OK. I said I'd make a post on how and why I am a feminist, so I'm going to do that here. I'm not sure what 'category' of feminist I fall into, perhaps y'all will be able to discern it with the femdar: I used to be into queer theory rather than feminism, but I've come to appreciate that feminism has a lot of insights to offer, and whilst I don't agree with all of the conclusions that different feminists come to, I certainly don't see it as a 'failed philosophy.'
Before I do, I will make a small note on Hugo Schwyzer. As I've mentioned, I didn't come here to speculate on Hugo's character, motivations or blogging ethics. (For the record, I think he is an excellent blogger, who takes pains to analyse his own prejudices as he sees them and examines how they relate to his political philosophy - he's not forcing anyone to agree with him. To argue that he is censoring MRA arguments seems disingenuous - not only has he blogged extensively on the men's movement, but he has allowed MRAs to post for years, and their posts are archived for all to see).
If you want to discuss pro-feminist approaches to masculinity and debate the content of the arguments, that's a different matter.
So, why do I call myself a feminist? I will attempt to explain it as I see it. Feel free to question or disagree.
Partly, its out of recognition and respect for the many people - men and women - who have gone before me: I recognise that at no other time in history has a woman in my position had as many rights and priviledges as I do now. My life, my choices, my education - all would not have been possible without feminism and women's suffrage. I can compare my life to my mother's, my grand-mother's, my great-grandmother's. Without a doubt, I would choose my own - I have choices they never even dreamed of. Damn right it's a priviledge. However, my rights and priviledges are mine because I'm a human being, not a woman. All human beings should have them.
How did I come to recognise a need for feminism?
When I was younger, I had a great interest in philosophy. I remember one Christmas I got this book called "The History of Western Philosophy." I always wanted an answer to the question 'why are we here?' I still haven't found that answer, but its always interesting to ask the question and read about the great thinkers of humanity who have attempted to answer it.
As I got older, I started wondering why all the great philosophers seemed to be men. And all the great authors of literature. And painters. And polititians. And so on. I never really connected this to feminism at the time, since I was into reading the 'greats' who, on the whole, didn't tend to mention it. As far as I knew, feminism was just this thing that got women the vote, but it didn't really impact my life. I thought everyone was sort of equal on their own merits by the time I was born, and feminism was just this left-over, angry movement for women who liked to complain.
But still, the question of *why* all the books I liked to read were written by men continued to bug me. In my "History of Western Philosophy" men certainly outnumbered women. Here were philosophers attempting to answer the ultimate questions - the truth about human existence - and yet only one gender was expected to answer it. Humanity comprises at least two genders, I thought. And it seemed like I'd been born into the *wrong* one! What's more...it was quite clear that often, the author or philosopher was speaking, as it were, as a man to men. It wasn't just that I found this unfair to myself, and to all other women. I also considered that it was unfair to philosophy. How can we get at the truth if we only listen to one side of the story?
This was, I think, the seed of how I got started in feminism. I have come to realise now that my concerns were concerns of my time and place, and that, in a lot of ways, they were and are incredibly euro-centric and white-priviledged. I've come to realise that the questions I asked weren't as simple as they appeared, on the surface, to be.
What feminism means, for me, is the belief that the female experience deserves a voice - that women should be able to define themselves, and their position within society, and speak upon *all things*, and have equal authority with men, in deciding the meaning of their own lives, and the truth about human existence.
It also means that we should be able to investigate the female experience, and how and why it is similar between women, and how and why it is different.
Feminist analysis seeks to place women's experiences/women's voices at the centre of its discourse. It seeks to make women the subject rather than the object, and from there, investigate what it means to be a woman, from a female perspective. This is done because the prevailing, or dominant, social discourse is male.
This is not to say, in my view, that women's voices are more - or less - important than men's. It is to say, they are AS important.
One of the criticisms that feminists have levelled at male discourse is that it has tended to minimise, or ignore (intentionally or accidentally) women's experiences. This is why, I think, a lot of women who become feminists do so. To find a voice, voices, that speak specifically to them and of them.
Criticism of male discourse has indeed at times been angry. Where feminism has shown that some men have actively silenced/denied women a voice then feminists have rightfully become angry. Not angry at all men, but angry at some men (and indeed, some women who have supported this silencing). However, feminism is not just about anger, or destruction. If it was, I don't think it would have survived this long. It is also about hope, and using one's energy to find creative and effective solutions in fighting injustice and discrimination.
This is how *I* see feminism. I don't consider it non-debateable, nor do I think that men shouldn't be able to have opinions or criticise it. I am pretty much against censorship or prohibition-type legislation on most things, probably, since IMO they don't work. "A mind changed against it's will is of the same opinion still" and all that. I'm not here to change YOUR mind, but to see whether my mind will be changed...
So with that in mind, I ask that anyone who is interested define the following: how do YOU define the men's movement? I know Gonzokid has his manifesto up here and it is put in the "what we are about" section. Do MRAs have to agree with this? Who gets to decide on the definition of YOUR movement? Must one hate feminism to be an MRA? Dr E seems to suggest not; in fact, by the dictionary definition many are feminists, apparently. So - who thinks feminism is something completely different from what I am saying? Am I just misguided as to it's true nature and intent? If so, then what or who do you blame for the perversion and misunderstanding of the 'dictionary definition.'?
BTW my next post, I will put my reply to the questions posed to me in the 'is feminism harming men and boys' thread. Dr E, I'll have to start a new thread to do that, unless you want to re-open the one there. I think there were some good and thoughtful questions asked so I want to reply.