Are you brave enough to be called the dirty word?
Yesterday called for the end of a spam filled discord server as it was to be renovated into a new host for curation and community. The Steem Venue has been renamed
Feministeem
As the key holder to the @feminism account I set this up in preparation for International Womens Day on which I hope to host an empowering contest for women.
On announcing the new theme for the server that had no activity other than spam prior, there was first some silence and then 7 people left the server. This was not unexpected either, but I did want to ask if there was something about feminism that made them want to disassociate themselves.
It's something we should be used to by now and it's for this reason that I've set up 2 main roles which grant additional access to the server. These are
Feminists & Humanists
If you say you don't identify as a feminist but you do advocate for gender equality for roles and opportunities in community, politics and the socio-economical world then we can at least respect the second part and agree to disagree on the first. We do not control your interpretation of language or propaganda.
To be honest, having been a feminist long enough to get to know a lot of feminists I have to admit that I kind of get it. My favourite feminists happen to be the ones who don't have to say they are a feminist to stand up for womens strengths and capabilities. There is a tendency for some people to use the feminist badge as a license to look down on you. But remember, even if that is what some feminists do, that is not what feminism is about.
It's also often perceived that feminism is about blaming men for womens problems. And that is also what some people do - but that doesn't change the truth of what feminism is about. Womens issues are womens to own and the same goes for mens. Though if we were to stand together and also fight for each others causes and not just our own then perhaps we can make this the responsibility of society rather than an excuse to cast blame.
A perfect example of where feminism lets men down is when it comes to parenthood and fathers rights. One thing I dislike about Emma Watsons call to men to participate in feminism was her failure to acknowledge that men's issues fall under the umbrella of feminism and if we are to call on men to participate in feminist agendas then we need to also make their issues part of our agenda.
In theory it always has been but women are concerned with womens issues, that's human nature and there aren't many men calling themselves feminist while they advocate for what is by definition a feminist issue.
Quick reminder
Whether you be a socialist, a humanist, an anarchist, an anarcho-capitalist, a communist, a plagiarist or a dentist ...
PEOPLE GONNA PEOPLE
People do not constantly represent what they believe in. The world is full of hypocrites and people who are not self aware. You probably do this yourself. The mind has ways of tricking you into convincing yourself that you're justified in your actions even if they go against what you say you stand for. So just because an anarchist for example takes a brick and breaks a window with it, doesn't make anarchy about violence.
I can't think of a better way to celebrate International Womens Day than on the most female inclusive blockchain currently in existence. Steem has proven this through the many community meet ups around competitor blockchains.
Allow me to compare the last 3 blockchain meetups I've been at.
- ICO with free pizza - 50 people - 5 of which were women including myself
- Legal lecture on capital gains tax - 100 people of which about 10 or less were female
- Steem Dublin meetup at the crypto cafe - 19 steemians 8 of which were ladies.
The equality of rights should be inclusive in the law...law of man should be more humane giving both gender the equal right in this world...by empowering women never mean degrading men but giving them equal chances to enjoy the so called LIFE
Current feminism has been raided by screaming angry women. I can't relate to marching and gathering in groups to find unfairness.
I would rather spend my energy being as equal as the current circumstances will allow.
If I have the ability to vote, earn and own, I am not sure what else I can ask for. It takes time for society to catch up. I am busy out there trying to do it. I will leave those who want to march about it to march. I just don't see how that connects to the real world issues.
I'm not suggesting any marching here. The question is who owns the title and doesn't let propaganda redefine it.
I agree that is part of the problem. The media shows the worst of the worst of feminism and then it attracts more of those types. I've tried to understand what the current movement is about. I can't find very many people who can describe what the goal is or how they want to achieve it.
The propaganda ends up creating and attracting what they portray. I agree, that you aren't asking for marches and I have always respected you. I avoid anything that is about Women's groups, Feminism, etc. It isn't because I think everything is equal, I just think it is actually a negative for women in the current propaganda space. I'm sorry the movement got hijacked, but it did.
The way you talk of it though it sounds like you buy into the idea of it being one big collective with hidden agendas. It's really just people. Many of whom have no connections to a feminist group of lobbyists or anything else. Of course there are lobbyists within, and they each have their own agendas which they call feminist.
It doesn't mean if I say I'm feminist I associate with them.
And I agree it has been hijacked, but the same will happen for anything people find threatening or could actually be threatening when taken to the extreme. Take anarchy for example. You might argue it's already been hijacked but I would say not to the extent that it will be when it starts becoming more mainstream.
I don't know what I would gain or what I would be fighting for or against if I were to use the title. I've been curious, I have asked.
All groups as you mentioned will get hi-jacked. Did you know the tea party was started by a bi-partisan group that was opposed to additional taxes? The TEA stood for Taxed Enough Already. The group was taken over after the media portrayed them as conservative gov haters. The story was repeated enough that is what the group started to attract and eventually became.
What does Feminism mean to you? What do you hope to gain from your involement?
I don't really consider myself "involved". I'm just me and I acknowlege inequality. For me that's where feminism is useful. People can use it as an excuse to push for quotas that will serve no good, or they can march for the sense of having some kind of influence which they don't. That's just a lot of people being impatient with the current reality. I prefer to use feminism to simply acknowlege that reality and then consider why that reality is. From there I form an understanding of the world and become more self aware, but I don't try to change anything myself.
I would just like for others to think critically and find their own awareness so that they can come to their own understandings, rather than being blind to what influences our sense of identity and self esteem and from there feeds into our culture, our politics and our socio-economics.
Culture doesn't consciously change. It happens naturally when people are so comfortable in their direction that they don't even realise what's changing.
I have to say I really appreciate you asking me that though. I hope you won't mind if I steal it for the contest lol. It really got me thinking of why it's important to me and made me realise something.
So thank you.
I enjoyed the conversation, and I am left with the feeling, I still have no idea outside of the extremism portrayed that I have no idea what it is about or why I would choose to embrace the "Title" of feminist.
@whatsup and @beanz, I have to say, I found your conversation interesting and enlightening. But it's like @whatsup says:
I still don't understand why I would choose to embrace the "Title" of feminist. The truth is, if feminism is about advocating for equal rights for both genders, then choosing the term "feminism" to represent such a concept is unfair to begin with. Why not 'masculism' ? So it seems from the word go, we are already siding with women. Personally, I am a strong advocate for gender equality and I find the term 'humanist' more refreshing and fair.
We had 6 women and 11 men at the last meetup. For a crypto meet, that was quite remarkable. Let's hope it continues.
I think man and women both power are equal.So should strong womenpower
Holy crap bro i thought you were dead.
Indeed fighting for women's rights must not be confused with man-hating. They are not synonymous and we cannot and must not make that mistake.
To do otherwise would be to fall into a trap that drains us of energy, will and the creativity needed to advance the course of women.
Happy internations' women's day.
I must say it is refreshing to see a positive movement on Steem advocating for equality regarding sex and gender. With this, I'd happily refer to myself as feminist.
I've acknowledged the points made of people regarding the extreme initiatives that seem to come across as anti-male instead, and this may be what prevents many who do share feminist views from using the name. The name "feminist" does not define the person identifying with it nor does it mean the person identifies with all initiatives that adopt the label "feminist".
From what I do see so far with the new management of this account, the aspects of feminism that I identify with--namely and mainly that of equality for all sexes and genders--are shared and I look forward to seeing more from you.