Yeah, it’s so unfair that women have something, just one thing, that gives them some leverage with men. Meanwhile, men have controlled virtually everything else throughout most of human history, giving them an enormous amount of power over women. But it’s just so frustrating when the thing you want most is the only thing you can’t really control, isn’t it?
Yes, women can hold a great deal of influence over men, and acquire the things they need and want with relatively little effort, as long as they’re willing to exploit their bodies in that way, to prostitute themselves out, and only if men actually afford them that choice, rather than just taking what they want by force. That’s a very precarious kind of power, and gives women very little freedom or choice. It’s not equivalent or fair in the slightest.
The balance of power between the sexes is better now that it probably ever has been, but it didn’t get there without people fighting for it, and it will probably take several more generations to eliminate the remaining imbalances.
Just to add some more depth on this: This power is so damaging to the women, yes plural because it affects more than the individual, the idea that some women are just greedy opportunists exploting the weakness of men, so the role of victim is suddenly passed to the men…
Stories of women ruining men’s life are dozen a dime, not rare the man’s life was ruined because a woman allured him into cheating his wife and they were caught, but the other way around is hardly heard of, and even if some woman’s life is ruined by a man it’s her fault for being so easy after all…
Can’t people notice the deep damage to the reputation of the gender with all these double standards?
A woman using sex appeal to get her way is simply a greedy slu#.
A man using sex appeal to get his way is sometimes even revered in some sense.
Another thing also runs deeper with these machist standards in place is that anything different is labeled as a disfunction:
“Different” : Standard
A stay home dad taking care of children?Wrong, the man is the one who should be out there providing. It’s the women’s job to take care of children and the home.
A weak/fat/unfit in general man/woman?Disgusting, they should be at the apex of their appearance, but lately the man can even be excused of that…
So, men complaining about the high/unrealistic appearance standards should complain among themselves, because we estabilished the fantasy heroes like He-Man, Conan, Rambo and others as the standard to be followed/aimed at, not the other way around since no woman was responsible for these ludicrous creations…
Doubtful, playgirl seems like it is aimed toward women, mostly considering it advertises products toward females and how to receive more pleasure from sex with men. I can see gay men wanting playgirl magazines, however they are not the market focus. [quote=“Ivar, post:548, topic:11906”]
because we estabilished the fantasy heroes like He-Man, Conan, Rambo and others as the standard to be followed/aimed at, not the other way around since no woman was responsible for these ludicrous creations…
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actually, women were responsible without even noticing they were doing it. This goes back to genetics, and instinct. Men will want to pass on their genetic material to produce an offspring. However, they are in nature usually not the selectors of their mates, sometimes fighting off other suitors. These males usually have some quality that they genetically gained through natural selection. The females normally choose their own mate so males have to do mating rituals in the off chance that they are selected. Human males are no different. Children being told stories of heroes being the one who gets the princess have learned from a young age how to best pass on their genetic material. If those who get the girl are fat and lazy, then men will eventually become fat and lazy to fit what a girl would choose. We can see this kind of self destructive mating habit in lions. Female lions will mate with male lions with darker manes as an example. Men in society seeing muscular men get girls has made men think that women are attracted to that kind of man, and therefore thought that that was the kind of man they wanted. This is why it is so hard for men who do not meet this beauty standard to get women, and why women complain that they can not find a good man to settle down with. The double standard of sex with men and women goes back to the men not being the selector. If a female chooses her own mate, then she has chosen someone to share genetic material with. If she is with multiple mates, then it means she does not care how she shares her genetic material with considering how her body has a longer tick/time. The reason for this is because women are held to a higher standard of intelligence.
We are beyond the “genetic determines our behavior/choices” we are not ruled by those anymore and must keep progressing towards a better and fairer future.
The problem with that is that we are always ruled by a part of our genetics. What is beauty without genetics? As far as fairer, nature i gynocentric, however humanity is seen as masculine owned.
Because history has all these strange things called facts… Just that.
No matter if there was genetic driving us at some point, we still evolved beyond that except in some aspects that are still very arcaic and that still find supporters using excuses as genetics to reverse some roles and paint men as victims of some unrealistics standards when there was men rulling the world since forever mostly.
There are two types of feminism, real feminism and fake feminism.
Fake feminists are often called “fem-nazis” and just tend hate men in general. As far as they are concerned men are the blame for everything and they want equal rights when it suits them, but not when it doesn’t. I have noticed a large portion of these type of “feminists” are in fact unattractive, negative, or just downright unappealing no matter how you try to look at them.
On the other hand you have TRUE feminists.
These are the women AND men who truly want equal rights and don’t hate men just because. They want equal rights across the board and not only when it suits them.
The problem is the extremely loud, angry, and jealous “fake feminists” are much louder than real feminists. These people are the reason the word “feminism” has so many bad connotations.
i gotta agree on that one. There are problems that men face that women no longer face (in modern society.) I do agree there are circumstances where women are treated unfairly as well, however lately we see women using their gender as a weapon to control men to do as they please. This type of woman is the fake feminist. We see it on feminist blogs all the time. Real feminism is action, like getting a degree in a male dominated career.I prefer women take up jobs that are male dominated.
Funny, I remember when I came to realize I was a feminist. Because of all the bad hype, I’d never thought of myself in that way. But it IS about how you think, and wanting equal rights and respect for both men and women. We are only different in the fact that our “bits” are inside or outside. It’s not that big a deal, and there should be no societal difference between us other then that.
Sometimes, people are afraid to do something because there is no precedent. Other times they do not think they are strong enough to do something. Sometimes they are scared to do something because they perceive it as wrong or gendered. Sometimes the battles in feminism must not be centered at men, but at women.
One such battle is that there are not enough women in particular fields. The answer is not sexism, it is how one gets in one’s own way to prevent a certain outcome. Why do people choose terrible degrees they know will not pay out then complain about their poor choice? Remember when there was no women in politics, complaining did not get them into office, they chose to be elected into office. They had the courage, it paid off.
I agree, you still hear about women complaining about not being treated equally yet dad’s have nearly no rights either. It swings both ways. I.e. the fact that women are not in the building trade is because most choose not to go there, and not because they’re not wanted. Statistics don’t always reflect reality in my opinion. There’s still a long way to go for equality, but it’s not achieved by focusing the female gender, it involves men, women and children alike.
I’d say that ‘wanting equal rights and respect for both men and women’ shouldn’t get you badged as a feminist. That could make it sound like some kind of extremist view, when it should be the norm.
That said, not sure I know what ‘feminism’ means any more. This whole thing is a complex subject, can we just stick to cheese
True feminism is exactly that and, I believe, was @Isis_Kitty point; i.e. feminism isn’t some extreme, radical idea despite attempts by extremists to subvert the idea.
If you believe in true equality for men and women, then you’re a feminist. The problem is, like in your case, the name “feminist” throws some people off since it is viewed as a term exclusively about (extremist) women by people who don’t understand it. Humanist or equalist might have been more accurate names but the term was born out of a time when equality for the sexes meant that you were predominantly fighting for women’s rights. Rights that many of us take for granted these days (like the right for women to vote, the right for women to be able to get divorced, etc); i.e. what we would now consider basic human rights that, at the time men enjoyed but women did not.
So, while the sexes are more equal today than they have probably ever been, that only means that there are now issues on both sides that could use some correcting. That’s not to say that there are equal amounts of inequalities among the sexes but rather that they are all worth fighting for. If you believe that (and I do), then you’re a feminist and that’s a good thing.
I also see feminism as a push towards equal rights for both sexes… but by pushing the female agenda. Some may want male rights to improve too but that is a separate issue.
Femenists only want equal rights when it suits them. or did I miss the femenist outrage when female teachers sleeping with their underage students get lighter sentences if the rolls were reversed?
What percentage of women pay child support and get full custody versus men? or alimony?
Should women be guilty of rape by lying about being on birth control? that’s what wikileaks assange was being charged with.
