Must every woman be a feminist?

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Patri

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I think I disappointed a friend yesterday. She made a post for women and Identified herself as a feminist. I told her I was not one, that I believed in fighting for the rights of anyone that was in need but do not share all the feminist values. I understand the need that caused the movement to arise. Throughout history and even now, a lot of unjust situations have occurred regarding women. But I get the feeling when I speak to them that they are not just fighting for equality but that women are better than men. Aside from their whole prochoice stand. It just feels like if you don’t identify as one then you are betraying your kind, but I really don’t think they represent me and that what we have to do is treat each other in an unselfish manner, be it a man, a woman or a child.
 
Must every woman be a feminist?

Well…
The NAACP has done a great deal to help Black people. But it’s not necessary that all Black people belong to the NAACP.

The Anti-Defamation League has done a lot to fight anti-Semitism, but not all Jews belong to the League, nor ought they to be expected to.

The feminist movement has done much to help women, but that doesn’t mean all women must or should be feminists.
 
I think if people would stop taking labels, the world wouldn’t be so polarized. Do I support a woman’s right to get an abortion? No. Do I support a woman’s right to vote? Yes. Can I be fit into a little box labeled misogynist or femenist just by answering those 2 questions? Probably by most people, and that’s a problem.
 
I think it’s important to recognise that feminism is a broad label, and people will differ as to where they identify. No feminist I know wants to fight to say ‘women are better than men’ (not to say there aren’t any who think this). Their focus is on overcoming injustice that women face. You can call yourself a feminist and still disagree with views other feminists hold.
 
You’re not alone. I’m not a feminist. Most women don’t identify as feminists. Really, there are no rights that men have that women don’t also have in contemporary American society. The movement has served its purpose and has since evolved into a female supremacy movement.
 
God’s gift of femininity seems to have been replaced in certain cases with a militant form of “feminism” which is an “ism” that changes one - for the bitter instead of for the better.

Masculinity? I don’t really want to reply on that, but it seems that one must be either a hairy gorilla or a skin-tight pants, artsy socks metro.

“Male and female He creatd them” Who seeks to pervert God’s plan?
 
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The label ‘feminist’ has actually decreased in the past few decades (I think it’s down to less than 1 in 5) because of the negative associations with the world.

Like any other ideology under the sun, the more hardcore tenants will espouse superiority. This is bolstered by data on women in college, women in med school, women in law school, crime among women compared to men, etc.
 
No, absolutely not. Women do not need to be feminists. Feminism has a multitude of problems and is really not good for women. I am not a feminist and I understand what you are saying, when a woman tells feminists they are not one, feminists can get pretty upset, but all the anger they feel toward me will not make me accept feminism at all.

Christianity, specifically Catholicism, loving your neighbor, doing good to others, can solve a lot more problems than feminism ever will.
 
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But can’t you fight injustice without being a feminist? I am 100 for equality, I just don’t identify with the feminist movement.
 
I think your question is more, “How do I keep my friends when they find out I’m not a feminist?”

The answer if you don’t. I have much experience with this. If you present people with the truth, you will lose the friendship.

So basically, you have to keep your opinions to yourself. You will always feel outside of society and this is the price you pay for following Jesus.
 
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Patri said:
But can’t you fight injustice without being a feminist? I am 100 for equality, I just don’t identify with the feminist movement.
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For me personally, it’s kind of a strange question. Because fighting injustice and being 100% for equality are the very basic tenets of feminism - this is just my opinion. I understand why you don’t want to associate with the ‘extreme’ feminism stuff. I don’t either - but as I say, I personally don’t know anyone who is part of this ‘extreme’ so it’s easy for me to say I’m a feminist.
 
Fairness is fairness, and unfairness is unfairness, regardless of gender, race, age or any other human factor. I am for fairness, fair play and justice for all. I don’t take sides, except in cases of blatant discrimination, and then I side with what’s right against what’s wrong. Whether a woman, a man or a child is being mistreated, it’s the mistreatment that has to stop. Even when an animal is mistreated, that’s still unfair, and I have zero tolerance for it – especially bullying.

Women are women, and should cherish their gender. Men are men, and shouldn’t be ashamed of it. And we should ALL be concerned with treating one another fairly, kindly and with due respect. That means listening, communicating, and recognizing the merits of another’s point of view, and agreeing or disagreeing charitably and respectfully.

If we would all make a concerted effort to be fair and considerate, this world would be a much better – and safer place.
 
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Lou2U said:
Their focus is on overcoming injustice that women face
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Problem is, the things that they think are injustices, such as women’s “health care”: are not injustices.
Patri said:
But can’t you fight injustice without being a feminist?
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Absolutely.

Also feminists are only interested in fighting for their own injustices. They are not concerned with male injustices, or injustices to children.
 
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That is basically what I said to her, in my own words. I think if everyone is less selfish, the world would be a better place.
 
Would she have a problem with me being a Masculinist? Would that make anyone uneasy? I think it would. Any group that seeks to promote the superiority of one group of people over others is complicit in evil.

Men and women are both imbued with an equal dignity, but separate uniqueness. We can neither promote one over the other, nor can we pretend that their real differences don’t exist, or don’t matter. Either approach is an affront to the dignity of the sexes.
 
No, I want to fight injustice regardless of gender. I know women are still being treated as second class citizens in lots of places, I know men and women suffer persecution, I know children suffer abuse, I want to defend everyone, I don’t want to be under the feminist umbrella.
 
MagdalenaRita said:
Also feminists are only interested in fighting for their own injustices. They are not concerned with male injustices, or injustices to children.
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I really don’t think that’s true at all, or fair to say. I don’t know of any feminist who doesn’t care about injustices others face. Having a focus on injustices of one group doesn’t negate concern for injustices faced by other groups.
 
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It really depends what you mean by feminism. One poster said that contemporary American women have every right men do and thus the movement has served its purpose. Even if we assume that’s true, Catholicism is global and feminism, in various forms, is global. My mom works with women in a North African Muslim country. As a PRO-LIFE Christian woman, she very much and very proudly would identify as a “feminist” because she has seen first hand the immense, disgusting, vile suffering of oppressed women in this country. Women who have been cast off to the streets, trying to keep their babies alive, because they were “dishonoured” when their dad or brother or uncle raped them… it’s very easy to say there’s no need for “feminism” when you’re sipping your latte in suburban America.
 
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