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Are you a feminist? (If so why, if not why not?)
(lemmy.blahaj.zone)
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Lots of good comments here pointing out problems with feminism, but one that I think hasn't been mentioned enough in this thread that's also directly relevant to the OP is the harmful idea that "if you believe in gender equality, then you're a feminist by definition".
While the term "feminist" does signify a person who, at least ostensibly, is in favor of equal rights among genders, using that term also, necessarily, implies belief in the core dogma that is inseparable from the term itself (patriarchy theory, etc.). This creates a false dichotomy in which people feel that in order to support equal rights they must also buy into feminist dogma, and that's not at all the case.
Luckily, though, feminism doesn't have a monopoly on gender equality, and it's important to let people know that fact, both because of how incredibly misleading "feminism just means gender equality" is and because there are more useful, more egalitarian frameworks through which to view the push for equality.
No. This is the same argument as the "All Lives Matter" crowd using this as a cudgel against the "Black Lives Matter" movement. Women and gender non-conforming people are the ones most oppressed by the current system. Men also stand to gain from erasing it, but erasing the real unequal struggle does real harm.
No, again, that's like saying Black Lives Matter held back the anti-racist movement in the US, and that All Lives Matter is the way forward. If the goal is to eliminate sexism, the movement must acknowledge the real struggles facing the world at this moment, which means patriarchy.
No. There isn't "feminist dogma." Feminism is not holding women back, nor is feminism holding back men's struggles. The concept of male-domination of society is not "outdated," the overwhelming majority of government officials are men, wealth in society is overwhelmingly owned by men, and traditional gender roles still exist and put women as less than men. Both men and women stand to gain from eliminating patriarchy.
You're fully cedeing the ground to the social reactionaries and MGTOW/Red Pill crowd by doing this.
I think we're done here.
don't back out now, if there is feminist dogma you should be able to demonstrate it - what do you think is being missed here, why do you believe feminism is holding back women?
Feminist theory and struggle is not "dogma." That's like calling Black Lives Matter "dogma."