Men-Hating Feminists and Other Oxymorons

Note #1: This is my first blog post after a long few weeks of medical complications, but I'm healed up and back to writing. I plan to write about it later, but right now, something else demanded my attention.

Note #2: I plan to keep the following post as little about politics as possible. While feminism is largely debated between all people of the political spectrum, I would like to keep this more about cultural issues than my own political agenda. I also know this in no way can cover the entire scope of the issue, but I wanted to clear up a few misconceptions.

Before I get started, let me give you a couple of definitions so we can be on the same page--and there is one less excuse for not following:

1. fem-i-nism. n. the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities.

2. op-press. v. a) to crush or burden by abuse or authority. b) to burden spiritually or mentally; weigh heavily upon.

While fooling around on the Internet, something came to my attention. Women Against Feminism is a Tumblr completely dedicated to, as you would guess, women who do not believe in the feminist movement. Now everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and that is what makes this world exciting, but some of the arguments posted seemed to be the result of misinformation and logical fallacy. The two I'm addressing are, once again as you would guess, feminism itself and the concept of oppression.

Let's start with feminism. People have started to think that feminists believe that the only way to equality is to bring down men, but to me, that is counter-intuitive to the movement.

One, it would mean that women could only be equal to men if they just stop trying so hard and being so darn successful. This suggests that women are not equal in the first place, that men need to be handicapped for progress to be made. Any real feminist would want equality to be won on hard work alone, not by transferring the weight culture has put on women to men.

Two, feminism is meant to empower men too. With common sayings like, "Man up" and "Grow a pair" considered pep talks, and "You throw like a girl" and "Boys don't cry" considered an insult, this suggests a weakness not only in being female but in feminine characteristics. This means that any man that does not fall under his gender role is considered a lesser person for falling under her gender role.

But if that's the case, why do we not change the name of the movement? It obviously is meant to help both men and women.

That's not a good enough reason. Although in the end, feminism will help both sexes, it still needs to focus on bringing up women. We can only reach the desired equality by de-stigmatizing femininity. By doing so, expected masculinity in men will fall with nothing to compare it to, and a domino effect will occur.

Now that we have had a crash course on feminism, let's talk about oppression.

One of the biggest arguments I saw on this Tumblr was that women in the Western world are not oppressed when compared to other parts of the world. Here are a few examples that, without question, fall under that category.

• Indian women are still being forced to marry their rapists.
• Women in Yemen can't leave their own home without asking their husbands' permission.
• Saudi Arabian women are not allowed to drive, limiting their societal and literal mobility.

These all give you a gut reaction. "Oh yes, that is so obviously wrong. It deprives them of basic human rights." 

What it shouldn't do is lead you to believe that just because these things are not happening in the Western world does not mean that the oppression of women does not exist.

There is a logical fallacy called the fallacy of relative privation. This is when people make their argument by comparing extreme examples. One common use of this fallacy is when people chastise others for complaining about overcooked food when there are starving children in Africa. Just because that is true, it does not actually detract from the situation at hand. It does not, in fact, make the food in front of you any less burnt.

This means that because the cases of oppression in the Western world are not as extreme as the ones above, they in no way make the ones happening any more right. 

Here are a few contemporary examples of oppression in the U.S:

• One student's rapists were sentenced to expulsion upon graduation for assaulting her despite video evidence.
• Women are still paid 77 cents for every dollar men make in the same field. 
• The Supreme Court ruled that Hobby Lobby can choose not to cover four types of birth control based on religious belief despite research that shows they do not cause abortions. 

So just because you do not feel oppressed at the moment does not mean that you are in the free and clear. Every decision made like the ones above can potentially set a precedent that may come to affect you in the worst of ways. Universities may feel they are justified in their continued mishandling of sexual assault. Employers will continue to accept the gender wage gap. More corporations can start making the final call on your reproductive health.

As for me?

I need feminism because I can't agree with anything that takes choices about my health and well-being out of my hands.

I need feminism because my breasts are not the only things about me that make me beautiful.

I need feminism because I want feminine to stop having any kind of connotation and start being a neutral adjective.

I need feminism because my tendency for tears and love for children are not feminine qualities--they are human qualities.

I need feminism because there's no reason equality should still be a debate in the twenty-first century.

And I need it now.