Many people think of feminism as basically women who hate men and denounce everything that “being a woman” is about. The clearest example is early feminists who supposedly burned their bras to show they deserved equality. My personal definition of feminism is basically wide-range equality between men and women in everything we as a society do. The video makes it clear from the start that feminism is not about hating men or anything like that. It is actually the opposite to me. Feminists want everyone to be equal, not switch roles of men and women where men are the ones who are more disadvantaged. Some feel that because feminists are looked at as mainly lesbian radicals, they want to distance themselves from it. As Jessica Valenti said, many people think like a feminist but do not want to stigma attached to the name. In many ways I do consider myself a feminist because I believe men and women should be considered equal in every realm whether it be political, economic, etc. In today’s society I do not see how old stereotypes of women and men are relevant.
Feminism these days is interesting because we still see women depicted in a purely sexual, objectified way. On the other side, women are gaining some equality in the realms such as politics. Hillary Clinton ran for President. Like her or not, Sarah Palin was a candidate for the Vice Presidency of the United States. Women are also attaining higher level jobs than ever before, yet pay is not equal to that of men. As a male, I am not sure the state of feminism now because while some areas of society are becoming more equal we still look at women in an overall unequal light.
An interesting comparison is women in the sports world. There are many women who are now sports commentators when just a couple years ago there were very few. Yet, on the other hand we see women gain notoriety for purely their sexual exploits. One example that stands out to me is that a mistress of Tiger Woods, Rachel Uchitel, has become a “tabloid celebrity” (as I heard it somewhere) just because she slept with Tiger Woods. As a guy, that does not make me respect her and I believe that hurts true feminism because it shows she has little respect for women everywhere by willingly being looked at as merely a sexual object. To me, that is selling out women everywhere. My thinking along these lines may be wrong but I feel many males see it in similar ways.
I liked how you used a lot of examples outside of the video to write your blog. It is interesting that to see the comparison of women in the sports world compared to before.
ReplyDeleteI love that you brought sports into this. Not only is in the behind the scenes of sports that women hav infilitrated but there starting to get more recognition in the sports world. This does not have much to do with feminism but I am going to throw it out there because you mentioned sports, but a lot of transgender people get a lot of crap in the sports industry, and I think that is another thing that we should all be working towards.
ReplyDeleteI love how you gave real life examples pertaining to feminism in today's world. I think that it is true that many people are changing to having a less sexist world and more equality, but I do agree women are sold in a very sexual, for the man, used way. I hope that with time this will change.
ReplyDeleteIt is very interesting how you brought sports into this topic. Not only as sports commentator's, but in everyday life are women not being treated equally in the sports world. For example, how often do you see a woman's football team? Is it really that there is not as much interest with female sports players or that society does not see this as normal?
ReplyDeleteTom,
ReplyDeletefrom another male's view, I appreciate your honest opinions on the problems ocurring with the feminist movement. Even though you said you weren't quite sure the state of feminism at the moment, it's men like you with your opinions and support that are helping it grow. While I believe the feminist movement is vital for women, I think without the support of men it wont grow to what it really should. Like you said, feminism is about creating an equal platform for men and women, not just overthrowing one another. I really enjoyed reading your post and point of views.
Joanie,
ReplyDeleteI think we seeing society open to women playing sports they traditionally have not participated in. Female hockey teams are becoming more and more "normal." Still, I think society as a whole sees female sports as inferior to male sports. However, the UConn women's basketball team broke of HUGE record winning streak and they got well-earned praise. I think female sports is gaining ground though.
Tom, why you mention Rachel Uchitel as a poor role model for women, I think it is equally important to state that Tiger Woods is a horrific example for men. My views of his mistresses are one of compassion, since they have poor self-esteem and some seemed to think they had a future with Woods. Woods, who is a very powerful athlete and billionaire, USED women as Kleenex because he could, and because his definition of masculinity includes using and objectifying women sexually, lying to his wife and children and thinking it is his right as a man to possess women like objects. While he was criticized somewhat in the media, he is now playing golf and many think he did nothing wrong, chalking it up to boys will be boys behavior. His case shows how prevalent patriarchal and misogynist thinking is in American culture.
ReplyDeleteJoelle,
ReplyDeleteBy no means am I defending Tiger Woods for how he conducted himself. Even though he did many horrible things to his family and the women he used, she knew what she was doing was wrong. Yes he willingly persued a relationship with her but she sets a bad example because it is public knowledge he was a married man so she is just as much to blame as he is, if you look at just their relationship. Compound that with the fact she is trying to capitalize off that just makes me shake my head. I mean, yes Tiger Woods is powerful, rich, ect. and he clearly did use that to his advantage but that doesn't mean Rachel Uchitel is let off the hook. I don't see how an affair with a rich married man legitimizes her in any way. While he should get no sympathy whatsoever, she should be treated the same. I just don't see how she can be looked at as a positive example of a female.