"i Need Feminism Because..." Cambridge University Students Sha

[Lil Red]

I found this in my internet meanderings after reading the OP, thought others should check it out: http://whoneedsfeminism.tumblr.com/

 

There's some really heartbreaking stuff there. and possibly bad language. just fyi. 

[PhuturePriest]

I need feminism because without them sandwich jokes would never exist and the world would be a dark, cold place.

 

And totally random: Can guys label themselves as feminists, or do they just support them?

[Byzantine]

Indeed. Women carry a human person in their body (Sometimes more), deliver it, and then feed it and nurture it with their body, all because it's amesome and it can do that. Men hold their wife's hand and smile, because other than procreating and lifting stuff, that's pretty much all our bodies get to do.

 

You forgot opening stuff.

[PhuturePriest]

You forgot opening stuff.

 

:doh:

 

And crushing bugs.

[Byzantine]

:doh:

 

And crushing bugs.

 

And relocating centipedes. I find them a bit too big and/or interesting to crush. Did you know that if a leg gets severed, it'll continue moving for a while?

[let_go_let_God]

True feminism = what the feminism is actually about. It's about equality and women's rights as human beings. Equality does not equal sameness, and it does not equal treating men and women as if there are no differences. There are differences, but they are complimentary to each other (Unless we're talking about the nine million soaps they have in the bathroom. That's simply not complimentary), and we should respect the differences for what they are. But having differences doesn't mean one is above the other, either.

 

Anyway, that, to me, is what feminism represents. It doesn't represent marriage equality, declaring that women are in charge of their bodies and men have no say, and it doesn't mean conveying a despising attitude towards men. Hating men is the last thing the feminist leaders wanted to happen. They wanted equality and fairness and to stop hate, not simply turn the tables.

 

I know I'm coming to the party late and all, but FP makes a really good point.

 

I know of a group of women who are trying to achieve these very goals by essentially making a holistic clinic center which is a complete opposite to Planned Parenthood and through positive education and advocacy on women's and pro-live issues. It's called The Guiding Star Project. They are definitely not your typical feminists.

 

God bless-

LGLG

[HisChildForever]

It really irritates me in these discussions when the ONLY reasons given for working married women are a, they're seeking personal fulfillment "outside the home" and/or b, financial necessity. Uh, how about c, these women spent years working on their education and feel called to use it for the betterment of the community? or they have a passion they want to share with others? Moms have a right to pursue a career if they aren't selfish about it (and the same applies to dads), period amen. Why there have to be these caveats to a mother's decision to work are unnecessary and off-putting. Personally, I didn't spend 7 years in higher education to do nothing with my degrees. Because surprise! I WANT to do something with them.

 

It makes me sad when women fight against it by taking birth control for the sole purpose of disrupting this system in order to conform their bodies to an ideal that is set by men who dont have to worry about it.

 

Want to know what makes it more ironic? Men are the ones fertile 24/7. I don't get why these women aren't demanding that men figure out some kind of birth control for their reproductive system.

[CatholicsAreKewl]

Want to know what makes it more ironic? Men are the ones fertile 24/7. I don't get why these women aren't demanding that men figure out some kind of birth control for their reproductive system.

 

 

...There already is one. It involves a needle.  :eek:

[Basilisa Marie]

I need feminism because without them sandwich jokes would never exist and the world would be a dark, cold place.

 

And totally random: Can guys label themselves as feminists, or do they just support them?

 

Haha, of course men can be feminists.  :)  

[Basilisa Marie]

1.  I'm not reducing women to gold-diggers or saying that it is the main reason why a wife clings to her husband.  Hopefully they have more in common than a shared financial destiny!  But it does de-incentivize divorce.  As a woman who depends on her husband's income, I do not view him as just a paycheck and he is worth so much more to me than just someone who brings home the bacon.  But the fact that I need him makes me more likely to choose my battles wisely and put up with his annoying habits.  And even though in this arrangement my husband does not depend on me for his financial well being, he makes it clear to me that he does need me in other ways... A good man values his wife and sees her as "the glue" that holds the house together and keeps things running smoothly.  It is important that both spouses value each other.

 

2.  There are some cases where it is necessary for a woman's safety (or her childrens' safety) to leave her husband.  I know this is why my mother left my father.  She had a job but was far from financially secure without my dad, and it really was difficult for her.  Thankfully she was able to move back in with her parents, who were retired and took care of me while my mom worked.  It was my their support that allowed my mom to finish her college degree and now that my grandma is 93, my mom and I take care of her.  I am grateful that my mom had a strong family to fall back on after my dad lost his mind.

 

3.  The husband holding his end of the bargain is key, and should be emphasized. 

 

4.  Saying someone has more power does not automatically assume they are going to use their power for evil.  Challenging men not to abuse their power is certainly a good thing, but that does imply that men are endowed with power that women do not have... 

 

5.  It is true that often women work outside the home not for selfish reasons, but because they need to pay their bills.  This does not contradict my first premise because it is a lot harder in our current economy to raise children on one income than it was several decades ago.  I'm not an economist and cannot tell you why.  But I also know many moms who work, not because they need to but because they prefer the company of other adults to their children.  They think that if they put their careers on hold they will lose their identity.  The paycheck is part of the reason why they work, but after you factor in daycare, commuting.... the $$$ isn't as significant as it is if you don't have kids.  

 

1. If financial dependence reasons aren't main reasons why people stay together, and if a husband is so much more to his wife than a paycheck, then why bring up financial dependence at all?  You acknowledge that some women need to leave their husbands, and that they can find a job to support themselves afterward.  So how having a job or job skills so that one can leave an abusive relationship any different than having a job or job skills that one capitalizes on if one gets divorce for other reasons?  And what about all the things we say about the sacrament of matrimony, isn't that the biggest de-incentive against divorce?  Any way you look at it, financial dependence is incidental in any divorce considerations.  

 

Of course it's important that spouses value each other.  But why must a woman's dependence be financial? Financial dependence is incidental to why couples stay together, because when push comes to shove they'll find a way around it.  

 

2. Right, okay, we agree on this point.  Women sometimes need to leave their husbands, and they have to have some kind of safety net to fall back on, whether that be family or a job or skills for a job.  Ideally, it would be a combination of all three, but I think it's wrong to discourage women from pursuing a job or job skills, just as it's wrong to discourage women from being stay at home moms, if that's what they want to do. 

 

3.  Good! Then we agree on this point. :) 

 

4. Right, and I don't have a problem with men having power that women don't...it's pretty obvious from the way society runs that they do. But it still doesn't change the fact that women don't need "protection" from men if men don't abuse their power.  That should be the focus of the "protection" discussion, not how we can protect women from men.  

 

5. Okay, sure, there are women who view their job as part of their identity.  But there's nothing wrong with that.  Should a woman who is a doctor give up her practice to be a stay at home mom? A teacher?  That's completely up to her.  Vocations aren't one size fits all.  There are many ways to be a mother.  If women have the right to choose to be a stay at home mom, they also have the right to keep their jobs.  Must all women who are mothers find their life's fulfillment in staying home to raise their children? And what about women who make more money than their husbands? Or what if she's more invested in her job than he is? What if a woman is a doctor, and her husband is an insurance salesman?  If they decide it would be best for him to stay home and her to go to work, is that wrong?  

[PhuturePriest]

Haha, of course men can be feminists.   :)

 

Then much to what would have been my despair four years ago (And what still would be my family's despair since they don't understand feminism), I hereby declare myself a feminist.

 

Also, one of the signs the students made caught my attention. It was the one relating to Harry Potter, and how J.K. Rowling was told to use "J.K." and not "Joanne" because they didn't think people would buy it. To be fair, that may not have been entirely sexist. Joanne just isn't a very elegant and sophisticated name. I would have no qualms with buying a book from a Katherine Rowling, but you just don't expect a girl with a name like Joanne to be good at writing books.

 

Then again, maybe I'm just weird and this is yet another example of my weirdness. :P

[ploomf]

So many posts I want to prop and I'm out of props. :( Anyway I need feminism because "Fascinating Womanhood" is still an insanely popular book in my neck of the woods. This is a book that contains such gems as,

 

"If you are like most of today's mothers, you have this list made in your mind with all the reasons you need to have your daughter train for a career - she may have an emergency, she may get divorced, her husband may die, her husband may get disabled...on so on. There are serious consequences to this action. Here is the flip-side of the coin: It Will Make Her Independent: As we have learned, one of the traits of a fascinating woman is dependency. Training for a career and a job outside the home teaches her just the opposite. She becomes independent and without the need for manly care. She has taken over one of the duties of a man and is in danger of acquiring masculine efficiency."

 

and

 

"Love is not reserved for the young, the single, nor the beautiful. It is reserved for those who arouse it in a man. If a man does not love with his heart and soul, it is entirely the woman's fault."

 

and

 

"Some very fine men have violent tempers. But if you could understand what he suffers and why, you would be more sympathetic. He doesn't become angry with you without reason. You may have hurt his pride, or trampled on his freedom, or stolen from him his right to rule his own children. Whatever the reason, he is provoked at you and it is a very frustrating feeling."

 

and finally

 

"Remember that by nature you are not capable. If you have any masculine capabilities, you have acquired them unnaturally. God did not create woman for the strenuous masculine responsibilities."

 

This book is horrible and yet it is still extremely popular. I don't know a single woman who got married in my former church who didn't get a copy of this book from someone. I can't even hear the name of the book now bad things happening to my blood pressure. :pinch:

 

[ploomf]

Speaking of which, this always makes me laugh. :p

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS37SNYjg8w

[HisChildForever]

That book sounds like something Richard Williamson (is he still considered a bishop or was he defrocked/excommunicated?) would love. In his opinion, women shouldn't go to college because they'd be too distracting to the male students. lolwut.

[Apotheoun]

That book sounds like something Richard Williamson (is he still considered a bishop or was he defrocked/excommunicated?) would love. In his opinion, women shouldn't go to college because they'd be too distracting to the male students. lolwut.

Once a bishop always a bishop according to Western sacramentology.