Feminism Rant Comments

...to my Feminist rant."

Here it is:
Part of the problem is that many, if not most, of the more vocal feminists are what I've seen referred to as "femi-nazis." This being the more radical version, those that feel that women are better in every way, men are worthless, etc. In short, the female version of most men. Probably because this viewpoint is more radical, it gets more coverage, as well as making for (arguably) more entertaining plot points in pop culture (i.e. the womyn in P.C.U., "God gave men bigger brains than dogs so they wouldn't hump women's legs at cocktail parties," and so on). This has become what could be considered the cultural definition of "feminism." Most men, due to various media portrayals, don't consider "feminism" to be equated with "equal rights." Feminism has come to be used as a term for the aforementioned "femi-naziism." I'm not saying that it's right, mind you.

Even disregarding the preconceptions about "feminism" that I mentioned earlier, the most used definition of the word is probably "organized activity on behalf of women's rights and interests." This is the second definition in the version of Merriam-Webster I use...anyway, my point is that, using this dictionary definition, one would have to not only be in favor of women's rights, but also be organized as an activist for them. By the first defininition ("the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes "), I would be a feminist. Be the second, I would not, because I do not engage in organized activity for the cause of equal rights. When the issue comes up in my life, which I rarely does, I believe I act in a fair manner, regardless of who is what gender. I don't go out and protest the treatment of women in other countries, I don't write my congressman regarding sexist business practices. Because I don't do these sort of things, I am not a feminist. Because I believe in equal rights, I am a feminist. As with many labels, it all depends on your definition of the word used. As another example, I am an anarchist ("one who believes in, advocates, or promotes anarchism" which is "a political theory holding all forms of governmental authority to be unnecessary and undesirable and advocating a society based on voluntary cooperation and free association of individuals and groups ") because I believe in anarchism. I am not, however, an anarchist ("one who uses violent means to overthrow the established order") because I am a very non-violent person. Just keep in mind that labels do have definitions and meanings beyond the first definition in the dictionary....anyway, yeah.

In the words of Dennis Miller, "Of course, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong."

-Noble

Anybody else?