Lovelyish

Individuals of both sexes and individuals of any self-proclaimed gender should be treated and seen equally in certain respects, yes – primarily in terms of laws and other legal matters, and in the work force, and in education (can’t think of other “basic” things at the top of my head). But of course there are likely some issues that mostly affect men, and some that mostly affect women. I also do not consider myself a feminist. But uh, from what I’ve heard and read I would have assumed that feminism is more about women having the same opportunities and rights as men, not being singled out and recognized as something special as the above definition seems to be saying. And I’d think this would go for other genders as well. If that makes any sense.

Feminism is the wing of the Progressive movement that seeks to set man and woman against each other. 

With the Zimmerman-Trayvon case we see how the Democrat Party races against each other.

And we see by today’s Democrat Party assault on Ann Romney for choosing motherhood, feminism is actually hateful to women who don’t make the correct, Democrat Party-endorsed choices

This is binarist.  You forgot to mention that all genders should be treated equally; men, women, trans people, non-binary people, genderqueer people, et cetera.

I’ve been a feminist since I was 12 years old.  If I had known being a feminist was supposed make me good at math, I would have followed in my mom’s footsteps and majored in engineering.  

I wasn’t sure if I was the only one that thought that post was a joke. There are very few people on Xanga that seem to understand what feminism truly is. Considering it’s actual definition I don’t understand why women AND men alike wouldn’t call themselves feminists. The movement has evolved and changed. The real feminists I know still support the rights of women 100% but also look at double standards when it comes to men as well. And transgender people too. It’s about fighting the real enemy which is not a specific gender but people who oppress others and their rights out of fear and ignorance. 

OMG THANK YOU.  

@sometimestheycomebackanyway@xanga - the Party’s assault?  it was a comment made by a single person without any authority within the DNP.  by your logic, i’m correct in assuming all conservatives are accurately represented by Rush Limbaugh.  i may dislike conservatives, but not even i’m THAT ignorant.  

@flapper_femme_fatale@xanga - Whether it’s Sarah Palin or Ann Romney, the abuse from Democrat Party minions is unrelenting and aimed at the entire family.

If a member of the GOP had even hinted those things to anyone, their careers would be over. Instead, we have people like you making excuses and the people making such remarks skating off scott free.

@methodElevated@xanga - How is this binarist? I do not make any claims about how trans gender people etc… should be treated. This post was about how the term feminism originated and how people misinterpret that term today. Like by @ashleynicole who believes that a feminist is someone who thinks women deserve more “special” treatment than men, which is a false definition as I pointed out above.I was simply addressing a very specific issue in gender equality. This post wasn’t trying to address all the issues that gender equality covers. 

lilblucherrygrl@xanga - I completely agree!

There is so much misrepresentation of feminism on the internet. I think there is a lot of misunderstanding of the different forms of feminism. There’s first wave which is about equal rights, there’s second wave which is about de-constructing patriarchal institutions. Now i’ve only taken 1 women studies course in my academic career but I assure you that in a “feminist” class, we don’t bash men. Instead we learn about oppression of both men and women in the hands of war, colonialism and poverty. It’s not even about hating men at all, it’s about stopping violence, marginalization, powerlessness and knowing the difference between speaking for and misrepresenting. 

@methodElevated@xanga - It’s probably more of an issue about semantics: few people know the difference between a sex (male or female, with the appropriate reproductive organs), and gender such as the ones you listed, which is more of a personal choice/social construct than a strictly biological thing. So you can be a female in terms of sex but a male in terms of gender. I’m not that knowledgeable about the various genders though, just about the sex/gender distinction.

@theasianwithnoname@xanga - From the wording “It’s about recognizing the individuality of a woman and rewarding her justly regardless of her gender.” But ultimately it may be about your words not being clear enough and being able to interpret them differently than how you meant them to be. But I wasn’t saying that from the wording that it sounded like women deserve special treatment, but that they are being specifically targeted and that one’s equal actions/behaviour towards them was because they were being targeted based on gender/sex (since you’d not target a man and say “you should be treated equally with others because you are a man,” you know what I mean?). I think that if you are strictly referring to men and women and not to all genders, the word “sex” should be used in place of gender, as you can see based on the distinction I made in this comment to someone else. 

@theasianwithnoname@xanga - Yes, it probably wasn’t your intention to disclude them, but the image at the top, along with no mention of non-binary people, made it seem like you were only acknowledging the existence of two genders.  I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions about your intent.

And I would say feminism, as it’s used today, isn’t about the “radical notion that women are people”, or that women no longer have to adopt stereotypical gender roles.  That’s more of what it started of as.  Now, feminism seems to be about privileged people in power who want to use the movement to promote the equality of white, able-bodied, cisgender women and men, and not non-binary, non-white, disabled people.  I see it a lot, and it’s a fucking shame.

@sometimestheycomebackanyway@xanga - where did i offer an excuse?  my point was that the statement doesn’t reflect the opinions of all Democrats, just as the statements of Limbaugh do not reflect the opinions of all conservatives.  

unless, of course, you think he does… considering you avoided my point in the first place, i’m going to assume you do.  in which case, i don’t give a rat’s ass about offending ANY group that has Limbaugh as its representative.  he, and anyone who thinks like him, aren’t worth the air they breathe.

@ashleynicole - Yeah, the existence of a spectrum of genders and sexes isn’t something that’s taught very much by our schools, family, or popular media, and when it is, it’s usually stereotypical nonsense.  There are a lot of people working to change all that, but it has a long way to go before it’s the norm.

@flapper_femme_fatale@xanga - Nothing anybody says represents the thoughts of everyone, so that part of your comment is a non sequiter.

The fact is, the Democrat Party is already engaged in a war of negativity the likes of which has never been seen.

The congressional Democrats, in violation of the law, have not submitted a budget for over 3 years. But the minute a good man like Paul Ryan submits a plan to bring some fiscal sanity back to Washington DC, the Democrats start ranting and raving about how the GOP hates women, minorities, the sick, the poor and the elderly.

And Obama is engaging in the same sort of sordid negativity which is a total repudiation of his own plea for civil discourse.

No civilized people would have attacked Ann Romney the way the Democrats have ruthlessly attacked her. This type of barbarism must be condemned not excused. 

@methodElevated@xanga - I don’t think those sources should be blamed on that too much though, since in most cases even those who study phenomenon involving the two sexes don’t understand the difference between a sex and a gender. I really only learned the difference because of my psych classes. Had I not taken psych I would still use both interchangeably. I’m sure though that as more and more people start to learn the difference there will be more people to teach the difference. Perhaps including it in sex-ed classes would be a good idea though; we learned about sexuality in my junior high sex ed class, so why not gender as well?

@ashleynicole - This post is about gender however, specifically about women and the traditional roles of women.  As I said to methodelevated this post was pointedly talking about the term feminism, which includes a discussion about female gender roles not just the female sex.  But nowhere in the post do I say I want to address all the issues that gender equality covers, just this specific issue of feminism and how that term is used and misused.

Feminism was a response to the patriarchal society where women were relegated to certain roles, thus making it necessary for people to state that “women deserve rights, opportunities and fair recognition for their work.” It wasn’t necessary to say that for men at the time since they already had those rights. (Of course I recognize that  there were issues with male minorities but that’s another discussion for another day.)  In general, feminism was about extending rights and opportunities with the idea that all people of all sexes deserve them.

Now when people take the side where women deserve more than men (which doesn’t fall within the traditional definition of feminism) on simply the virtue of being a woman is an issue.   If we get to  point where men essentially become second class citizens then it would be necessary to explicitly say that “men deserve equal rights.” etc…. But thankfully we haven’t reached that point and most people who actually believe that women deserve more rights than men are in the very small radical fringes.

I don’t think I’ll ever be a feminist because there does not seem to be many reasons to be one. Of course, I’m thankful for the past feminists for giving us the right to vote and to work, but do we still need more benefits for women? I feel like if we seek more benefits, it will be unfair to men. They must buy us dinners, propose to us, etc. (okay there are more important injustices but can’t think of at the moment. >.<) For instance, men cannot stay home to raise children without being judged. While women can do so. 

Of course, we can CHOOSE to propose ourselves and work after bearing children. Therefore, what do feminists want more? The only disadvantage I can think of is that men get paid more. In a sense though, men are more likely not to quit to raise children so they are paid more. If you don’t like this then tell your boss you would never be homemaker then. Or maybe if women come back to work after having children, they can have a raise? Its not a big difference between men’s and women’s salaries probably. If it is, then you ask the boss why they are being sexist. Otherwise, I think feminism is not needed except in the middle east where women are not allowed to drive. Here, we are lucky and should accept it. I mean, can we make men bear children? Then, we’ll talk about feminism. 

@theasianwithnoname@xanga - If you are focusing on biologically-born men and women, then you should use the term sex when referring to them. And where you specifically talk about expectations and roles for both sexes, then gender can be used. But there are places where it seems you are referring to gender roles for both genders when there are actually numerous genders. 

@methodElevated@xanga - Yeah I didn’t put the image though I think it’s in a way accurate for how the term feminism originated. Back then transgender issues were even more invisible than they are today! Transgender etc… is definitely an important issue. With time hopefully people can learn to break down the traditional ideas of what it means to be biologically male/female and what it means to identify oneself as male/female/neutral.

Definitely people mis-use the term feminism. Feminism is simply the notion that women deserve rights.  People take it to the point where it has to mean a certain kind of attitude etc… including people who are loudly self-proclaimed feminists.  It’s troubling but I think most true “feminists” don’t take on that attitude, we just hear about them because the media likes covering the crazies and not the rational folk! (Though I will admit the transgender issue still has a long way to go; most people have a hard time breaking down the relationship of biological sex and gender.) 

@ashleynicole - Traditional gender roles are distinctly about men and women.  The issue with transgender etc.. is about breaking down the relationship between the biological sex and gender roles.  The way the term gender is used above is correct; I’m addressing how traditional gender roles were viewed in terms of when feminism originated. 

@ashleynicole - Nothing the OP said has anything to do with women being treated special.  Unless you think I think I’m special because I want to vote and not be the property of either my father, my brother, or my husband??? I’m confused. 

Am I special for wanting to have my own bank account without a man signing on it?  Am I special for wanting to have my own money, make my own money and all separate from control or authority of a man? 

@theasianwithnoname@xanga - I’ve never met one woman or person who believed women should have more rights than men.  Feminism was about legal rights.  The younger generations simply don’t grasp or understand what women had to fight for in this world and continue to fight for in parts of this world. 

Women used to have no legal rights to inherit or own property, for an example.  I don’t know/recall when those laws in the United States changed.  But imagine not being able to own your own home.  You had to rely on men to sustain a living because women couldn’t get a good enough job that they wanted (outside seamstress or laundress or something many women may not want to do).  That’s what feminism is all about. 

Look at the movie “Delores Claiborne”.  In it her abusive husband is able to drain her bank account, even though his name is not on the account because he is the husband and has rights to her money.  I think she tried to get it back from his account, but she couldn’t because she had no rights to his money.  This was real stuff that really happened to women.

@ceresa - I know several stay-at-home fathers, it is definitely more acceptable than ever before.  And that was never a legal issue.  

Feminism is about having the same legal rights as men.  Point blank, not too much more.  People like to twist stuff into some bizarre notion that suggests women are asking for more rights, but they tend to be clueless people who don’t get what the whole fight was to begin with.  They obviously need to teach women’s studies issues in schools because younger generations are freaking clueless.  They should talk to their grandmothers or something.  

Oh, and feminism is about equal rights, which only women didn’t have at one point.  If men want to start some fair gender revolution in the social realm, they can start washing dishes and mopping floors and then show that they want social gender equality too (or whatever figment of their imagination can come up with.)  

Haha I used to believe feminism was a big hoax and for radical left-winged crazy people.  Then I grew up and realized that it’s all about equality and celebrating our differences.  It’s about not seeing gender as a causal variable; that there is more to a person than the stereotypical man or woman.  It’s about seeing each person for who they are and everything they are.  It’s about removing the stigmas and labels.  I’m all for that, and I can’t believe I once thought that feminism was anything other than this.

In my opinion every self-respecting person should be a feminist. Also, just to put it out there, I would never date/sleep with a guy who wasn’t a feminist. 

@TiredSoVeryTired@xanga - Really, but is it acceptable everywhere? Not where I am. And I just couldn’t think of a legal issue but there are some. For instance, the fact that most likely women can gain custody of children more than men can. Like the stay-at-home dads, there are instances where the men can raise the children but not that many. But i still don’t see the point in the movement anymore. For instance, we can work now and be a mother but its putting more strain on women. Its not easy to raise a kid AND work at the same time. And shouldn’t children take priority over work at all times? 

People over-think what it means to be a “feminist.” It simply means advocating social,political,legal,and economic rights for women equal to those of men (seriously, I got that literal translation from dictionary.com for all of you). THAT’S IT. It doesn’t actually have anything to do with, “I’m going to shave my head! I’m never going to wear skirts or makeup! No, you can NOT open my door for me!” Men can be feminists, too.

Knowing this, I don’t see how anyone could not be a feminist -_____-

Pussy power! I’m a feminist but I hate math. Fuck dat shiiit.

@ceresa - Legally a man can be a stay-at-home father, that’s the point.  I know several of them.  Society barely allows women to be stay-at-home mothers these days so it’s no surprise men will encounter the same issue.  There has been a SAHD movement since at least 1994, when I encountered the first SAHD.  It’s been nearly 20 years.  Still social stigmas exist for both sexes, legal issues are most important.

Women may gain custody more often, but that is not the legal law.  It used to be when a couple divorced the women had no legal rights to her children at all.  Legally, both men and women now have equal rights to their children.  Women keep wining custody more often because they are usually the ones who are doing most of the child care duties to begin with.  Men typically, but not always, don’t want to step up to the plate and care full time for their own children, and women often don’t want to hand their children over to step-mothers.  That’s what I’ve seen mostly, rarely is the father taking care of the children by himself even when he has custody, usually it’s the step-mother or his girlfriend.

Working mothers have more strain because socially men aren’t stepping up to the plate in household chores or child care issues.  Men expect women to cook, clean, work, and take care of the children.  The stats show that.  Men can complain about social issues once they step up.

Women DEFINITELY should have their right to vote removed. They have gained far too much power in too short time. It is utterly insane how much power they have.

If a woman chases a man, and he spurns her, she cries ‘rape’ to the police to get back at him. Result? 20 years in jail. 

If a woman is about to divorce her husband, she will win EVERY ‘split’ of the assets. GUARANTEED. I know because I have seen it many times. In one case, the bitch ‘wife’ managed to gain ONE HUNDRED PERCENT of the marital AND PRE-MARITAL assets! She got monies that her man received from the death of his mother PRE-MARRIAGE, monies under our laws that she is not entitled to, she GOT IT ALL.

In custody judgements, the woman ALWAYS wins! I know someone who is a good father, an excellent provider, whose wife was a fucking drug-sniffing-inhaling-injecting bitch. SHE won the fucking case. He has NO VISITATION. He is still fighting for that visitation to this very day. Why does he not have visitation? She WON’T LET HIM HAVE IT! Fuck her. It’s HIS kid too. Every divorced couple I know, the WOMAN won the custody battle, and half of the bitches did not even have a job. The fucking HUSBAND had to pay for everything ’til the day she dies.

Women receive far better auto insurance premiums than do men. Strange, since they cannot drive worth shit. They CAUSE all the accidents. Even the Toronto Police have admitted this. So, why are their premiums LESS than ours?? WTF? 

Women can now get that CEO position based SOLEY ON GOVERNMENT QUOTAS, nothing more. Their abilities are irrelevant. Men must WORK for their position.

Women have such awesome power that men FEAR them now. This is why men are afraid to ask some women out on a date for fear she may claim he sexually harassed her, thus costing him jail time. Nowadays, males fear being alone with a woman unless there are others (witnesses) present, to ensure the bitch cannot claim he attempted to rape her or anything. Men are nowadays VERY CAREFUL to ensure their meetings are IN PUBLIC.

All of the above proves WOMEN are the ones with power, so cut the fucking bullshit about how males are enslaving women. It is the other way around. I, as a fascist, would crush the women’s rights movement, and place women back where they belong, subservient to the males.

@TiredSoVeryTired@xanga - Sigh. I already explained to the OP why I said what I said, so I feel no need to repeat myself. Especially with the passive confrontational tone that was used that does not make me want to engage in conversation.

@ashleynicole - Okay, but I don’t always read all the comments, so I have no idea what you meant.

@ceresa - Economically, not being paid enough is a huge huge deal. It speaks a lot about you being from a lucky country that you think it doesn’t matter.

You don’t have to dress like you have a brain. But it’s nice to have one.

@LegionOfLucifer@xanga -

 Why don’t you just ask for equality then? 

If women cause wrecks it doesn’t matter if their rate is low, it will go sky high after said wreck they caused.
If you are worried about marring someone and them taking all that you have there are contracts that you can sign before getting married that  will give you an even split in assets. I agree that most divorces are unfair and the child should go to the better parent.
I agree that rape laws are way to easy to manipulate by a female, but if you are afraid of asking some one out because of this maybe you should be interested in a different type of woman.
 I work for what I have and any position that I gain. 
Some woman like being submissive, some men like being submissive as well, but the idea of equality is they get the freedom to chose what they want and pursue their happiness with out judgment on their sex, race or religion.

@MoonFaeEyryan@xanga - Is that an insult? I feel a little insulted and if it was, just say it out loud instead of saying it in a sneaky, cowardly, backwards way. I hate when people do that. If its unintended,  then never mind and sorry. Now our economy isn’t the best now but think of it from the eyes of an employer. Would you pay someone who was going to quit as much as someone who will stay for sure?There are still many women who would quit to take care of children. And after maternity leave, i think women should get a raise in the pay so it is equal with men’s. They showed they’re not going to quit for motherhood. Also, if you plan to never stop working then feel free to tell your boss. They’ll probably consider that. Of course not getting paid enough sucks but it’s not that great of a difference between the guy’s salary. If it is a big difference, its something with your boss then and I would complain then. It’s not a problem all women share which is why it doesn’t matter. But I think the system is fine and does not need to be fixed. If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. Now, if we were in the position of women in the middle east who cannot even drive then yeah we need to do something. We should not butt into their affairs to help them though. They need to do what our past feminists have done. However, we have the right to vote, to work and many other benefits for women. Compared to them, we’re being spoiled. Yes, I agree I’m from a lucky country compared to others so I’m eternally grateful to the past feminists. Sorry, if this offends anyone, just my views. 

I don’t understand why some people feel that being a feminist is bad.

@ceresa - With the way things are now, it’s takes both parents working to support their children and themselves. I don’t think that feminism is to blame for that.

@Saridactyl@xanga - did you see my satire piece on what we do “In feminist circles” I think it would make you laugh.  I linked it in my most recent post, the one about Ann Romney never w———-d a day in her life, in which I said

ann romney never worried about money a day in her life.

that’s what the woman meant to say

@TiredSoVeryTired@xanga - good point!

This was a really good post. Thank you. 

Feminism ≠ demanding what you want because you’re a women.
Feminism ≠ putting down femininity, or being “mannish.”
Feminism ≠ hating on traditionally female roles, like stay-at-home parent, or traditionally female tasks, like knitting.

Feminism = regarding women as people who can make their own decisions, and acknowledging that women are worth no more or less than men.

And, if you ask me:  feminism = NOT looking down on men who do things like sew, be “house-husbands,” or – God forbid! – cry.

I’m good at mathematics, and I believe in equality. Go me. 

I can’t count how many times I’ve heard people say **I’m not a feminist, but I believe in women’s rights** as if feminism is something you have to disassociate yourself from. I think this comes from right-wing media idiots who use the word as an insult. Feminism meant equality, means equality today, and hopefully will always mean equality…the trouble is that fact just isn’t broadcast. I wish kids would be taught this stuff in school, so they wouldn’t learn what loaded words means from someone trying to sell them shit or turn them into brainwashed sheeple.

@methodElevated@xanga - **Binarist**? I understand wanting to mention other genders, but the writers intentions were good. I mean no insult, but it is just my experience that throwing **-ist** words around at those who are well-intentioned just pisses people off. For example, at his work my dad saw a girl walking towards him with a lot of stuff in both hands, so he opened the door for her. She said **Ugh, let it close, that is SO sexist!** it took me years–literally years–after this to convince my dad that feminists aren’t a bunch of penis-snipping bitches and that there are a lot of issues people still face, of any gender.

@autumn_cannibal76@xanga - Feel free to continue reading the thread of comments where I apologize to the author for misjudging the intent.

@autumn_cannibal76@xanga - Wrong, feminism is an attempt to gain GREATER rights for women, above and beyond our own rights. They are to be given special status. I have seen evidence of their successful efforts, which is why I, as a fascist, should like to see feminism crushed, and the women properly put in their place.

@WildBlueYoshi@xanga - Feminism is not about demanding what you want because you are a woman? That’s like saying a nigger does not cry ‘racism’ just because he is a nigger.

@AbnormalButSane@xanga - Then you should have no problems understanding how many fucking dishes need to be cleaned, yes? You need only count them, oh you mathematician, you!

@Saridactyl@xanga - It is VERY bad to be a feminist. You are nothing more than a rabble-rouser, seeking to gain greater rights for yourself than everyone else, in a society that supposedly believes in equality,.

@immoral_sensei@xanga - Absolutely the most-absurd comment I have ever read here. Please do remain silent, yes?

@LegionOfLucifer@xanga - I don’t feed the trolls.  Look elsewhere for your “fun.” 

@WildBlueYoshi@xanga – You did not just call me a ‘troll’? I actually am of the fascist philosophy. Just ask my coworkers who hate me for this fact. They are pussy liberals, but of course, one of whom I utterly DESTROYED during our argument about state childcare. I ripped her a new one over and over again. Liberals are easily OWNED.

@LegionOfLucifer@xanga - Aw, the little troll must be hungry.  Fill in your info here for Domino’s coupons.

@WildBlueYoshi@xanga - And someone has earned a block. Yay! 

My children, I am no troll. I am merely more ‘extreme’ in my beliefs, such is my right under my country’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

@LegionOfLucifer@xanga - You’re exactly right.

@LegionOfLucifer@xanga - Oh, no!  I’ve been blocked!  By someone I’ve already blocked, no less.  However shall I go on living?

@LegionOfLucifer@xanga - Naw, sorry I like using my freedom of speech. 

@LegionOfLucifer@xanga - I find it difficult to respond to idiotic comments. So…this is all I’ve got.

@immoral_sensei@xanga - My good man, you are an AMERICAN. You HAVE no freedom of speech. Have you not been paying attention to all of the stories down there about bans this and bans that? ‘Freedom’ is a bad word down there.

@AbnormalButSane@xanga – You were commenting to yourself? Don’t be so hard on yourself, dear heart. Mwaaaahhh.

@LegionOfLucifer@xanga - I have yet to be banned in any thing from saying what I want to say.I know we are losing  a lot of our rights but I will continue to hold a spoken opinion. Just as you seem to hold one your self. I would also like to point out that you are using a .com website. .com websites are one of the many that the Americangovernmentcurrently lay claims on( even if the server  is not in the u.s.) you are required to abide by American law here.

http://www.megaupload.com/ was just the beginning of the government using their power.