Matt Walsh,
After making both a whimsically snarky picture and writing a less than kind satirical blog that will never see the light of day, I think I'm finally ready to explain to you why your post yesterday was so offensive...
We think a lot alike on many issues so I understand why you'd assume that all modern feminists care about is abortion. Sometimes it really feels that way. It's something that keeps me awake most nights. However, if that were true, if all feminism was about was fighting for the right to kill another (weaker) human being, you can bet I'd be the first one to abandon the label. And for years we actually did. We called ourselves "New Wave Femmes" because the negative connotations that came with the word "feminist" were too much for us. But it's kinda like that person who picks out a smaller tattoo because it'll hurt less. I mean, the whole point of the thing in the first damn place is to show how tough you are, right? So we eventually realized how bassackwards it was to have a group focused on the inherent strengths of women who still somehow thought they were too weak to CHANGE a word, and society's understanding of said word, back to something of honor and badassery. That became our new mission and we became New Wave Feminists.
For us it was not simply enough to be pro-life, because abortion is not created in a vacuum. It's created in a world that starts exploiting women very young and very often. It ends with having her kill her children because she's too weak, or scared, or ill prepared- True feminism, new wave feminism, works to combats those lies and so many others.
Your blog hit the nail on the head when you said men and women are not equal. If you ever would've read any of our stuff before, well, let's be honest you totally threw us under the bus, you would've known that's one of the things we talk about all. the. time. Radical feminism has screwed us all (men and women) by striving for equality at it's most base level. No thanks. We're about excelling as women and expecting men to rise up as well.
After making both a whimsically snarky picture and writing a less than kind satirical blog that will never see the light of day, I think I'm finally ready to explain to you why your post yesterday was so offensive...
We think a lot alike on many issues so I understand why you'd assume that all modern feminists care about is abortion. Sometimes it really feels that way. It's something that keeps me awake most nights. However, if that were true, if all feminism was about was fighting for the right to kill another (weaker) human being, you can bet I'd be the first one to abandon the label. And for years we actually did. We called ourselves "New Wave Femmes" because the negative connotations that came with the word "feminist" were too much for us. But it's kinda like that person who picks out a smaller tattoo because it'll hurt less. I mean, the whole point of the thing in the first damn place is to show how tough you are, right? So we eventually realized how bassackwards it was to have a group focused on the inherent strengths of women who still somehow thought they were too weak to CHANGE a word, and society's understanding of said word, back to something of honor and badassery. That became our new mission and we became New Wave Feminists.
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| Advice: If you find yourself uttering the words "go big or go home!" whilst inside a tattoo parlor, seriously, do go home. You're drunk. |
Your blog hit the nail on the head when you said men and women are not equal. If you ever would've read any of our stuff before, well, let's be honest you totally threw us under the bus, you would've known that's one of the things we talk about all. the. time. Radical feminism has screwed us all (men and women) by striving for equality at it's most base level. No thanks. We're about excelling as women and expecting men to rise up as well.
However, in your post you said the early suffrage movement was all about earning the right to vote (which sorry, it was about so much more, but I'll save that for another post), and now that we've got it, we should just pack up shop...
Last week my daughter came home from school with a book about WWII. Her teacher told her it wasn't a book for girls. That's why feminism's still relevant to me personally. But that's only in my little bubble, how about when I step out the front door... I'm faced with a porn saturated culture that condemns women in the sex trade rather than helping them out of it, while turning a blind eye to the people who consume it and make our sexuality a commodity. Or how about STEM fields and the gender gap? Rape and victim blaming? Half naked tweens on the cover of Cosmo? Equal pay for equal work? How certain public policies impact women? Female genital mutilation? Honor killings? The disgust the mass media has toward women showing any signs of fertility or the fact that she's ever carried a new life before? These are just a few of the reasons I need new wave feminism, and as a proclaimed Christian, these are the reasons you should support it also. ALL IS NOT RIGHT IN THE WORLD YET, Matt.
But I get it. We've got a bad rap (nun joke- I threw that in there just for you). I doubt I'm the first to point out that white males kinda do too. That's why we have to work to change our culture and these stereotypes every. single. day. So friend, learn to recognize your allies in this and stop making them your enemies. We have too much work to do to get caught up in this nonsense. The reasons you hate feminism are the exact reasons we need New Wave Feminism.
For Life,
D.
Oh, and P.S. I'm not a Cathy so this probably isn't as "ba-bam" to me as it might be to you, but there's also this: "In transforming culture so that it supports life, women occupy a place, in thought and action, which is unique and decisive. It depends on them to promote a "new feminism" which rejects the temptation of imitating models of "male domination", in order to acknowledge and affirm the true genius of women in every aspect of the life of society, and overcome all discrimination, violence and exploitation." -Pope John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae 99
Post by Destiny
For Life,
D.
Oh, and P.S. I'm not a Cathy so this probably isn't as "ba-bam" to me as it might be to you, but there's also this: "In transforming culture so that it supports life, women occupy a place, in thought and action, which is unique and decisive. It depends on them to promote a "new feminism" which rejects the temptation of imitating models of "male domination", in order to acknowledge and affirm the true genius of women in every aspect of the life of society, and overcome all discrimination, violence and exploitation." -Pope John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae 99
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Post by Destiny
Yes! I'm so glad you posted JPII's quote about the need for new feminism... That's all I could think about while reading Matt's post yesterday. And while I am a fan of Matt's, this was one post I could NOT bring myself to agree with. THANK YOU for your response.
ReplyDeleteI also found it ironic that I came across Matt's post while I finish editing my thesis on New Feminism, Catholicism and a Theology of Women. ;)
I am now following you on FB. Rock on.
ReplyDeleteYep.
ReplyDeleteyes!! we need authentic feminism!!
ReplyDeleteI feel the same about Matt Walsh. That said, this is an amazing, revealing post! I suppose since I agree 100%, this makes me a NWF? I could wax poetic all night about how I've been saying what you wrote here to ladies my (college) age. Bravo!
ReplyDeleteTrue feminism is needed because of teachers, like mine, who told me that little girls shouldn't aspire to the advanced math classes because our brains couldn't handle it. True feminism is needed because of mothers, like mine, who teach their little girls that they have to be like men in order to be powerful rather than realizing that they are already powerful simply by being a woman. True feminism is needed because of men like my stepfather, who used his strength to abuse the women and children in his world. Yes, we still need true feminism.
ReplyDeleteSo you've stated that there are numerous issues out there that women face, but that still doesn't justify why a gendered term for equality is necessary. Human rights would do the very same. Are human rights just for men? You kind of isolate yourself from the very thing you should be fighting for.
ReplyDeleteLastly, one former Pope's quote is not of the "infallible" variety. Pope Francis has made a comment on feminism as well that is closer to the truth:
"What I would like to add is that feminism, as a unique philosophy, does not do any favors to those that it claims to represent, for it puts women on the level of a vindictive battle, and a woman is much more than that. The feminist campaign of the '20s achieved what they wanted and it is over, but a constant feminist philosophy does not give women the dignity that they deserve. As a caricature, I would say that it runs the risk of becoming chauvinism with skirts."