[Ramsay]

Caitlin

[Vicky.]

By those definitions, yes most definitely.

[Niamh.]

of course

[Livia]

I'm a feminist and I believe in total equality of the sexes. Like TS, I don't believe in positive discrimination on the grounds of sex, race or anything else. The person who gets the job should be the best candidate, regardless of who they are.

[Firewire]

of course

[Ninastar]

I guess I'm just blinding by the craziness of some feminists that I see. I always thought that feminism as strictly womens right, whereas if what you're all saying is true, then yes, I'd gladly admit that I am feminist.

[Niall]

Originally Posted by Chaos

I guess I'm just blinding by the craziness of some feminists that I see. I always thought that feminism as strictly womens right, whereas if what you're all saying is true, then yes, I'd gladly admit that I am feminist.

Often I think, the worst or most acidic sects of movements are the ones that get the most publicity. The media especially loves to use feminism as something to be exaggerated and laughed at for its perceived stupidity (like that thing TIME magazine did about feminism before the new year). It's given most people the wrong impression as to what feminism actually is. It's not man hating women. It's the fight for gender equality, simple as that.

[Ninastar]

I'm glad you did, it's nice to learn something good

[GypsyGoth]

Feminism has always been about achieving equal rights.

And the media presenting feminism as something radical and militant is a common tactic. It's been used many times in the past and it will be continued to be used because it's so effective. Recently there have been a spate of women displaying signing saying how they don't need feminism for one reason or another. In reality they didn't know what feminism was before they denounced it.

[the truth]

Originally Posted by GypsyGoth

Feminism has always been about achieving equal rights.

And the media presenting feminism as something radical and militant is a common tactic. It's been used many times in the past and it will be continued to be used because it's so effective. Recently there have been a spate of women displaying signing saying how they don't need feminism for one reason or another. In reality they didn't know what feminism was before they denounced it.

it hasn't been about equal rights for decades, its now about getting everyone for women..otherwise why isn't male oppression ever seriously talked about, debated , considered? all the points I keep repeating about male suicide rates, death rates, divorce and family figures are barely mentioned in mainstream debate...why?because people are even more afraid of feminists than they are radical islam

[Niall]

Originally Posted by the truth

it hasn't been about equal rights for decades, its now about getting everyone for women..otherwise why isn't male oppression ever seriously talked about, debated , considered? all the points I keep repeating about male suicide rates, death rates, divorce and family figures are barely mentioned in mainstream debate...why?because people are even more afraid of feminists than they are radical islam

Stupid argument, stupid thought process, stupid points, stupid post. Stupid stupid stupid.

This is precisely why feminism is something that's needed throughout society. Male dominance lingers over the entire world even in spite of the great leaps and bounds that we've come in modern times. Evidence to that fact is everywhere:

• Women (on average) earn less than men pretty much across the board
• Sexual violence is something that disproportionately affects women with convictions of the assailants being lower than ever
• Women are incredibly unrepresented in a realistic manner throughout all media. It's all male focused largely, and the few leading roles that women are assigned are usually misogynistic tropes half the time.
• Abortion, a.k.a the right for a woman to have control over her own body, still remains a debate in our society with men being afforded equal say in a debate that can only ever affect women.
• Double standards on the basis of appearance and behaviour are a thing that constantly affect women with each and every day - take the word 'bitch' and the connotations and context around it for example.
• Women are still often blamed for having sexual violence inflicted upon them by vast swathes of society. You need only look in comment sections on news articles to see that kind of trash.
• The emphasis on appearance that women are so often exposed to day in, day out.

I could continue ad nauseum, but I'd be here all day. And need I remind you that those are issues specific to the so called 'developed' world which so many of you seem to think no longer needs feminism because we've achieved equality. I've said nothing of the far worse conditions women are forced to live in elsewhere on this planet, these are just issues specific to Britain and the western world in particular.

Oppression is a real thing that women face every day. Misogyny is a system of oppressive mechanics in place throughout society (both intentionally and unintentionally) that work to the disadvantage of women. Misandry, however, simply does not exist. Sure there might be a couple inequalities here and there but the sheer amount of privilege each man is afforded from birth until death is created by those oppressive systems working to hold him up while keeping the women around him down. It's not necessarily obvious or immediately visible but it doesn't take a whole lot of reflection to see that such a thing is very real, and changing your attitude on the matter is one of the ways we can begin to discredit and dismantle those toxic elements in our society.

[smudgie]

Yes to being a feminist.
But I am no bra burner.

[Northern Monkey]

Some extreme 'feminists' have unfortunately ruined the terminology for the moderate majority.Also,As TS said in his excellent post above.If equality for both men and women is to ever truly be acheived then a new term which includes both sexes needs to be used instead.Sexism works both ways.The word 'feminist' implies that it only includes women which is a total contradiction to equality.Something along the lines of 'equalist' or 'gender equalist' would be less contradictary.
So no i am not a 'feminist' i am an equalist.

[Ninastar]

Originally Posted by EyeballPaul

Some extreme 'feminists' have unfortunately ruined the terminology for the moderate majority.Also,As TS said in his excellent post above.If equality for both men and women is to ever truly be acheived then a new term which includes both sexes needs to be used instead.Sexism works both ways.The word 'feminist' implies that it only includes women which is a total contradiction to equality.Something along the lines of 'equalist' or 'gender equalist' would be less contradictary.
So no i am not a 'feminist' i am an equalist.

See, this is how I feel.

But yes, either way I believe in equality.

[InOne]

There's a few 'feminists' on my facebook. Always posting pedantic nonsense that makes Men fit into their narrow world view. What's worse is they try pass it off as being intelligent, cultured and worldly. Most Feminists these days strike me as Middle Class rich kids who want to 'belong'. If it wasn't Feminism they were screaming at us they'd no doubt be a member of UAF or Greenpeace

[Brother Leon]

I'm down for equality of course.

If they changed the whole "Feminism" fight to something like "Equality" then I'm sure there would be many more supporters tbh. I'm down for equality even though the name Feminism suggests that it is only Women that suffer from inequality and that there are none whatsoever vice versa.

[Livia]

Originally Posted by Brother Leon

I'm down for equality of course.

If they changed the whole "Feminism" fight to something like "Equality" then I'm sure there would be many more supporters tbh. I'm down for equality even though the name Feminism suggests that it is only Women that suffer from inequality and that there are none whatsoever vice versa.

Got to agree with you BL. Equality is a far better term. I understand the way feminism rose out of centuries of women's oppression... but it's gone too far now and seems to be the domain of women who hate men. I love men, and I'd like to see everyone treated equally and not discriminated against on the grounds of race, sex, sexual orientation or anything other than ability.

[the truth]

Originally Posted by Livia

Got to agree with you BL. Equality is a far better term. I understand the way feminism rose out of centuries of women's oppression... but it's gone too far now and seems to be the domain of women who hate men. I love men, and I'd like to see everyone treated equally and not discriminated against on the grounds of race, sex, sexual orientation or anything other than ability.

Bravo. The exaggerated revisionism is also dangerous. as if all men deliberately kept all women down. lets get it straight, working class men didn't have any voting rights just over a century ago. the whole country was controlled by landowners. it was simple story of the mega rich versus the rest and it still is....the battle of the sexes is a battle drawn up by the elite designed to get the working masses arguing amongst themselves when they should be battling against the elite........how much will apple pay on their quarterly Ł10 billion profits? a lot less as a percentage than the people who clean their sewers.........I say equality and justice for all and time to end this phoney war and take up the real one with the elite

[Ninastar]

Originally Posted by Livia

Got to agree with you BL. Equality is a far better term. I understand the way feminism rose out of centuries of women's oppression... but it's gone too far now and seems to be the domain of women who hate men. I love men, and I'd like to see everyone treated equally and not discriminated against on the grounds of race, sex, sexual orientation or anything other than ability.

agree with all of that apart from loving men lol (not that i hate men, just that i dont love them because i like boobs)

[Kyle]

Egalitarian.

[the truth]

feminism is a disgusting evil poison that is destroying western society. where we see abuse anywhere in the world of men or women or boys or girls or animals we should all act and seek to stamp it out. but to seek to help one gender over another is vile...its elad to discrimination in law against men, its lead to discrimination in health against men where billions less is spent on mens health..men are more likely to get cancer and die far more likely yet more of the pot goes to women. 1000s more institutions are set up and paid for to support women, far more money far more charities are set up and billions more is spent on women per head.....the law is biased against fathers, biased against family itself. its lead to social cultural bias against men with a million and one double standards across the board. in the end this hurts everyone men and women.the law and the rules and the culture should be equal, period.
where we get mixed up is when we include the middle east and those areas of the world that are 1000 years behind us....we are talking western society where the vast majority of discrimination is against men...men lose 80% of divorce battles, lose their kids in over 80% of divorce battles, lose their homes in over 80% of divorces....men kill themselves at 4 times the rate of women and men die young in every country across the globe

[Nedusa]

Originally Posted by Smithy

There seems to be a bit of stigma attached to this word, so i was just curious what TiBB's stance on it was

[B]Feminist: a person who believes in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes[/B]

Misandrist: a person who dislikes, despises, or is strongly prejudiced against men

Misogynist: a person who dislikes, despises, or is strongly prejudiced against women


with these 3 definitions in mind, and these 3 definitions being the exact definition of the above words, would you call yourself a feminist?

Sorry, but I do not believe this is the definition of a feminist.....




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[Nedusa]

Feminism was created at a time when women where downtrodden and had little or no rights, it followed on from the suffrage movement which had its peak in the 1920's.

Feminism had a place when the balance was tipped too far in favour of men, in todays world although equality does not exist in every area of life the mainstream areas are pretty even and as such I do not think there is still a place for feminism in its literal meaning.

I also think the feminist movement was hi-jacked by the flat heeled,man hating brigade years ago, and they pretty much won't be happy until men are eradicated.

I agree with the push for further equality but I do not like the idea of trying to push one particular gender ahead of another.





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[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Nedusa

Feminism was created at a time when women where downtrodden and had little or no rights, it followed on from the suffrage movement which had its peak in the 1920's.

Feminism had a place when the balance was tipped too far in favour of men, in todays world although equality does not exist in every area of life the mainstream areas are pretty even and as such I do not think there is still a place for feminism in its literal meaning.

I also think the feminist movement was hi-jacked by the flat heeled,man hating brigade years ago, and they pretty much won't be happy until men are eradicated.

I agree with the push for further equality but I do not like the idea of trying to push one particular gender ahead of another.





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mmm good points Nedusa. What would make alot of sense in this day and age to move forward in a united way would be to change Feminism to Equality groups that cater for inequality for both sexes because in areas like fathers Rights for example men are definitely being hard done by, also women being awarded alimony is out dated. Both of these issues at one point in time were needed as women usually didn't work when married and also wouldn't have had as good opportunities as men did to earn a decent wage. And in regards to children, men used not take as active a role as women in raising their children. That has changed but the laws don't seem to have kept up and that can be a terrible thing for a father if a marriage breaks up. Men and women working together to get equal rights for everyone seems like a positive step forward

[Nedusa]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

mmm good points Nedusa. What would make alot of sense in this day and age to move forward in a united way would be to change Feminism to Equality groups that cater for inequality for both sexes because in areas like fathers Rights for example men are definitely being hard done by, also women being awarded alimony is out dated. Both of these issues at one point in time were needed as women usually didn't work when married and also wouldn't have had as good opportunities as men did to earn a decent wage. And in regards to children, men used not take as active a role as women in raising their children. That has changed but the laws don't seem to have kept up and that can be a terrible thing for a father if a marriage breaks up. Men and women working together to get equal rights for everyone seems like a positive step forward

Agree........yes if we carefully examine the whole spectrum of rights we would as you say find there are areas where men have less rights (like in Child custody) and areas where women are still under represented.

So taken as a whole I think we need the fight to be more of a general nature where both Men and Womens rights are represented in the areas where they are still lacking.

Either way I still associate the word Feminism with the battle to increase womens rights at the expense of everyone else's regardless of whether there is a desperate need or not.






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