For women, sexism is nothing new. You see it between acquaintances, some random guy with an egg avatar's page on Twitter, the workplace, and our very own government.
On January 23rd, Missouri Congressional candidate Courtland Sykes, Republican, released a statement to his candidacy Facebook page after having recently been asked about his views on women's rights.
The statement wasn't one of much support, to no one's surprise.
It was basically an anti-feminist ramble of traditional homemaker garbage. Again, no surprise. Sykes carries on for an entire page's worth of his opinion, saying his fianceé Chanel has given him "orders to favor [women's rights]," and that his obedience to such an order comes at a price:
"I want to come home to a home-cooked dinner at six every night, one that she fixes and one that I expect one day to gave daughters learn to fix after they become traditional homemakers and family wives."
Right off the bat in the introductory paragraph of his "support" for women's rights, he's already damning the fight against the patriarchal society that women have been fighting against since the beginning of time.
He then proceeds to make a mockery of the modern woman, saying that feminism's definition of modern womanhood is "made up to suit their own nasty, snake-filled heads," and that women can be anything—including "traditional women."
Sure. That's not what the problem is. If a woman wants to be a stay-at-home mom, a housewife, a homemaker, a woman who fixes her family a home-cooked meal at six every evening, that's her decision and her right. Feminism has no opposition to that.
The opposition comes when a man, we'll use Sykes as an example, demands a home-cooked meal every night, one that will be taught to his daughters "after they become traditional homemakers and family wives."
That decision has already been mapped out in his eyes. That leaves virtually no room for a decision to be made by the woman herself.
Sykes' ranting doesn't stop there, of course. He talks more about what he hopes for daughters, saying, "I want them to build home-based enterprises and live in homes shared with good husbands, and I don't want them to grow up into career-obsessed banshees who forego home life and children and the happiness of a family to become nail-biting, manophobic, hell-bent feminist she-devils who shriek from the tops of a thousand tall buildings that they could have leaped over in a single bound—had men not 'suppressed them.' It's just nuts."
That's a direct quote, with some minor grammar modifications, of course, because apparently, a Senate candidate can't have anything proofread. So, there's that.
The definition of feminism is as follows: "the advocacy of women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes."
That's it.
By belittling any version of a woman, such as a "career-obsessed banshee who foregoes home life and children and the happiness of a family" who might simply just be desiring to pursue a career and might not want to have a family or stay at home, you don't support women's rights.
By saying that your fianceé has ordered you to favor women's rights, so you do, but at the price of a home-cooked meal at six every night, even if she "loves to pay it," you don't support women's rights. You're just saying you do to try to appeal to women voters. And it's a sad attempt at best.
By planning to force your daughters to be raised in a household where they're told to learn to become traditional homemakers and family wives and inevitably be shamed for possibly wanting to go a different route, you don't support women's rights.
Feminism has a wide range, as does anything, with a wide range of supporters.
There are always radicals in every group, and we see that with alt-right Trump supporters as well, for an example on the other side of the political spectrum. Even though feminism isn't a partisan identity—everyone can be, and should be, a feminist.
All women want is to be treated as an equal to men, in every aspect possible. Women want to no longer be treated as the inferior sex, and women want to not be forced to stay at home, raise the kids, and cook every meal homemade while the men go out and provide for the family. If she wants to stay home, raise kids, and cook meals, that is her right and decision alone. And that is also feminism.
Women can do anything they want, no matter what sexist Senate candidates believe or have to say about it. Missourian voters should do whatever they can to keep the government clean, no matter what the letter beside their name indicates they are. Allowing a man like Sykes in the Senate will do nothing but continue to create the oppressive environment he damns so much.
