This post has been a long time coming, and I’m glad I waited to post it. A few of my views have changed since I originally announced that I would be posting a blog on feminism, particularly with one phrase that's been picked up lately. I attended a seminar held by Christina Hoff Sommers, who is a famous feminist and scholar in February and I was super psyched to go and learn and see what she had to say. But I left feeling very differently than I thought I would. The seminar was held in the auditorium of my university, and was open to the public after weeks of posters being up and the library displaying her books. The lecture was, essentially, about how boys have been neglected by the school system. (Link at the bottom of this post to her article on the topic.) So first off, the talk was not on feminism, but how feminism has screwed people over. (Not very inviting for those of us who wanted to hear an actual scholar [instead of judgmental future frat boys] talk on something that’s important to them.) Don’t get me wrong, I agree that men are no longer seeking further education once they graduate from high school, and are often thrown to the wolves if they do not understand the lessons being taught after one or two attempts at explaining. It is a pointed system. But the reasons Dr. Sommers gave were based off of the belief that boys are called out more often during free time for rough housing, they are not allowed to experience constructive playtime, and are often held to the same standard as girls their age. During the question and answer portion of the discussion, I told her that as someone who worked in a daycare with students that were the age at hand, a lot of the reasons we tell them to stop roughhousing is because they will get too carried away and will get hurt. Her response was to let them do it anyway. Yes, boys need to experience and learn and be allowed to be different, but by allowing behavior that puts other students in danger by a flying fist or foot, you are only encouraging aggression and misunderstanding of playfulness. The lecture continued to argue the saying that many third-wave feminist have picked up: “The Future is Female.” This could mean many many different things for many different people, but I think it is a gross misrepresentation of the feminist belief system. It misconstrues all of the core values of feminists. Feminism is the belief that everyone is equal. Men, women, trans people, intersex, and non-binary included. But by saying that the future is female excludes all of the other groups of people. It does, to a smaller degree but same effect, of that the Black Lives Matter protesters argued. They claimed that just because others were not included in their slogan, it did not mean that their lives did not matter, simply that they needed to make a stand. But the feminists don’t seem to make the same argument. My problem lies with the fact that you can’t have either without both. Scientifically speaking you need a male and a female to continue the human civilization. So to say that women are coming to take over the future, as Dr. Sommers suggested may be happening, is ludicrous. You must have men and women. Do I want to see women rise up and stand for others who cannot, like those in others countries? Of course. But do I think we have to alienate the others to do that? Absolutely freaking not. Feminism is not about women rising from the ashes and taking over the world. It is about coming forward and standing next to our brothers, husbands, uncles, nephews, grandparents, non-binary and trans people, as well as other women. It is about equality, not alienation in order for progression. You can have men and women succeeding in the future side by side, not pushing over each other for the achievement. Wanna talk? Click the links to my social media or
email me at [email protected].
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AuthorGabrielle Willingham is a young Arkansan woman who sees the importance of simultaneous cynicism and optimism. Gabrielle is currently working on a MA in Communication with a focus in gender studies and political science. Archives
January 2021
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