Has feminism created a competition between men and women?

Question

Has feminism created a competition between men and women?

Answer 1

That was never the intention of feminism. If men and women are competitive with each other now (as if that's really a problem), that's their own doing.

Answer 2

I think it has.

It is an unhealthy competition because most (don't worry PC brigade, I said "most") women and men have strengths and weaknesses that are complimentary.  What happens now is that a woman is told she is weak or pathetic if she can't match a mans strengths. It sets both sexes up for failure because we cannot measure up.

My strengths may be much different than most( yes, "most" again) men's strengths but they are just as valuable.  I am completely confident and comfortable with myself.  

Oddly enough, the only time my strengths are insulted and demeaned, it's done by feminists....strange, no?

Answer 3

I think it's laughable that you claim that this wasn't the intention of feminism Rio.

Since when is "Competitive" not synonymous with one definition of "Equal" ?

Unless you're suggesting that women want to be "equal" without being "competitive".. ? Wouldn't that suggest that you wanted something for free?

Answer 4

I think a higher standard of living, a de-emphasis on family, increase in materialism, less social stigma around greed/gluttony/lust and lower to nonexistent risk for death on a day to day basis has fostered competition among all individuals, women included    

Answer 5

I think a lot of people are (perhaps deliberately?) misunderstanding the point of the question, interpreting it as "has feminism created a competition among all people, including both men and women" as opposed to "has feminism created a competitive animosity between men and women as two distinct 'teams?'"  I will answer the latter interpretation, given that the answer to the former is obvious, and is supplied by many helpful people above.

So some of us certainly recognize the animosity.  I remember an occasion watching a game show with some friends, and a female friend of mine mentioned that she wanted the female competitor to win, because she didn't see girls win very often, and thought that she ought to root for her since she was a girl as well.  I was kind of taken aback at this casual but open sexism, and mentioned it; it would be sort of like me rooting for the white guys in Olympic track sports, since they didn't win very often and because I'm white as well - it would be kind of openly racist for me to do that.

But in any case, that serves as one example of something I see somewhat commonly, which is men and women 'teaming up' against each other in certain competitive situations, and in particularly in situations of dispute, women automatically garnering certain other women's support and men automatically garnering certain other men's support regardless of the circumstances of the dispute.  If this happened with race, or eye color, we would find it weird or even offensive, but this sort of social clustering with gender is just so common that we would regard it as weird if it DIDN'T happen.

So the competitive divisions definitely exist, and they definitely shouldn't, in an ideal world.  But your question was whether feminism 'created' them.  I would argue the opposite: that feminism (at least the 'gender equality' interpretation of feminism, as opposed to the 'man-hating' interpretation of the word) has actually served to lessen these divisions, and put men and women on more of an equal playing field where the motive to draw gender-based lines in the sand is a bit less obvious.  If you would have put a female scientist in a laboratory in, say, 1800, it would have created EXTREME animosity, and the men would of course be constantly trying to outdo her, if not actively advocating her dismissal based on the insulting nature of her presence.  Now, having both genders working together in a profession is regarded as something of a good thing, thanks almost entirely to the women's rights movement.

So I suppose I would say that the divisions are certainly there, but feminism (in the classic sense of the word) has served to reduce, not create, those divisions.

Answer 6

It sure helped. Listen to some of the sexist things said by famous feminists through the years. That attitude has gone a long way in fostering the attitudes we see today.  

Answer 7

I'm afraid it has - and its very sad.  Why should the fight for equal opportunities and legal rights become a competition between genders?  One would think that both genders would be supportive of an equal system for all peoples...

Unfortunately, as with all 'groups', there are extremists...and I believe those to be the ones who have set up positions that create dissention between the genders.  Feminism, in its purest and intended state, should be a respected and natural course for our society...