never compare to the pains of childbirth, but for the most part, these so called radical feminists are not a representative sample of either feminists or people in general.
Now, one more issue I'd like to address. Avorne has also made it clear that he also doesn't understand the world around him, and is possibly a bad person. Let me drop some quick knowledge on you, in list form.
1. **** culture exists. **** is primarily influenced by societal values, and moreover influenced by power relations between genders. Skimming through your tumblr, I did come across some of the stupid arguments against this notion. Most of these arguments, and almost all **** apologetic arguments, stem from a deep if irrational desire to believe that there is an intrinsic justice in the universe. **** is an evil thing that happens for evil reasons.
2. We are far from gender equality. There is no legal gender equality in the United States, nor is it promised. I'm sure you'd try to use this to claim that the UK is better than the US, even though people like you ironically prove that false. Anyway, I don't know the UK law. But in society, gender discrimination is almost omnipresent, especially in the way that people interact with one another. It is sexist against both genders, and males are excluded from social groups as much as women, but the underlying stereotypes that people are raised with repeat the recurring themes that women are inferior, women are subservient, women are lesser.
3. and this one is super important.
Women do not have it better than you. I know what's happening here. You don't like the word feminism because it implies we might be trying to do something for other people and not you. You see people talking about hey, let's maybe treat women like they're people and you suddenly get mad that you don't get a prize for being male middle class and white. Guess what whitey, the position of women in society is worse. Attempts to improve it aren't an attack on you. When they get something you don't, it's not because you can't have it. It's because you already have it. When you have an advantage, losing it sure must seem like a disadvantage.
We don't live in a society where women are given preferential treatment. We live in one that's just
starting to consider the possibility of treating women as equals for the first time. If you think egalitarianism is good, if you think we should fight for equal rights, good for you. But if you think we HAVE gender equality, or anything close to it, you better take a second look. Examine how gender influences roles in society, both on a large and small scale. Wake up and smell the ashes.
