Feminists Are All Lesbian Man-haters That Yell About Nonsense, Right?

In my last blog, it seemed like there was a bit of confusion on what my article was concerning. So to put it simply, the goal I am purely striving to achieve is to help redefine feminism. In my humble opinion, I hope that feminism will stop being viewed as women vs. men, and instead initiate the idea of people vs. oppression. I also strongly sense that this cannot happen until the public willfully eliminates the man-hating stereotype and other gender-
based labels from their perceptions.

I find it particularly important to exemplify;

• the patriarchal position gives people with power the ability to define people in derogatory terms, and in return decide what is or isn’t offensive for the rest of us.
• opposition to all forms of misogynist behavior, sexist attitudes and negative stereotypes
• ending the perpetuation of gender expectations
• equal pay and opportunities for careers
• preventing domestic violence, sexual harassment, and sexual assault.

Like I stated in my first blog, feminism is for everyone. It is for the poor and the rich. It is for males and females. And it is for anyone who is ready and eager to make some changes.

Feminists Are All Lesbian Man-haters That Yell About Nonsense, Right?

While the classic jokes about female drivers and blondes and big girls and tomboys may be told in plain good fun, I feel they promote an injustice against women. I think that women should reject the stereotypes our culture tries to squeeze us into so that we can rise to our full potential. So here is where my overall rage lays. Women continue putting up with a set of jokes and stereotypes that they don’t want to laugh along with. The jokes are purely sexist, totally cliché and simply not funny. And we put up with them because if we don’t laugh along, we automatically become humorless lesbians or man-hating feminists.

"Feminism is about turning that dominance model on its head in every realm, including language. One recurring feature of feminist discussion about pejorative speech is that the person with the lesser power gets to decide what is offensive to them, and that we should be listening to their voices, not those of the dominant group. In the case of sexist language, women have the voices that count, the voices that all need to listen to. For racist speech, women of colour. For classist speech, poor women. For disablist speech, disabled women. For anti-lesbian speech, lesbian women. Fattist speech, fat women. And so on, and so on."

The fact is that discrimination is illegal and awareness is rising. This is not a country in which women are legally prohibited from voting any more, or not permitted from having certain jobs. We just use the media to show that some aspect of life shouldn’t be considered ordinary for women. We do not have endemic discrimination, we merely have localized sexist humor, a slight employment bias, and a drop bigotry now and then.

Feminists Are All Lesbian Man-haters That Yell About Nonsense, Right?

When people envision feminists, the stereotypical image of a livid, man-hating, bra-burning woman with hairy armpits becomes the forefront. For the most part, (of course there are those exceptions) this is almost never the case. It has become quite upsetting to see young women not wanting to take part in a movement that is made to not only to better their communities but especially their own rights. However, researchers are turning the tables on the feminist label. The Author of the article, Ken Branson, even suggested that “If African-Americans ridiculed and stigmatized Martin Luther King Jr., that would be really big news. This negative stereotyping seems to be happening under the radar. And to find out that college women didn’t know very much about Gloria Steinem and the other women who fought for the rights they enjoy … that was really hard to bear.” So before we can change our communities, we must first change our mind-sets. It is up to people to form their own opinions and morals. So instead of walking around with an ignorant mask on, our society should open its mind to the good that can come from feminism.

A further stereotype corresponds with the ambitions of upper-class white women who have customarily been given, and still are likely to have, limitless power to spread their message. However, the movement is so much more than that. Throughout history it is clear that various women with different races, ages and backgrounds support the same cause. For example, the itinerant preacher, abolitionist and feminist, Soujouner Truth. Or perhaps another model might be the first woman to both graduate from college as well as the first woman to keep her last name when married, Lucy Stone. As well as the legendary Susan B. Anthony, who lived her entire life as a women’s rights activist. Feminism is for everyone. It is for the poor and the rich. It is for the males and the females. And it is for anyone who is ready and eager to make some changes.

Again, feminism is not simply about women’s rights, it is very largely about human respect and equality. So lastly, another concept that boggles my mind is society’s acceptance of both slurs as well as racist and sexist jokes. We believe that as long as the person telling the joke or saying the term is part of the targeted group then it is all right. And I understand it's expected to pass as self belittling comedy, and audiences are supposed to be aware of that. However, they shouldn't be amusing to anybody; the majority of them are spiteful expressions of prejudice, and that remains true regardless of who made them up or told them. Women who want to run with the big dogs (men in this case), feel like they need to possess the same amusement as a man. For example, making jokes about how women should stay in the kitchen, that is sexist. Or calling a female a bitch because she would rather eat alone than with a man that is panting with his eyes, that is beyond insolent. Or even shaming a woman by calling her a slut, because she is comfortable and confident in her own skin. Researchers even say that these “jokes” can promote discrimination against women. All of these slurs and sexist jokes are cleanly put-downs, and I feel that they are ethically wrong regardless of who tells them.

I believe that women should control their own lives. I trust in equality. I reason that social justice is acceptable. I think ending violence and discrimination is the only path to peace. I also believe in wearing makeup and shaving my legs. As well as having a romantic relationship with a man. So you tell me, is your idea of a feminist still accurate?