A recent Odyssey article has been going viral by the name of, "I Am A Female and I Am So Over Feminists". A lot of people are sharing it in agreement with the author from South Florida. Good for her! This is a great platform to express your opinions through writing and I think all Odyssey writers should support one another, but I have to disagree with her point of view.
First of all, she claims that women have never been more respected now than they have ever been. If you keep up with the news and followed the Bret Kavanaugh Supreme Court hearing, you would know for a fact, that is not true. Our President went as far as to mock a sexual assault survivor in front of thousands at a rally. I think that's pretty telling of how some men in power, or at least the government, view women.
If you have been following the #MeToo movement, you would also know that this systemic misogyny that has lived within powerful men for years and years and JUST NOW women are feeling comfortable to stand up and tell their truth.
I understand her point about men's sports. Most women would not be able to compete with 220 lb linebackers. It would be extremely dangerous. However, I do not think it is fair that she assumes more men watch sports every day than women. If she had supported this with data, then maybe I would've heard her out. But the truth of the matter is that we don't know who watches more ESPN! I understand sports television is a business. The principle behind advocating for the coverage of women's sports is to emphasize that they are just as important. The reason people are passionate about coverage and the way women athletes are treated is because there is still inequality in that industry.
Take the recent controversy with Serena Williams' tennis match and the unfair call made by that ref. Many claimed she was a sore loser and complaining because she didn't win when really she was standing up for herself and trying to prove that she was not a cheater. Or the U.S. women's soccer team protests a couple of years ago. It took them YEARS to get paid the same amount as the players on the male team. AND THEY WERE BETTER. They had a better record!
She is absolutely right when she says that "There is a distinct divide between both the mental and physical makeup of a male and female body." That is a fact.
However, she then supports her opinion by flat out stating, "We are not equals." Maybe not in physical body mass, no we are not equals. But guess what? We deserve to be treated equally despite our body mass. Women and men use their abilities and strengths differently, I know that feminists know that, everyone knows that.
The whole point of feminism is to advocate for women's rights in order to receive the same amount of respect men do.
Also, no one is blaming men for the social inequality we see every day in the workplace. The wage gap and inequality in the workplace results from societal structures that have been apart of American workplace culture for over many years. Men are not to blame and feminists who believe in equality instead of superiority know that.
In fact, one of her main points is that she feels that believing in feminism requires that you put men down. No one ever said that in order to be a feminist you have to put men down. Where in the handbook of feminism and equality does it say that in order to stand up for yourself you have to hate men?
That is the opposite of what equality means. AGAIN, FEMINISM IS NOT ABOUT BEING BETTER THAN MEN. IT'S ABOUT BEING EQUAL. The problem here is that she is either experiencing extreme feminism and categorizing it as ACTUAL feminism, or she really just doesn't know what the true definition of feminism is.
To think that women are complaining by speaking up against the social injustices that affect us every day, is obtuse. Women, especially women of color, face struggles that most men don't have to face.
It is possible to be a feminist who also understands the struggles of men. You need to educate yourself. We all do. Men and women can be allies! Men who are privileged should work with women to help fix the issues that are affecting our sisters, cousins, daughters, etc. Recognizing the privilege and using it to better this society is what men should do in order to fix this problem.
And women should absolutely advocate for men's issues as well. Unfortunately, women's issues are more prevalent in the media. That's just the way it is. Men feel less comfortable expressing their problems due to other societal factors and external forces, and that's just as big of a problem! But we have to start somewhere and the reality is that men have more power. It has to start with us becoming a team and we can't do that if even some women don't understand the true goal of feminism.
