Feminism Introduction

Perusing my kindle before going to sleep, I search for "feminism," hoping to be inspired for a blog post. I am not disappointed. Amongst my old friends "Full Frontal Feminism" by Jessica Valenti and "Feminism is for Everybody" by bell hooks and "How to Be A Woman" by Caitlin Moran are little slime pockets of trash with titles like "The War on Men" by Suzanne Venker, "Women First, Men Last: Feminism's War on Men and Its Devastating Effects" by Steven Adams, and "Feminism: The Ugly Truth" by Mike Buchanan. That last one is my favorite, mostly because the cover is of a deranged looking woman baring sharp teeth. I browse a few of these, looking at excerpts and descriptions. I'm delighted to learn a few fun new facts, such as:

Feminism has made women unhappy.
Feminists are deluded and ugly and stupid.
Feminists are taking away men's rights.

If you even remotely agree with any of those statements, you are a fucking idiot and I never want to hear you speak to or around me. The idea of a family unit led by a strong man and a docile woman is a fucking joke; a myth perpetuated by the privileged and deluded. The idea that men are having rights taken away by feminism is ludacris, because being incredibly over privileged and allowed another group to enjoy things which you've always enjoyed is not losing a right. Here's a cartoon of what you look like when you argue with me:

(Credit to Scott Benson)

One of the jokes a Jewish uncle of mine tells is that whenever he feels bad about being Jewish he looks at the anti-Semitic media. According to them, Jews run the banks, the news, the schools, ect. This is a bit how I feel looking at these anti-Feminism books. One thing they can all agree on is that feminism has gone too far, and in a strange sense that comforts me. Someone is threatened by feminism. Good. I want people to feel threatened. 

In this blog we will discuss many forms of feminism and the ways in which feminism is present in our every day lives, as well as shedding light on kinds of feminism you may not be familiar with. We'll discuss queer theory, harassment, capitalism, marxism, rape culture, international feminism, racism, womanism, trans issues, and a whole slew of topics. Many of these posts will relate to current events. But at no point will we entertain the notion that feminism is somehow not necessary.

Frequently I am challenged in my views, and my responses to those who question feminism vary based on my relation to the person and the level of respect that they show me when speaking. I'll explain the three ones now so we never have to have this conversation again.

The high road: Feminism is necessary in this patriarchal world because the state of affairs is such that an active enhancement of women's rights is the only way to come close to equality, which has many different faces and needs

The middle road: I believe in the rights of all women to be treated as people, and practice that in my everyday life

The low road: I don't give a fuck what you think.