Do you think the word “feminism” can be rehabilitated?
Although I applaud women like these for making a valiant effort...I'm afraid, like the term [i]“conservatism”[/i] -- the word [i]“feminism”[/i] has been abused, misused and propagandized beyond reclamation.
This issue is far from a new one! The late great G.K. Chesterton wrote this back in the late 19th or early 20th century:
His point remains valid today, in my opinion.
If "feminism" means according women their proper due – that is to say, recognizing them as equal in intrinsic value / inherent worth with men, not necessarily identical in role but equal in importance and honour – then I am all for it.
If it means lowering, as the meme you posted points out, the standards for women to the abysmally low standards to which men are often held, or if it means either feminizing men or masculinizing women, as seems too often the case – or if, as one commentator described the "third wave" feminism of today, it is about "fighting for the right for women to engage in self-destructive behavior and get away with it while making sure men do not" – it is in my estimate a detriment rather than a benefit to society.
The always perceptive [b]Chesterton[/b], was making a similar point to what I was making this morning:
[i]“Why are millions of women taking the day off work today? To draw attention to a world where the shackles of the Patriarchy have been cast off -- giving them the opportunity to be wage-slaves too – --and as waves of liberation have swept further through the economy and society many women have now realized the dream of having two or even three unfilling jobs necessary inorder to keep their family afloat”[/i]
It is rarely mentioned that just as liberation was kicking into gear in 1973 (the same year, not so coincidentally, Nixon closed the gold window) the economy started to warp – one of those warps was fewer [i]"breadwinner”[/i] jobs –jobs that pay a sufficient salary to support a family –and that is a trend which continues to this day.
Socially and culturally this stuff ended up not just dragging women down to the worst flaws of men, but dragging men even lower. Feminism incorporated the [b]Sexual Revolution[/b] (which should no longer be called a revolution, because they won and are now the establishment). This aspect of feminism became increasingly central and more disgusting in[b] Third Wave[/b]. Former [i]Cosmo [/i]editor [b]Sue Ellen Browder[/b] wrote a good book on this: [i]“Subverted: How I Helped the Sexual Revolution Hijack the Women's Movement[/i]” [c=#BF0000]http://amzn.to/2mGA4Ns[/c]
But there has been a backlash among younger women to this trash. Millennials (especially the younger tier) really are the [b]“Pro-life Generation"[/b] –polls consistently show them to be pro-life – they are [b]Planned Parenthood'[/b]s greatest nightmare. And there is a repulsion to the “hook-up culture” and all that --among younger women – which is not surprising – that is just not the metaphysical nature of women.
The pendulum nearly always swings, thankfully. And I, too, have seen the beginnings of a shift back, in the younger generation. Encouraging! But you are right, the connection between morality and economics is a closer (and, likely, less coincidental) one than most people realize.
Ironically interesting, although sad, to track the way in which the breakdown of what are often considered "traditional family values" has mirrored the breakdown in the traditional family itself — in part, at least, due to what you mentioned: that it is now much more rare for a single "bread-winner" to be able, economically, to support a family, meaning that both partners need to work, which in turn tends to fragment family ties and devolve "child care" (which used to be called parenting) on paid professionals.
A vicious downward spiral, which will likely take much more time and effort to arrest and reverse than it did to initiate. That, sadly, is the recurring pattern! Good things are easily destroyed, but not easily created... or re-created, once lost.
You have not even scratched the surface, sir. I suggest you sit in on a Womens' Studies survey course in one of our universities – you will hear more incredulous stuff than you can possibly imagine.
@Lizabee: But, you were calling me out on abortion, so why don't we stick with that form of birth control for the time being --and it is the central sacrament of modern feminism, and what all the fuss is about.
@Lizabee: How am I confused? It would be helpful to a "dialogue" which is what everyone likes to say they want these days --if you would be a little more specific.
