Asklemmy

My take on feminism is that it just means equal rights and equal treatment, so fuck yeah I'm a feminist.

I once had a physical therapist tell me she wasn't a feminist because she thought women couldn't be as physically capable as men when serving as soldiers

That argument has always seemed like a cop-out to me. The division there is with physical ability, not gender. Establish the physical requirements and call it a day. There are weak-ass men who have no business getting near fields like that; and strong-ass women who blow the physical requirements out of the water.

Overall, men will pull ahead in jobs that emphasize physical labor - that's fine. The flip side is also true, with other jobs favoring the anatomy and physiology of women. Aviation comes to mind. Especially if we're still in the context of military, size and weight both need to be LOW. So same spiel - establish the requirements as the job demands and call it a day; weight and size limits will tend to favor women.

In either case, marking it as men-only or women-only is fucking stupid; but the demands of a specific career field leaning into anatomical and psychologic advantages of one sex vs the other is fine so long as the numbers reflect the actual demands.

*This does come with the need for and oversight, though, as the potential for abusing a system like that is high in order to accomplish sexist goals.

There's something to be said for the mental side as well. Speaking as a surgical tech, the best techs I've worked with have consistently been women. I couldn't begin to tell you why, and I'm backing this on the tiny field of view I've had into this field, but anecdotally, women are just better. I get a similar impression looking to the nurses and doctors, but I don't have the expertise to really judge either of those.

Tldr, utilize people's strengths, but don't be a sexist asshole about it.

Yeah, I'm a feminist. I'm also a masculinist.

Basically, if there's not a good reason to prevent you from doing something, you shouldn't be fucking prevented from doing it.

Who or what you were born as, or what you identify as, in and of itself, is not a good fucking reason.

Motherfuckers that try to prevent other people from living their own lives because of their own assumptions need to fucking fuck off.

If feminism is defined as equal rights for all things that are not gender relevant I agree. But there are a lot of really good exception, where it makes sense that we acknowledge differences. Like pregnancy, physical differences and so on. In short everything that can be equal should be.

I am neither a Feminist, nor a Machista. However I feel like both genders have equal ability to do anything (except biological things, but that's what science is for). One thing that gets on my nerves is the idea that society says that whomever stays at home is weak... Motherfucker, taking care or tiny humans, dumb animals and somehow keep a whole house clean and disinfected is as much work as any blue collar job (fuck, it might be even harder). On top of that my wife cooks amazing so whenever I can I treat her with whatever she wants whenever she wants it because she fucking earned it, because that's why I'm the one working, and I know she would do the same if the roles where reversed.

I'd specifically think of myself as an anarchafeminist, so yes, I'd say I'm a feminist. Fuck bullshit gender division, and fuck anybody who thinks someone is less capable because of their genitals or the clothes they wear (or if those things "match" or not)

'Feminist' is one of those terms that seems to have different definitions based on who you ask. I don't know what you call me but I'm a proponent of Equal Rights Amendment full-stop.

I believe that I am, but I'm told that my definition is wrong.

For reference, my definition is:

Anybody who believes in equal rights for women.

I want to be, yeah. I suffer under patriarchy and want it to change. And I've tasted glimpses of places and times when women and men are safe and free and I want that for everyone all of the time.

But also I'm way too problematic to get to call myself part of the movement. I've got bad history and shitty ideas that I still need to resolve so my contributions to feminism are only things that I can do anonymously. If I notice anyone trying to figure me out irl, I obfuscate and let them settle on their first incorrect conclusion.

I do believe gender is a social construct that's becoming outdated. And that we shouldn't have nor woman nor men, at all.

Make of that what you want.

My politics are death to america and death to israel. Free Palestine and free the planet from US empire and centuries of European colonial domination.

Feminists have not done much materially on that front lets be honest.

Throwback to big name feminist Judith Butler on October 13 2023:

Judith was not the only big name feminist to hold such views following the magnificent al Aqsa Flood Operation.

I would say that the web of NED/USAID NGO's that represent the face of feminism today has been a very effective tool of empire. I dont want women CEOs and women drone pilots and women iof soldiers and women politicians in puppet governments. I am a woman who wants the end of colonial occupation and superexploitation.

I don't think so. Haven't really read feminist theory tho.

“Ecofeminists examine the effect of gender categories in order to demonstrate the ways in which social norms exert unjust dominance over women and nature. The philosophy also contends that those norms lead to an incomplete view of the world, and its practitioners advocate an alternative worldview that values the earth as sacred, recognizes humanity’s dependency on the natural world, and embraces all life as valuable.” —https://www.britannica.com/topic/ecofeminism

Yes. Because it goes hand in hand with Cynicism, my main guiding philosophy:

Cynic: “an adherent of an ancient Greek school of philosophers who held the view that virtue is the only good and that its essence lies in self-control and independence” —Merriam-Webster

I would say I am now. I wasnt a few years ago but after roe v wade being overturned, the subsequent shitshows, as well has government powercreep against rights I believe women should yield, turned me into a feminist. There are obviously issues that men face, but I believe women are most at risk of oppression under this current administration. Especially with how frequently the blatant fascist dog whistle of "traditional family values" is blown nowadays. Republicans are desperately trying to cram women back into the kitchen and domestic servitude.

I see feminism as a component of minimizing heirarchy and moving toward anarchy.

Instead of the liberal conception of rights, I would use equality of individual liberty and social solidarity regardless of gender or sex. Definitionally, I claim gender as performative and sex as related to procreative genitals. Maybe it's all just worbs, that is, political words without meaning.

Those in favor of heirarchy use "equality of outcome" as a bludgeon. Humans do not need "equality of outcome". We need autonomy to make choices about our lives. We need societies that take care of each other. Heirarchies such as patriarchy prevent making choices and taking care of each other.

As a bonus rant, the rube statement, "What is a woman?", can be answered with, "Who is pink for?". The provocateur wants to conflate gender and sex, but is too embarassed to come out and discuss genitals. A logical follow-up for the embarassed trap-setter could be, "Which genitals taste the best?". The point being don't entertain traps with anything but hostility.

I know posting is masturbatory, since I often fail to read replies. I'm sure your reply will be great and I will probably fail to read it. I'm still working on social solidarity.

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.