Has the feminist movement failed women?

Question

I grew up as the feminist movement was just coming to the forefront. It taught me that I didn't have to get married if I didn't want to, that I didn't have to have children if I didn't want them, and that after I had children I could stay home with them or go back to work. Feminism taught me to get an education, be independent, and not to depend on a husband for my survival, my validation or my place in society.

I owe feminism a huge debt of gratitude.

Feminism did not teach me to be angry, to hate men and marriage, to resent my children, or that it was acceptable and powerful to keep my knees open all night every night. I am disgusted by what the women's movement has become, and I feel like it has sold our young girls' souls up the river.

What do you think?

Answer 1

I fully agree with you. When the movement began it had the right message and the right philosophy. Then it seemed many women who preferred to look like men took over and it went down hill from there. We wanted equal rights, but it seems they were not satisfied with that. From there they wanted to look like men too, and all the validity of the cause went out the window. Many movements seem to end up like that. Just look at the environmentalist and Peta. They have gone so far overboard, no one wants to commit to their extremist version of their causes.

Answer 2

Hey why didnt your parents teach you those things?

Especially your mother.

I mean most parents want there kids to go off and do whatever they wish to do. Often education is a constant in that discussion

Answer 3

Speaking as a Generation Y ("third wave") feminist:

I do not hate men as I'm in love with one.

I don't hate marriage although I am an atheist and thus it is not for me.

I don't resent children. I'm seriously considering a career in education.

I don't "keep my knees open" and some might consider me a prude. I've never had s*x and don't plan on having it casually but with someone I truly love and care for. But I don't think women should be ostracized for not viewing s*x as A Sacred Thing or that men should be mocked for viewing it that way. Double standards are silly.

All these things are negative stereotypes perpetuated by the media and the trolls of GWS. I've yet to meet a man-hating feminist (though I do know a L*****n one. She's pretty kicka**). Repay your debt by giving it benefit of the doubt :)

Answer 4

Feminism has created a generation of women who say, "I wish I were born male because life is easier for guys" Yet, if you ask them why they think their life is so difficult, they have no valid reasons. They've been indoctrinated to believe that they are victims in some way.

Personally, I owe my gratitude to the suffragettes and the early feminist movement. The modern feminist movement, as far as I'm concerned, is becoming increasingly irrelevant.

Answer 5

I think you are labeling the feminist "movement" as failed because you are starting to believe ONLY the negative spin that the general conservative religious right has put on it, as well as the misogynist gang here on YA and other blogs and forums.  They are a loud and forcefully obnoxious bunch...

What exactly do you think is different between the feminism you grew up hearing about, and what you are hearing now?

Feminism hasn't changed that much, I think it's only the SOURCE that makes the difference in your perspective... ?

Answer 6

Feminism failed society. It gave women special rights and privileges.

Answer 7

No, feminism hasn't failed women.  Just look at women in the West.   Women in the Western world today are, by far, the most privileged class of people to have ever exist on this planet.   They have special rights, benefits and privileges that men don't even have.

All thank to the feminist movement..

Answer 8

A section of the women's movement is extreme but to see this as to blame for the women you speak about is I believe wrong.  

It would be the same as saying that Christianity is to blame because some choose to follow the far right wing Christian fundamentalism, which has nothing to do with the Christians I know.  Or another example would be to say that all muslims are terrorists, which is totally untrue.

There are a section of women who are growing up full of anger, who want to prove they are equal to men by behaving in the same way as the worst section of the male population.  This ladette culture is very worrying but to blame feminism as it's cause is unfair.  

I like you have a lot to thank feminism for and the improvements for women in my lifetime have been huge.  I have bought my daughter up with these principles but she is no angry man hater who never wants to marry.  She is going to university and wants to be educated and able to support herself like the daughters of my feminist friends but she has many male friends and has expectations to marry and have children in the future.

Answer 9

it just goes to show that you might be a normal woman,and you probably are not the feminist you thought you were. you a have the equality and freedom to do what ever you want, and women are proving that ever day without calling themselves a feminist.

Answer 10

In all seriousness. The roots of feminism were nobel. Over the generations it has turned into a narcissistic goal. It taught women to serve themselves at all cost. Nothing was taboo. The was no moral base, just self interest.  

Answer 11

Feminism has directly or indirectly given me everything I've ever wanted. Today's feminism is a VERY far cry from what it used to be, if you can call it feminism at all.

Answer 12

Feminism has changed like all social movement it changes as the times have.  Two major things...one feminism pushed choice, the right for a women to choose whatever she wishes to choose for her life and career. second, feminism branched out, into many easily 50 different types of feminism.  

Feminism still teaches plenty of the lessons you valued but we also gave women the right to choose which lessons to keep.

Another point, we have give women all the rights of an equal society all the privileges and options...however many hold onto traditional expectations of gender standards.  The two really dont work together.

No I dont think feminism has failed women, for some men and women it has made all the difference in the world.  Look at feminist graduation rates, divorce rates, and lifes. As a group we are doing a whole lot better then the average american.

Answer 13

Are you seriously implying that there's something wrong with a woman who wants to sleep around? I mean seriously, as long as she's being safe about it and doing all that she can to reduce the spread of STDs, why should she feel ashamed for sleeping with a lot of men? s*x is a basic human need, it's nothing to be ashamed of. And what's wrong with anger? It's a legitimate emotion just like sadness, happiness, or fear. And honestly, can you blame me as a young feminist for being angry? My reproductive rights are being chipped away at during my prime reproductive years, I narrowly avoided the abstinence-only bullshit in my health class (Class of 2005. I graduated a year before abstinence-only education was implemented at my high school), and I know that if I am raped at a party my credibility will be questioned if I was drinking or wearing a mini skirt, even though drinking at a party/wearing a mini-skirt is not illegal and rape is. You're damned right I'm angry!

The feminist movement has not failed me, personally. Feminism has given me everything that you stated in the first paragraph, and then some. And I'm a third waver.

What feminists in the movement today do you see hating men and marriage/resenting children?  

Answer 14

Interesting question. Before I can really answer it though, could you provide us with some links for further information?

I've never seen a feminist say that a woman should  "keep her knees open all night every night" or anything *remotely* like that.

I have heard feminists say however, that women *should* be able to have her needs met by a man, instead of it being all about his pleasure.

How has feminism "sold our young girls' souls up the river"? Because women are now expecting to be pleasured?

In terms of the other things you claim feminism has caused, who are these supposed modern feminists who advocate hating men/marriage and resent having children?

I think you'd have to provide a fairly lengthy list of feminists who have advocated the things you suggested. How else could I possibly take this question seriously, and provide you with an answer without that information?

Answer 15

The feminist movement saved women but the total ideals of the movement were not carried out.  Women do not need selective equality.  They need total equality as human beings.  And men needed to change how they related to women.  Society needed to change by adjusting to the fact that women are total people.  I think women are angry because now we do most of the traditional woman's roles AND work to contribute financially to the household.  We are allowed sexual freedom but only to a point.  The double standard is alive and well.  Many men still view women in the same way they did in the past -- as second class citizens.  There are many reasons why some women hate men, marriage, children etc. MEN need to change.  They have to be willing to do all of the things women do.

Answer 16

No, it hasn't failed women...it's in a process and it's not done yet.  We've still got a long way to go...if we give up now, we go backwards.

It's not feminism that has sold young girls souls up the river, that would be the media and multinational corporations who did that for the almighty dollar and power.

Answer 17

What a bunch of rot. I'm a second wave feminist and am so tired of hearing how supposedly feminists hate men, housewives, children, and are all s***s. The majority of feminists are married to men, have children, have worked part or all of the time at home, and believe it or not, are not sleeping with everything that moves-they're too tired for one thing.

Because of feminism, I could get into a traditionally male occupation, support myself and my family, marry and divorce if I choose, be a virgin or have s*x with who I wanted to with reliable birth control, and I was able to have a legal abortion when my fetus died and wouldn't abort. Because of feminism my young sister and neice can get into more than 2 sports if they want to, if they are molested or raped someone will take them seriously and try to help them, they can apply for a job and not be told they can't be hired because they are women or could get pregnant like I've been told, and if they want to join the military, they can get into the majority of occupations unlike my peers who were limited to a few "feminine" support roles. I'm proud of what the feminist movement has done for me and for women and men in the future. You're believing lots of old stereotypes that have been around a long time about feminism and feminists:      

Feminism 101: "Why do feminists hate men":

http://finallyfeminism101.wordpress.com/...

Feminism 101: "Aren't you all just a bunch of feminazis":

http://finallyfeminism101.wordpress.com/...

The right-wing and US media's representation of Feminism:

"(T)he feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians." –Pat Robertson

Answer 18

When it started, it was all for justice : men and women are equal, not identical. Differences were allowed. But not now. Now it seems like either the radical feminists want supremacy or unisex society. I know not all of them, but a significant number of them do. And other women are complacent. So today everything that comes out of feminist front looks suspicious to men.

It has harmed women no doubt. In the name of sexual liberation, promiscuity is promoted. And my generation of boys never learn to respect a woman or her body. Half of them don't have both parents that would teach them that s*x is a pleasure, not the center of life. In all objectivity, I have to blame feminist agenda more than men's out of control desire. But not more than media that fools people every minute.

Answer 19

Some people look at feminism the wrong way. And that's why it has become what it has become.

It's actually very sad.

Answer 20

If I became a follower of other peoples ideologies, I would consider myself a failure!

*Why all the thumbs down? its good to be an individual!

Answer 21

i am a feminist too and i dont hate men as i am married and have children. Feminism where i am means that menand women dont have to conform to gender roles they can do as they like. this has benfited men where i am as my husband and many other men i know can look after their children, share household responsibilities and take care of their appearance without anyone caring.

i personally dont agree with april CC i have flexible working conditions as i am a mother and work places treat working mothers fantastically in England. I thik as a mother in England you are very very well supported. As well as this my husband helps out equally. It makes a real difference because becoming a parent was not at all stressful to our relationship. if you share the workload its not stressful at all. I live with a very modern man though!

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