Is feminism anti-family?

Question

I ask because of these quotes from prominent feminists:

"Most mother-women give up whatever ghost of a unique and human self they may have when they 'marry' and raise children." -- Phyllis Chesler, Women and Madness, p.294

"Since marriage constitutes slavery for women, it is clear that the Women's Movement must concentrate on attacking this institution. Freedom for women cannot be won without the abolition of marriage." -- Sheila Cronan

"The institution of marriage is the chief vehicle for the perpetuation of the oppression of women; it is through the role of wife that the subjugation of women is maintained. In a very real way the role of wife has been the genesis of women's rebellion throughout history." -- Marlene Dixon, "Why Women's Liberation? Racism and Male Supremacy"

.

"How will the family unit be destroyed? ... the demand alone will throw the whole ideology of the family into question, so that women can begin establishing a community of work with each other and we can fight collectively. Women will feel freer to leave their husbands and become economically independent, either through a job or welfare." -- From Female Liberation by Roxanne Dunbar

"A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle." -- Irina Dunn, 1970

.

Intersting note: this famous quote comes from Irina Dunn, an Australian journalist who coined it in 1970. But the most interesting thing is, Ms Dunn stole this quote from a philosopher who said, "Man needs God like a fish needs a bicycle." Irina Dunn needed a man to come up with the only phrase that gave her fame. How empowering!

.

"Marriage as an institution developed from rape as a practice. Rape, originally defined as abduction, became marriage by capture. Marriage meant the taking was to extend in time, to be not only use of but possession of, or ownership." -- Andrea Dworki

Note: Andrea Dworkin was secretly married to a man for many years.

She was against marriage.... Against your marriage, not hers.

Answer 1

Feminism is anti-male but pro-abortion.  Yep, it's anti-family.

Answer 2

No, those quotes are from radical feminist's.

I wouldn't pay attention to extremists such as them.

Edit:I'm shocked at these quotes they're very hateful, but you cant think all feminist's are against family and marriage, just because of the bad apples in the movement.

Answer 3

You do realize that none of those quotes are recent, right? Margaret Sanger, are you kidding? She's been dead for almost 50 years now. Most of her activist work took place almost 100 years ago!  If you look at the work done by modern feminists, none of them say stuff like that. And if they do, they are not given any sort of credibility in today's feminist circles. If they were, I would have heard of them by now. I've been studying this stuff for five years.  

Answer 4

You see i do not consider myself too much of a feminist because i do have respect for some very extraordinary man i've met and others i 've just know about, and extreme feminism can be just as bad as misoginy sometimes, yet i do not consider having a family way necesary in life, having a partner its more impotant to me, having children it is not, i need children like i need holes drilled in my skull

Answer 5

Feminism is definitely anti-family and while most women seem to think that was just radical talk of another time, they expect men to ignore all the destructive changes to marriage/divorce law in the 70's that the feminist left on the books.

Thus all of the single-mother households and destruction of the institution of marriage now. Conveniently, these destructive households are blamed on men when in actuality they were the Goal. Father-funded female-headed households aka the VILLAGE where fathers have no parental rights, only obligations.

Ever wonder why sole custody is given to mothers 95% of the time? Feminist groups of the 70's are behind that. Family Courts are now biased towards mothers, blatantly sexist and single-mother households is the result, the most destructive family-unit around.

Women speak like feminist were influenced by another time and its over but conveniently ignore men have no parental rights anymore. Women would like you to ignore that the National Organization of Women is STILL blocking Shared Parenting Bills. Not very family-oriented. Women know what's going on, they just rather men ignore the obvious, while it continues unabated. Feminist desires flexible family configurations but it always seems to be w/ them at the head. Men should avoid marriage, children, living with or sharing finances with any women in the current legal environment because Radical Feminist are still here in law and person and they're WAY more powerful than these factions of feminism which never speak up for family, fathers or men.

Again most women like to avoid discussing the bias in Family Courts, and how they prevent any focus being placed on ours young boys in educational CRISIS nowadays. The American Assoc of University Wome just last month CREATED a study that said boys are doing just fine. because they're that selfish. lol

Because its a clear sign of the victory of feminism, an explosion of single mother households, visitation is STILL not enforced in Family Courts. Fathers have no Parental Rights anymore. THE VILLAGE is almost fully constructed.

And women condone all of the above which is why they never fight it, instead they tell men..

That was 50 yrs ago.

Man-Up!

Though the changes which destroyed marriage for men, are current.

Answer 6

No.

What's with all the decades-old quotes taken out of context and posted here?  All it suggests is that you can't find any evidence in support of your cranky rhetorical question.  All the ranting in the world can't hide that fact.

I don't know who most of these people are, nor do I care.  You have posted nothing but a disjointed rant.  Take a break; have a Kitkat.

Answer 7

Stacks of quotes: too many to read but I did my best.

Your argument is based on a false premise. That premise: that a "family" must necessarily be between a married man and woman to produce children. This is a false assumption because we see today many families that are not married or are single parent.

Many of the attacks made through these quotes were an attack on traditionally held beliefs behind the institution of marriage. Did you know that in Victoria, Australia it was legal until 1986 to have consensual s*x with your wife and it wasn't considered rape? It is the history of the structural disadvantages held against women that are the root of these quotes, and against the inability of women to exist outside social definitions of what a 'wife' was that caused the attacks against marriage, not an attack against the 'family'

Answer 8

Not at all. The definition of what constitutes a family is much broader than the one with a mother, father, 2.3 children, and a dog. A family can also consist of childless couples, unmarried adults living together, single parent families, unrelated adults living together, extended families, same-s*x couples, blended families, adult siblings living together, and empty nesters. So unless a person is living alone, then he or she is living in a family. It just happens to be a different kind.

Answer 9

Depends on your definition of family. The feminist definition seems to be woman and children, with man excluded (except for his wallet, of course).  

Answer 10

Nearly ALL of those quotes are way out of context.

Nearly ALL of those quotes are more than a few decades old.

Taking a sentence or two as a quote and not including WHAT or WHO that person may have been referring to, (or even repeating!) isn't even close to being a fair assessment of their thought processes or convictions.  

This is the same BS that anti-feminists try with their whining about statistics being skewed... they consistently quote 15, 20, or 40 year old statistics!  LOL  get some new material already!

(Oh, can't find any, can ya?)

Answer 11

These quotes are reactions to the culture of the 50s and 60s that expected a woman to get married and stay at home.  Feminists found it oppressive that they were considered defective if they preferred to work and/or not get married and/or not have children.  Since today it is more normal for women to have a job and marry whenever they choose to, these quotes seem out dated and radical.  

Some of them are inappropriate even for their time, but there are many factions of feminism and you can't judge the entire movement based on one feminist's opinion.  That would be like saying that all men are misogynists just because lots of them like to post intentionally offensive questions on answers.

Answer 12

i think so, unless you merry a rich husband to provide you with everything you want.

then you can give him a kid or s*x, woewa

Answer 13

During the 1960's through the 1970's many groups took their ideals and went way to far with them. Many African Americans went from wanting equality with the white community to wanting their own separate nation within the United States. Anti-war demonstrators belittled returning Viet Nam vets. In other words, things that were originally meant for good got out of hand. Feminism was no different. That being said, I personally do not consider myself to be a feminist, because I don't agree with many of their premises.

Answer 14

Feminism is anti family and anti birthrate.