Date: July 21st, 2014 10:43 AM
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http://college.usatoday.com/2014/07/18/women-against-feminism-generates-backlash-among-students/
A social media movement called “Women Against Feminism” has been making headlines recently both nationally and internationally, generating a wave of backlash and discussion on the definition of modern feminism.
Pictures are shared on the movement’s primary social media outlets, Facebook and Tumblr, of women holding up pieces of paper with reasons on them as to why they do not believe in or need feminism — the primary reason being the victimization of females and the demonization of males by feminists.
“Women Against Feminism” has garnered more than 17,000 ‘likes’ and followers on Facebook and Tumblr combined, and this number continues to grow along with the outrage of those who see supporters of the movement to be “grossly misinformed.”
Juliana Rose, a rising senior at the University of Montana, says she was “frustrated” when she first heard of the movement, adding that their arguments are “uninformed” and respond to the more radical, stereotypical side of feminism.
Rose, who is also a peer advocate at a resource center for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence, says feminism should not be equated to this radicalism, but rather to “the right for full equality” of the sexes.
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“Feminism is about equality. The majority of moderate feminists want equality, and that is it. I think the women of this movement are misinformed and heartbreakingly so,” she says. “They claim that because they themselves have the ability to wear revealing tops, and the men in their life [sic] respect them, and they have never been told they cannot do something, that feminism is a relic of ages past.”
Rose says while modern women from developed countries have access to certain choices and rights that were not possible in the past, it does not render the struggle of women who do suffer both in the United States and globally meaningless. She asks for those taking part in ‘Women Against Feminism’ to expand their perspectives by considering the women who do not share similar basic rights.
“These women are not only uniformed, but dangerously so. By decrying feminism they are abandoning women everywhere who still need it, because how else will they be given the chance to have the same freedoms ‘Women Against Feminism’ so obviously enjoy?” she says.
Daniel Greinke, a recent graduate of California Polytechnic State University, considers himself as a feminist, seeing the movement as opposing prejudices and social norms that result in the mistreatment of women.
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After hearing a female classmate share her frustrations with the mistreatment she experienced following her rape, witnessing close friends and family engage in misogynistic behavior, and hearing his girlfriend speak about being catcalled and “creeped on” by men, Greinke says his awareness of women’s issues and interest in feminism rose.
Greinke says he was “exasperated” upon learning about “Women Against Feminism” and says the movement showcases the common misconceptions of feminism.
He says although “Women Against Feminism” may be prompted by negative experiences with “overzealous feminists” or “traditional ideological commitments,” the movement does not acknowledge the systemic nature of obstacles faced by women.
“The perceptions that these women have about feminism is [sic] grossly misinformed. ‘Women Against Feminism’ paints feminists as man-haters who like to play the victim,” he says. “Feminism is not about oppressing men or playing the victim. There are real systemic issues with the way women are treated in our society — the effects of which are well documented in academic literature and which are felt by many women in my life.”
The views of Rose and Greinke are further reiterated by the basic dictionary entry of feminism that is defined as “the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men” — which strongly contrasts what “Women Against Feminism” claims feminism to be.
But Hannah Cowan, a rising freshman at the University of Wyoming, says the modern feminist movement is “full of faults” — adding that it is a fight for “entitlements and supremacy” rather than equality, that it shames men and does not take into account how men also have issues, and that feminists are “manipulative people” playing the role of a victim.
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Cowan, who will be pursuing a pre-law track, says she finds “Women Against Feminism” to be a positive movement that sheds the truth about modern feminism, which holds up equality and creates an “unnecessary wall of tension” between the sexes.
“I am an anti-feminist, because feminists have attacked me for my political, personal, and religious views more than the ‘patriarchy’ ever did for my gender,” she says. “I absolutely loath the stigma feminism is placing on women as being ‘weak,’ ‘delicate,’ or ‘oppressed by the patriarchy.’ As a female living in the U.S., I am in no way ‘oppressed’ and I pity the women who are dull enough to believe the feminists lies.”
Cowan says “Women Against Feminism” is based on facts and that the discussion fostered by the movement should occur beyond social media. She adds that because Western women already have the same rights as their male counterparts, feminists should shift their energies to issues like sex trafficking in Europe and not concern themselves with “ridiculous crap here like worrying about clothes that boys ‘hate.’’
While Cowan was “delighted” to see the movement expand as well as the attention it gained, she says that this attention has not been entirely positive — with members of the movement having been name-called and personally attacked in addition to receiving death threats even.
“The way feminists treat the women who disagree with them proves feminism is not as ‘pro-women’ as they would like to believe,” she says. “For as long as I have been active on social media, feminist have dominated it with their whining, constantly attacking me for my conservative, non feminist views. I was delighted to see the movement expand, knowing that I am not the only one who felt this way.”
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2623620&forum_id=2#25973828)