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So, I like, have thoughts and stuff
Mar. 8th, 2013 09:50 pmI have noticed there are two types of feminists on the Internets:
There are the people who argue that the sum of feminism is believing that women and men should be equal, and that people who hold this belief are feminists whether they identify as such or not. (Real example: X said she is not a feminist, therefore she does not believe women should be equal to men.)
Then there are the people who argue that you can't be a feminist unless you meet a certain minimum criteria which are higher than just thinking men and women should be equal. (Real life example: You can't be a feminist unless you believe that gender differences are caused by social conditioning.)
If you buy the first definition all basically decent human beings are feminists. If you go by the second, feminism is a specific political identity shared by a group of people with specific ideological beliefs.
Group A argues that feminism speaks to our most basic and universally cherished ideals, while Group B argues that to be a feminist requires ideological commitment on a more narrow and deeper level.
And then you get to the even more complicated matter - how do you define equality? Equal rights and opportunities, or equal outcomes?
It gets even more frustrating when you realize that people assume that the definitions they're using are shared by everyone and that they shouldn't have to explain what they mean.
There are the people who argue that the sum of feminism is believing that women and men should be equal, and that people who hold this belief are feminists whether they identify as such or not. (Real example: X said she is not a feminist, therefore she does not believe women should be equal to men.)
Then there are the people who argue that you can't be a feminist unless you meet a certain minimum criteria which are higher than just thinking men and women should be equal. (Real life example: You can't be a feminist unless you believe that gender differences are caused by social conditioning.)
If you buy the first definition all basically decent human beings are feminists. If you go by the second, feminism is a specific political identity shared by a group of people with specific ideological beliefs.
Group A argues that feminism speaks to our most basic and universally cherished ideals, while Group B argues that to be a feminist requires ideological commitment on a more narrow and deeper level.
And then you get to the even more complicated matter - how do you define equality? Equal rights and opportunities, or equal outcomes?
It gets even more frustrating when you realize that people assume that the definitions they're using are shared by everyone and that they shouldn't have to explain what they mean.
