Disclaimer:

For those who have just stumbled upon my blog, I should alert you to the fact that I am a feminist. Do not be fooled by the title of this blog post. I merely want to point out a few issues I have with feminists who have acted irrationally and given the movement a bad name. This is of course, my own opinion and not divine truth.

1. Being sexy or unable to express sexuality– this is where they lose a lot of supporters, telling women they can’t be sexy (not the same as slut shaming) by denying women who appear on the cover of magazines or ads. Yes, they are put there to sell products, but should they be covered up? It is not men who need to change, but how women are being viewed. Our society, although more open than it was in the past, is still quite conservative. Nudity is reserved for when people are trying to garner shock value. It is the idea that we are being teased by movies and TV shows when they conveniently hide genitals or large amounts of skin but porn, showing the most human of acts, shows people at their most vulnerable. If nudity wasn’t made to be such a big deal, then perhaps women would be able to express their sexuality without being looked down upon or seen as a pair of tits.

Furthermore, female sex workers and porn stars are rarely seen as feminists because they are giving into the male driven consumer culture. Although these women enter into their respective fields for a variety of reasons, women who engage in sexual acts for money should not be looked down upon. This makes feminists a bit hypocritical.

Humans are sexual creatures and there is no reason why women’s bodies should not be looked upon with an appreciative eye. Certainly I do not condone sexual harassment and do not believe that a woman is merely an object to be viewed. But, denying that she is a sexual creature while fighting for the right to be taken seriously is not fair.

2. Jumping to Conclusions – I will admit to doing this myself. Reading a headline or seeing an offensive image and automatically going from zero to rage. Many feminists peruse through the internet and come across the drivel that exists in spades; there is some really awful shit out there. But often times, they will read the first few sentences or watch the first few seconds of something and assume the worst. Case in point, the Amazing Atheist on Youtube (one of his videos slightly inspired this blog post). He detests feminism, something which he discusses quite often. Although he has said many controversial things, he doesn’t actually hate women as some would believe. He is just fed up with feminism as a whole. This is unfortunate that this gentleman has come to these conclusions. He has many followers who listen to his every word. My only hope is that the don’t take what he is saying at face value and do a bit of research, which is something I think feminists need to do.

He has said that he often receives hate mail from feminists who do not agree with his views. Although he is anti-feminist, as I said, he is not anti-woman. But, they assume he is. It is the same with most controversial Youtuber’s or Bloggers; They read the first few sentences and draw their conclusions from that without looking any further.

The internet is full of so many different people expressing their opinion. Herein lies the danger. People are not looking past what they see to find out the truth, they are taking what they see as fact. The internet needs to be approached with a journalistic-like mindset: look for multiple sources.

Going back to feminists jumping to conclusions: they need to READ or WATCH the entire article or video. Who created it, what are they saying in their other videos/articles, was it satire etc. I once watched a video of a woman who challenged street harassers by looking them in the eye when they passed her. I thought it was amazing how she got these men to look away in shame when they realized what they were doing. It was very empowering. But, she also had videos about how owning a pet is akin to slavery, that we shouldn’t spay or neuter them and that cuddling them against their will is rape….

3. Angry Rants- This is connected to jumping to conclusions. The angry rant. Although it is natural and feels so fulfilling to vent on the internet about the sad state of our human society, feminists are getting a bad rap because of it. I have before mentioned the events that transpired at the University of Toronto between feminists and a men’s rights group this past school year. The whole thing just made me quite upset that none of the protesters even went to any of these “controversial” lectures, or stayed long enough to listen to what was being said.

Here is a video of one such angry rant:

It is hard to take someone seriously when they are yelling like a banshee and ignoring any questions.

Tumblr is rife with feminists who spew out as much hate as someone who is in an actual hate group. This has got to stop. It is sending the message that all feminists are irrational bitches who are constantly on their periods and who lack educated opinions. Ask a feminist why she is a feminist and she should be able to give you a pretty good reason why. And by pretty good, I don’t mean, “because I am a woman”, or “because men/society sucks”. If you identify with a social movement such as feminism, you should know why.

It is my one wish that one day feminists will be taken seriously. I am also hopeful that one day we won’t need feminism and that humanism will be the norm, with issues not separated by gender.