How far do you read an answer from a feminist when he/she tries to define feminism based on the dictionary?

Question

like this for example:

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"Feminism does NOT in ANY way mean discrimination against men. Feminism, by the definition of dictionary.com, "the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men."

In other words, feminism is the want to have women have the same rights, freedoms, opportunities, etc. as men. Equality.

Did you know that a man of one-year experience in a certain job gets paid more than a woman with five years of experience? Thus is the "equality" of the United States! This is one good reason why feminism exists.

Look up actual definitions next time you plan to assume a definition."
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I only read up to the "dictionary.com" part and it's enough for me to see that their answers are void of any thought and personal observation of what's happening in reality?

Answer 1

Actions speak louder then words i judge by what they do rather then what they say they do.



And if feminism is the avocation of equal rights, opportunities and freedoms then it really has no place in western communities because women have all that

Answer 2

You know, I always see these baiting questions from anti-feminists, as if YOU have somehow evidenced your position that feminists are about matriarchy/female supremacy with anything more than some ranting, equally anti-feminist blog. Because OBVIOUSLY a random, angry blog is a more reliable source than a dictionary...





To address a few wek-a** points made here...



1) The draft- This is, at most, a symbolic thing. There has been no draft since the end of Vietnam. Given the political fallout of that, it is EXTREMELY unlikely that there will ever be a draft again. And frankly, if there is, it's the feminists who are gonna be on your side against the draft and for women's participation.





2) "Softer punishments for the same crime <-- They've exempted themselves from responsibility. As in to say they are not responsible for their crimes"



Um, this isn't feminists fault. This is the fault of old, sexist-a** judges and juries. Feminists argue against this ALL THE TIME.



3) "Changed the word "Murder" to "Abortion" <-- They don't want the responsibility of murder so they merely changed the word."



Get a grip. Only people can be murdered, and fetuses/embryos are not people (even if I bought that they were technically human potential life, they are not people). You can not like that if you want, but it is anything but a recent invention. Abortion has been a reality of women's lives for literally thousands of years. For most of human history, it was simply considered "women's business" to control their fertility, part of which included abortion. Feminists did not create abortion, we simply advocate for women being the final arbiters of what goes on in their bodies.





4) "And if feminism is the avocation of equal rights, opportunities and freedoms then it really has no place in western communities because women have all that"



On paper perhaps (and not even always then- show me where in the constitution any right besides voting is guaranteed to women http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html ). But paper and reality are two different issues. And in reality, there are significant barriers to real equity in the citizenship rights of men and women.





5) "Changed the term "Sexual discrimination" to "Affirmative action" <-- They don't want the responsibility of sexism so they change the term"



You clearly have no idea how affirmative action actually works. The notion that the primary mechanism is quotas, set-asides, or entitlement hires/promotions is a myth created by neo-con pundits and not based in the actual practices of educational institutions or businesses.



6) "'Apart from the dictionary, is there any evidence that modern feminism is about equality?'"



Tons. But a better question would be, is there any evidence (other than your angry blog rants) that feminism ISN'T about equality?

Answer 3

Right. Because NO sane person thinks dictionaries have DEFINITIONS in them.



[end sarcasm]



The fact is, the vast majority of those calling themselves 'feminist' do support equality. There's a tiny minority of nut-jobs who are female supremicists, who make a lot of noise, like the relatively FEW men who would deny women any rights, but do most of the talking here.



By definition and by fact, feminism is about equality.

Answer 4

As a feminist, i use the dictionary definition to help explain, fundamentally, what feminism is not. I believe that with rights and freedoms come responsibilities. I don't think that women are better than men or men are better than women. I dislike misogyny, I dislike stereotypes, and I dislike treating a person differently because of race, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnic background, age...



I don't believe that being a working mom, or a woman choosing to have a career is bad, nor do I think that stay at home dads are bad. I believe in letting families choose what works for them, without criticism. I also believe that, ideally, men and women can choose to wait to have sex, sex in a monogamous relationship, or sex with multiple partners, without being criticized.



I will not say that men and women are not "different," as there have been many studies showing differences in cognitive abilities, thinking processes, and learning styles between men and women. High school girls, on average mature in mathematical understanding 2-4 years after boys do, but catch up by the end of high school. boys score significantly lower on average on reading tests. This is not to say that all boys are worse readers or all girls are worse at math... It is not to say that one of these styles is better or more acceptable.



We need to openly acknowledge that men and women are different, just as every individual on this planet has something different to offer.. Acknowledging that we are different as individual people, makes it a lot harder to pigeonhole people with stereotypes.



It isn't about men vs. women, it is about treating other people with the respect and dignity you would want to be treated with. Sure, that means making sure women (and other groups who are affected by wage gaps) are paid the same for the same work, it means making sure men can be good fathers to their children by being fair (more face time with kids, lower child support payments in some cases) in custody decisions.. Overall, we have to accept and acknowledge times are different, women are not "oppressed" to such extreme levels as the past, or in many other countries. Being aware of this history helps both men and women see how far we have come, and the distance we have left to go. Working together as a team, and understanding where cultural myths, stereotypes, etc, come from, we can work on building bridges with each other instead of tearing them down.

Answer 5

Feminism means equality...But that definition as slowly worn off. It was to aquire equal rights, therefore as soon as women started to get EXTRA rights, feminism should have stopped, but it didn't. In fact it did the opposite....Its still trying for rights now and thats not what feminism is. The only way feminism can get back its original meaning is if it does one of 2 things.



1. If its activists fight for mens rights to bring them up to equal to theirs.



2. If its activists take away some of their own rights to bring them down to equal to mens.



Since none of those things are happening, there is no such thing as a feminist. Feminism is now about superiority.





@Bill-

Softer punishments for the same crime <-- They've exempted themselves from responsibility. As in to say they are not responsible for their crimes



Changed the word "Murder" to "Abortion" <-- They don't want the responsibility of murder so they merely changed the word.



Changed the term "Sexual discrimination" to "Affirmative action" <-- They don't want the responsibility of sexism so they change the term

Answer 6

> "the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of

> women equal to those of men."



Feminism only wants rights. Feminism never talks about responsibilities.





I stop reading when any group talks about rights, without talking about responsibilities. Only men have responsibilities "the draft, etc..." but feminists conveniently forget this.

Answer 7

Did you know that there is a direct, linear correlation between corporate downsizing, and females in the workplace? did you know these same businesses, who saw only the sky as the limit before females came into the office,....these businesses started out with male secretaries and male steno and messengers...and this is the foundation of their empires?



are you aware of the amount of money any given business loses, or sacrifices, just because some worker in a key top position of the company, suddenly has to leave the work arena behind, indefinitely, cuz she's having a baby?...or how many deals were lost or scrapped , cuz some executive was suffering from pms, or imagined themselves intuitive to the point of predicting the future of volatile business deals?



i don't know the dictionary definition of feminism, but i would expect it to be the promoting of women and their issues, rather than downing men and their issues...



it just seems that 'promoting' womens's issues always comes down to killing babies you don't want, after having sex with men that don't want you....or ruining someone's career, because not only do they have more talent and skill than you, but they assumed all you had to offer was between your legs...or scraping and clawing your way into a corporate board room, just to bolt when the first hint of childbearing pops up..



or maybe it's flexing your political clout, like you did last election..with the majority voters of the dem party = 52% female, and with that majority vote muscle, you push hilary clinton aside, and put obama in.....

Answer 8

I think that is pretty accurate as opposed to anti feminists who believe that all dictionaries and reference books are involved in a mass conspiracy to dupe the public.

Answer 9

Haba B asked a great question a few weeks ago. It was something like:



'Apart from the dictionary, is there any evidence that modern feminism is about equality?'



Classic.

Answer 10

Mike, can you name one responsibility other than the draft that men have and women do not? In the United States, how many men have been drafted since the end of the Vietnam war?

Answer 11

So in other words, a dictionary is not a valid source to you for defining something. Alright then.

Answer 12

I don't read too much into what is being said.