Why are there so many strange beliefs about feminists?

Question

I am new to yahoo answers but in the past few days I have enjoyed reading questions on the GWS area. And I notice that some of the answers and questions appear to be demonizing feminists or stereotyping them in strange and insulting ways. I would like to know why people do this? Are they unaware of what a feminist is? Or are women expecting equal pay and equal rights a threat to some people?

Answer 1

Valerie,  you are so wasting your time.  

There are the RARE few men here (real men) who can discuss the pros and cons of what they perceive to be the Feminist issues and ideas, but unfortunately there are many many more 'boys' here who tend to ***** and complain, call names, debase, and shout down everything and anything they can think of that is perceived to be "feminist".  They have serious issues, I think.

I've only been around Y!A for a relatively short time myself, and it's discouraging that real exchanges of ideas and concepts can't happen because of all the idiots and big mouths here giving ppl thumbs down or reporting them.  They also take great pride in using multiple accounts for cluttering up the board with degrading and insulting nonsensical questions or answering every legitimate "feminist" question in a snarky, sneering way.

Basically they suck, and they make this forum suck too.

Here is a perfect example I saw at the bottom of the page:

"why do feminist hate women who halt career to start family?"

See?  typically snotty, typically irrational and meant to incite rational, thinking people into answering negatively --so they can report them or ridicule them.

Answer 2

Well, some of us have seen feminists in real life that fit the definition of a "radical."  However, that doesn't excuse stereotyping like many do on here.  But I'm guessing some people can't get past that.  There are a few people on here who seem to just want to start fights, and that's one of the easiest ways to do so.

Countdown to college football.  I added that since I go on the Football forums a lot too.

Answer 3

I once asked a question on YA about the definition of feminism. Surprisingly, I got a lot of different answers from both males and females that crossed gender lines. Some men and some women thought feminists were inherently selfish and possibly deranged; others thought they were brave crusaders.

As for myself, I've been cheap labor for 40 years and I've seen a lot of people do a lot of things. For the most part people of all types tend to get along fine, but I have run into some angry feminists. One time I was cussed out royally for holding a door open for a feminist. Gee... Another time I was working in a liquor store and one came in and just starting angrily preaching about how boys got called on more for answers in math class. In my high school it was more a matter of raising your hand, not discrimination. Last but not least, I've applied for quite a few jobs in my life. Although there have been roughly equal numbers of men and women making the hiring decisions, by far more men have offered me positions. Only two women have hired me, and later made some rather questionable decisions that some would call sexist. But aside from the angry ones, I don't think a woman who simply wants fair treatment is a bad thing at all.  

To sum it up; there are so many different opinions about what feminism is, and so many different types of feminists, it's no wonder that there are so many strange beliefs about feminists.

Answer 4

A lot of the 'anti feminist' posturing in this forum is quite deliberate, it's a way of spreading misinformation and advancing a woman hating agenda, which is why discredited staples such as 'feminists hate men', 'feminists are ugly' and 'feminists are lesbians' make regular, recurring appearances despite the reasoned explanations by feminists that this is simply not the case.

As for those with the 'feminists are paedophiles' comments, I think we can be fairly certain they have a particular, and particularly nasty, hidden reason for their comments.

One who regularly says this type of thing appears to be a divorced man who does not have custody of his child/children and is very probably trawling for support to advance a spurious case against his ex. The other sees himself as the leader of a brave new political front 'The anti-feminists men of the world'. He may not realise it's neither new, nor brave.

There are some reasoned thinkers who take a non-feminist view and express themselves with clarity and wit, but many are simply trolls.

Cheers :-)

Answer 5

Some of them may be unaware of what feminism is. Some of them are just taking the p**s (making fun) of feminism to get a rise out of people.

There has already been a lot of demonizing feminists in the general media. It's a term that few people even want to be associated with even if they still embrace the basic philosophy.

And then of course, like with any cause there are extremists who make the rest of us look bad.

Answer 6

Valerie, you say you're new to Y!A, but your account is older than mine, and I've had mine about 14 months now.  If you plan to be so misleading every time you feel the need to defend the "honor" of feminists, expect men to have "strange" beliefs about your credibility.

Answer 7

You're on the right track. A woman that isn't controlled by a man is frightening to some and so they result to insults and demonizing. There are women who are anti-feminist too but I think they are really just traditional women, I'm sure they are happy to vote and have legal rights despite claiming to be against feminism. Of course then we all end up debating the true meaning of feminism but then that's another story.

Edit: Begbie is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. And there are very few man-hating feminists on this forum, if any. What you see is normally just guys pretending to be radical fems to prove some imaginary point. Tracy takes the defensive on women's issues she doesn't attack like so many of the guys do.

Answer 8

I think they do it because feminism threatens their perceived "rights" as men, or roles as women.

It's quite interesting observing some of these people. They open accounts daily, and ask inane questions. One example - "is it OK that I kicked my boyfriend in his testicles". What they hope to achieve by this, is to make women look ridiculous, so that they can justify their hatred of strong women. Unfortunately for them though, what tends to happen is that the women they so desperately want to demonise actually answer things like "No, it isn't ok to kick his testacles" They get frustrated, and do it all again under a different account several days later.

I used that example, because what strikes me about this little "strategy" is that they have such little "ammunition" against feminists, that they have to *create* scenarios for their little self fulfilling prophesies. You'll see it again and again in the many accounts they create with female avatars asking and given inane responses.

So, why do they do this? Because they are scared, and probably because they're a little immature, (which is evidenced in their questions such as "if women can go to a women-only gym, why can't men?")

One thing to remember though, they represent a very small percentage of society (the trolls, that is) and most *normal* men actually like women.

Answer 9

Women are actually genetically superior----men have always known and feared this.

Answer 10

Part of the organized backlash against feminism is to demonize those who follow feminism and fight for women's rights.  It is a very organized effort to keep young people from working within feminism, and it is an effort to turn back the clock to the 1950's by telling women who are too young to know the truth that women were extremely happy before feminism, and that feminism is the cause of all the ills of the world.  Stupid, YES, and yet many people fall for it hook, line and sinker.