Feminism

Feminism is a diverse collection of social theories, political movements, and moral philosophies, largely motivated by or concerning the experiences of women, especially in terms of their social, political, and economic situation. As a social movement, feminism largely focuses on limiting or eradicating gender inequality and promoting women's rights, interests, and issues in society.

Criticisms of feminism

Feminism has attracted attention due to the social changes it has effected in Western society. While feminism (in some forms and to varying degrees) is generally accepted, dissenting voices do exist.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Some critics (both male and female) find that some feminists are effectively preaching hate against males or claiming male inferiority, citing that if the words "male" and "female" were replaced by "black" and "white" respectively in some feminist writings, the texts could be viewed as racist propaganda. While some feminists generally disagree with the view that men are equally oppressed under patriarchy, other feminists, especially third-wave feminists agree that men are similarly oppressed and that gender equality means oppression of neither gender.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Many feel that while feminists claim to believe in equality of the sexes, the ideology of present-day feminism is inherently gynocentric. These critics cite both the etymology and symbology of the contemporary feminist movement, and the constant focus of its work on issues that affect women. They feel that followers of this ideology tend to see the world through a certain lens, leading them to be prejudiced. These critics say that the feminists start with the assumption that women are widely oppressed in contemporary America, and never stray from that assumption – leading to observations that are clouded by confirmation bias. This group of critics would like to see a new non gender-biased term replace “feminism,” such as “gender egalitarianism." This term would then replace “feminism” when used in reference to the belief, close to universal now in contemporary Western culture, in basic equal rights and opportunities for both sexes.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Some argue that because of feminism, males are beginning to be oppressed. Those who make this claim often note that males die from suicide 4 times more frequently than females attempting suicide in the USA; rates climbed dramatically during the 1980s and early 1990s; 72% of all suicides are white males; slightly over half of all suicides are adult men, aged 25-65; critics conclude that the USA is becoming a country where males, especially white males, are severely oppressed. http://www.who.int/mental_health/media/en/374.pdf The global statistics are similar. http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/global_campaign/en/selfdirectedviolfacts.pdfAccording to sociologists, there are various reasons for these suicide rate increases, and they do not indicate a greater level of male oppression. Some studies of the 20 year increase in male suicide rates (ending in 1998, when the rate began to decrease) have found only a correlation between it and: local economic health and employment rates, suicide methods preferred by men, male isolation if divorced, women seeking treatment for depression in far greater numbers than do men, and (especially) aging populations. It should be noted that during the same approximate period (1952 to 1995) the rates for teen and elder suicide nearly tripled.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Many people object to the feminist movement as trying to destroy traditional gender roles. They say that men and women have many natural differences and that everyone benefits from recognizing those differences. For example, children are thought to benefit from having a masculine father and a feminine mother; in this view, divorce, single parenthood, or non-traditional gender roles are all seen as harming children more than do conflict in the home, dual but poor role models, or new definitions of masculinity, femininity, or family. The traditional nuclear family is now an exceptional background in the US, and has been the subject of many critiques characterizing it as a racist or culturally ignorant or nostalgic idealized model.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Criticism has been made that social change and legal reform have gone too far and now negatively affect men and families with children. For example, it has been suggested that custody hearings in divorces are biased towards the mother, and several organizations have formed to fight for fathers' rights.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Some men also express worry that a belief in the glass ceiling for women has led to women being promoted more than men for the purpose of public relations than for their merit. This could be compared to affirmative action; thus, feminists who favour such a method of reform usually present arguments similar to those used for defending affirmative action (i.e. that such a system is required to offset the results of previous discrimination).

Related Topics:
Glass ceiling - Public relations - Affirmative action

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

There is also a group of Paleoconservatives including George Gilder and Pat Buchanan that have argued that feminism has produced a fundamentally unworkable, self-destructive, stagnant society. These authors have noted that all of the societies in which feminism has developed the most have below replacement rates of fertility, high rates of immigration (frequently from countries with cultures and religions extremely hostile to feminism). In the US, the "liberal" religious groups most accepting of feminism have had noted decline-in both conversions and natural increase. The most rapidly growing major religion in the US is Islam, some forms of which are extremely hostile to feminism.

Related Topics:
Paleoconservatives - George Gilder - Pat Buchanan - Islam

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Although efforts to curb sexual harassment against women in the workplace are normally applauded, there are those who note that the situation is such that the concern directed towards women in resolving disputes of sexual harassment is indirect discrimination, in that less concern is given to men when they are the subject of the claims, or when they are claiming a case of sexual harassment. Since the 1990s, proving sexual harassment in the United States (by either men or women) has been made much more difficult by Supreme Court decisions.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Postcolonial feminists criticise Western forms of feminism, notably radical feminism and its most basic assumption, universalization of female experience. These feminists argue that the assumption of a global experience as a woman is based on a white middle-class experience in which gender oppression is primary, and cannot apply to women for whom gender oppression may come second to racial or class oppression.

Related Topics:
Postcolonial feminists - Radical feminism

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Today, young women most commonly associate "feminism" with radical and gender feminism, and this has put off a lot of these women from being active in feminism, spurring a move away from second-wave labels. However, the basic values of feminism (gender equality of rights and opportunities) have become so integrated into Western culture as to be accepted overwhelmingly as valid, and non-conformity to those values characterized as unacceptable, by the same men and women who reject the label "feminist".

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Feminist criticism has further suggested that as an ideology, feminism claims to be an omnipurpose viewpoint. This would imply that a feminist perspective can be applied to all areas of life (and policymaking in particular). This has been disputed, as critics contend that a feminist position is to curt to include a range of topics, for example nuclear power or disaster prevention.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~