Monday 3 March 2014

Feminism – A Lost Perspective



And we’re mercilessly picked on, white, heterosexual males, we are the only species you can openly pick on and they’ll be no demonstration.” – Billy Connolly.  

There was a time, from the latter end of the nineteenth century to the latter twentieth century; that feminism, was a movement full of pride, dignity, courage, diplomacy and above all else, effectiveness; it was a movement that upon the texts of historic literature makes one think in awe of the amazing bravery and strength of the first feminist movements; from the Suffragettes and beyond.  They risked their lives and livelihoods; stood up against far right tyranny and demanded a better way of life for women; it was as excellent as it was correct to do so.

However, in recent years something has gone horribly wrong; even now as we speak, all over the world, the word “feminism” makes men AND women roll their eyes, find something witty to say or else disregard it as hopeless, overly emotive movement whose lost their direction and fallen foul of a passion wholly ungoverned in their quest for equality; it is hardly surprising when in recent years the incidences of feminist (radical or otherwise) behaviour leaves one, certainly me and many others I know, with a feeling of complete disbelief.


Now, before we go anywhere further let it be known, I am strictly Anti-Feminist in it's present form, I see myself as an, “Equalitist Realist” - one whom wants equality in as many forms as possible but know where the line is drawn for those who can have it, (would it be equality if a paedophile demanded marriage rights to put a ring on the finger of a nine year old?) and the line where drawn as to the methodology of how we obtain that equality.  I disagree somewhat with a lot of what feminism stands for and their actions and words of late leave much to be desired. 


To try and make this as concise and to the point as possible I am going to have to break it all down to bite size so bear with me.  I think it would be best to understand that I will of course try to remain as fair and respectful as possible.  First off, what is this thing, Misogyny?


This word, Misogyny or Misogynist is being thrown around like a preverbal rugby ball. As if every restaurant on the high street can be labelled a Bistro; all too often modern day feminists label every man who disagrees, opposes or else simply doesn’t see eye to eye on every notion as laid out, then out it comes, that person is automatically labelled as “sexist” “misogynist” “pig” amongst other such colourful titles.

So picture this, I am a man/woman who has a problem with you, I wish to bring this to your attention and I do so by throwing a temper tantrum in your direction, when you disagree with this chosen course of action I go further by calling you nasty names and planting false labels upon you, failing that I will attack you physically.  Now really, is that ever going to work? How would you feel?  Would you listen to me? Would you tolerate me and hear my argument? Of course not, violence is never the answer unless via legitimate self defence against a physical aggressor; diplomacy and democratic communication is always the most thoroughly effective methodology to be utilised to complete exhaustion first. 



Moving on, I must admit I agree with many a feminist when they say that domestic violence against women should stop; of course it should, however, there are three points to be raised here, firstly the obvious one that domestic violence is not only inflicted upon women and secondly, if feminist really spoke for equality then the call shouldn't be,

“Domestic violence against women should stop.”

It should be...

“Domestic violence in all forms should stop.”


Then there is the third point; this is where I feel feminism is a little confusing, very recently the most excellent actor and activist Patrick Stewart and Jackson Katz both have unequivocally stated that this is very much also a men’s problem to aid the cessation of domestic violence; Feminists applauded this as did I and still do, however, when is it ever going to be compatible for us men to work alongside Feminists when the radicals say...
“We don’t need men”

That feminist proclamation is undermining, unhelpful and wholly counter-productive as we all try to seek a world far less violent in the home(s) all over the world.  All good men and all good women must work together to condemn/end/increase awareness of domestic violence.
 


"This world would be a whole lot better if we just made an effort to be less horrible to one another." - Ellen Page.


OK story time; I guess it would be more poignant and realistic if I afforded some evidence as to what I am saying;

Last year at the University of Toronto a group called the MRA - Men’s Rights Association, were holding a debate on what exactly is Misandry, the debate was intelligent, calm and very well conducted as to take on a view that men and boys are being demonised in society; seems fair enough to me, however, it wasn’t fair enough for a group of feminists including young men as well, who arrived in utterly raucous style, making so much noise that the speakers in the room couldn’t be heard; events escalated when one of the feminists set off the fire alarms, when there was no fire which to the best of my knowledge is a criminal offence, the building had to be evacuated and when outside, the feminists launched into a tirade of verbal abuse against the MRA.

The incidence was further marked by one particular infamous feminist I think going by the name of Chanty Binx, that when approached by members of the MRA who diligently and calmly explained that they were in attendance due to the memory of their male friend who had recently committed suicide due to a mental illness but never sought help due to the social stereotyping of, “being a man” Chanty in response to this started singing “Cry me a river.” 


Now, this might seem amusing to the unaffected but to me I think that kind of conduct is disgusting, immoral and frankly spiteful; is this how women of the world would like to represented, because after all, "feminism speaks for all women," right? 



In the UK, the political party UKIP’s leader Nigel Farage was recently quoted as saying in reference to women working in the city and equal pay...

“If a woman has a client base, has a child and takes two or three years off work, she is worth far less to the employer when she comes back than when she went away because her client base will not have stuck rigidly to her. Young, able women who are prepared to sacrifice the family life and stick to their career will do as well or better than men.”

I personally would have thought that the above commentary was based on pure common sense; you may not agree with it however, a business needs to survive, businesses survive by investment from their clients, if someone isn’t there to essentially nurture the client base, then the employer isn’t going to see you as a productive asset now are they? 


And of course the staunch feminist Labour MP Harriet Harman retorted by saying...

"To see a row of men sitting there and one of them saying that women are worth less to their employers than men are because they take time off to look after children I think is absolutely rubbish; there's not a single business or public service in this country which would still have the lights on if women weren't there at work. And yes, women do an important role in the home as well, not least because men don't share equally in the home and therefore it falls to women, but women are vital in their work and I think that that is an affront to women in this country, and I just can't believe that he's said that."

Hands up all those who think Harriet has missed the point...

You have to be in work working to be worth something for your employer; in this day and age that is black and white regardless whether you are a man or a woman. And as for her statement, which might I add is riddled with sexist stereotyping, it also completely misses the obvious fact that if a couple have a child and the mother decides to quit work and stay at home in favour of her male partner working, then of course the household will befall to her. Feminists, unfortunately you cannot have it both ways in the working world, particularly in the corporate arena as money has to be made.

Might I add there was a further incident when a feminist physically attacked Nigel Farage on his way to another meeting and was assaulted with a blow over his head after his comments; diplomacy?  

An excellent insight to the matter is here 

OK time to wrap this up; I could go on and on about the incidences of radical feminist extremism, if you Google it you’ll find plenty and quite frankly, it’s a real shame and a failing on behalf of all feminists to not speak out about the abhorrent Misandry that clearly exists in your movement as well as the abundant lack of professionalism.  I did actually have a chat with a real feminist a few weeks back, who might I add was shocked at how bad the situation had become but said,

“I guess there are a few women and men who wear the feminist moniker and abuse it.”

For me, that’s exact to...

“You can’t blame the entirety upon the actions of a few extremists – now, doesn’t that just sound a tad too familiar, where have we heard that before...



Yes, that's right, I am indeed saying that radical or extreme feminism is nothing more than social terrorism which will serve to provide nothing but indifference to the feminist cause. If you wish to seek equality and bring about a fairer society via the actions of your movement then you must follow one very simple commandment...

"Thou shalt not commit to action speaking louder than words that contradict the words you speak." - VisionGhost.

Thank you for reading. 

VisionGhost



6 comments:

  1. Rob- your best post to date. Very clear and concise
    and most of all not one bit antagonising ,
    Your points are so accurate, can't see many arguing with this blog- Lets wait and see.

    ReplyDelete
  2. You sir god this is so intelligent I realize I get a little angry at things such as religion all religion honestly and feminism what I see is just so dam terrible and it angers me so much but you sir with such a strong clear voice pretty much explained at least 70% in this short little blog it made me think how I view things a bit now honestly I get things a little rough so it's hard to view with a clear mind but thank you for this it's such a great insight.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Pincuishin, thank you so much for your comment and taking the time to read my blog post, very much appreciated, wishing you all the best.

      Regards
      VG

      Delete