i am proud to be a feminist. why are you feminist?

i am curious because not many women that i meet are passionate about feminism. maybe there's a reason or story behind every feminist that makes women speak up about their rights. i notice a lot of stories have to do with being treated wrong just for being a woman, sexual assaults, and many experiences and annoyances that women have to deal with on a day to day basis. please share your stories and dont be shy!

i am a feminist because i only had one younger brother and i lived with an abusive controlling alcoholic father who doesn't respect women and made my mom 'stay in the kitchen' so to speak and i saw him hit her. he did the same to me but treated my little brother like a prince while my mom and i were accused of being whores and i wasn't allowed to wear make up, paint my nails, talk to any guy for any reason etc etc. i got passionate about this as a teenager and spoke out to my dad about it and eventually he backed off (now he lives in oklahoma, and i live in california)

also i was sexually abused for around 10 yrs by my grandpa (he died when i was 5 tho) and 2 of my cousins, i ended up confronting one years later and i got so mad i kicked him into a wall repeatedly. i probably couldve handled myself better but i lost it.

so throught my life i was being wronged just for being a girl so i guess naturally i became a feminist at a very young age and i feel very passionate about it and proud to be a 'survivor'
so whats your story? :daisy:

 

Give it another 10, 20 years, you'll work out why that is


Being a survivor doesnt have anything to do with feminism, thats certainly not confined to females. Doesnt even have anything to do with you, in the end its just shitty luck that thats the family you got stuck with, raised by another family and it would have just been soccer practice and fighting over the X box

What is Feminism? Is it really a man's world? Are you better off being a male or a female in this world?

On a day to day level at least, to generalize, gals are better at bonding, communicating, togetherness. Whats going to happen with your dad? Split with your mum, assuming he hasnt already, cut off from the kids, cant get on with other guys cos thats a lot harder for them, and they all think he's a jerk anyway, attacking anyone he feels threatening by as he did with you....the last couple of decades alone battling with his alcohol addiction.

By the sounds of it, I'd rather be you than him, even though this is supposed to be a Man's world



Why am I a feminist? Chics are the root of all evil, but at least they are not Guys

 

im a feminist because i believe in equality. but i also believe in the equality of men and boys, trans people, intersex.....

im an anti-colonialist anti-capitalist queer feminist.

 

ditto. I am not a feminist because of my personal history per se. But because I'm a female. As a woman it is my social responsibility to advocate for women's rights and egalitarianism. Despite the false belief that we live in an egalitarian society, everything from the media, to religion, to the corporate world, to the music industry is still male-dominated. I think this is just the comfortable niche society has fallen into because of the degradation and subjugation of women throughout history. It is hard to erase centuries of a mindset. If the suffrage only occured 140 years ago, we have a long way to go... Women are being objectified more so in the mainstream media than ever before. Look in any fashion magazine, or watch any rap video...don't even mention the porn industry.

As a woman, I seek for 'equal opportunities' ...this doesn't just mean to be able to become a big business CEO, but to have the respect of society as a man would. Even the connotations of things are different for women. If a woman is a feminist she's a 'man-hater' or a 'dyke', if she develops herself intellectually rather than physically she's an 'old hag', 'ugly' whatever...if she has a strong opinion she has 'pms'. When men are given these labels they are considered powerful...women don't have that option. I would like to see women have freedom of that. For women to pursue things from freedom of sexualization and objectification would be ideal.

Women are more than the owners of vaginas...they are mothers, musicians, poets, business people, police people, politicians, hippies, feminists, etc. Years ago 'they' thought women had less brain cells than a man, well that has proven not to be the case (thank my goddess) but we should not be considered less because of our bodies or grouped into a sexual category, either. I think a lot of women are feminists, because they want to be taken seriously.

 

I am a feminist because I believe in equality for all, and despite what others would have us believe, women are not treated equally. I think people have gotten really complacent and think that feminsm is not longer needed, but they are wrong.

Same goes for things like racism... we are not in an equal world and I believe in the struggle to have an equal world.

 

I was one time feministe but I do not like much titles. I choose to not participate in socieity and I have gotten the peace.

 

I am a feminist just because I grew up this way. I can't think of any instance that shaped me to become one. I am very proud, though. I love being female. I would never trade it! :daisy:

 

I am a feminist because I believe we are a long long way off true equality where by the traditionally female roles in society are accepted and respected as much as the traditionally male roles.

I am a feminist because I believe that home-making, care for the elderly, childcare, caring for the sick etc are important, vital roles in our communities that are lost in an ongoing battle to label, praise and judge everyone based upon patriarchal roles in society.

I get asked constantly what I 'do' when I will return 'to work' that I cannot possibly be an independent, free thinking female if I do not have my 'own job' or 'own money'

Well, I have news! My husband is dependant on me, I feed his child from my breast, I am growing his second child, I make sure he has food when he is hungry and clothes on his back. How is it that him working for somebody else, 50 hours a week makes him More independent than me? I plan my day, I care for my family, I will care for my parents and his if necessary, I am a valuable and necessary part of not just my families life, but of my whole community.

I do not need to be getting paid a wage and part of some capitalist society to be independent, nor do I need to be receiving a 'wage' to be a part of our partnership. I bring in love and life and I work bloody hard!

That's why I am a feminist.

As for the abuse thing, yeah I was abused when i was younger but that wasn't because I am a woman, it's because my brother is a ****.

I think that no person should be subjected to abuse ever and I think that it needs no segregation.

I think that if the female roles in society were treated and respected, there would be less violence towards women in general and I also think that oppressed men who cannot be what they want to be because they are only allowed to fit into a patriarchal society would be less violent, scared and manipulative. The same goes for women.

I am Fi, I am a feminist because it's the only thing that makes sense x

 

I'm a feminist because I believe in the power all women hold. Feminism is still important today. Women are second class citizens, we are constantly compared to men. If a man cries he's considered a "sissy" or "gay". The reason gays are demonized is because they are feminine men! Women have been the "weaker" sex since the beginning of time. Just because we have the right to vote, own land and have jobs does not mean we have equality! This world is based on dichotomy, where one side will always be considered stronger than the other. Until we can have a complete overhaul of the way society views women, feminism will still be an important part of women's lives. If you are smart, you will fight for equality, not just equal rights!

 

I'm a feminist because I believe in equal rights and equality, not just for women but for everybody, whatever age, race, gender, sexuality, social class/background or ability/disabilities. And I believe that everybody should be treated equally and with respect no matter what differences they may have to the next person!

 

Are you aware that equality means not only the good things? Do you really want to be treated like in man-to-man relations?

 

I just want everyone to be treated as equals. If I was to commit a crime then I would expect the punishment I recieved to be exactly the same as any man.

 

I'm a feminist because I believe categorizing people by gender is stupid. I am male btw.

 

i'm a masochist, because women have proven time and time again they can't be trusted. show me a woman that can be trusted and i'll give her the freedoms she deserves. just kidding. sort of.

why do women want to be equal with men? men and women were created differently and they have different giftings. there are some things that men can do better than women and there are other things that women can do better than men. if a guy decided that he wanted to sow and wear pink frilly panties then im pretty sure people would call him a fag. the same goes for if a woman decided she wanted to be a lumberjack. we just don't function the same... men and women can never be equal in the sense you are using the word, because there is an inherent difference betwen the sexes. i find equality in gender roles. as long as people aren't being abusive to the opposite sex then there is nothing wrong with it.

that's what you need to fight for. to rid the world of abuse, not to increase feminism.

we have a feminism forum. why don't we have a masochism forum?

 

^^^This^^^

 

because its the right thing to do, and the tasty way to do it.

 

thats like saying black men cant be QB in football or play hockey, or that white men cant play basketball or be wide receivers in football. sure its not the norm but if you can do the job well then what you look like shouldnt make a difference.

i would never call a man a faggot if he knitted a cool ass hockey sweater.

ummmm and wearing pink frilly panties....ummm how would i ever know unless that is all the guy was wearing?

 

How many of the things you mentioned are learned behaviors/stereotypes?
Have you ever heard parents tell their boys "don't cry like a girl" or hear someone comment ".... like a girl" as if being a girl in and of itself is negative.
Of course we have many differences but when I think of equality but equal pay is the first thing that comes to mind...

Anyhow, I get what you are saying but a lot of the "differences" between genders are learned behaviors, not really natural.

 

There is a difference between equality and sameness.

 

Wisdom. :sunny: