Anti-feminists on Ask Men
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| Thu, 03-26-2009 - 1:37pm |
I've been checking out posts on Ask Men now for a while, and I am really stunned at the anti-feminist sentiments of many, many men on that board. It's like they hate them. Just when you think that relations between the sexes are getting better you read a post like this:
"The problem with women who hold onto feminist ideals (like your friends) is that while you can go out and enjoy their company for a short while, relationships with them never last in the long term...NEVER. Unless the guy is ok with being miserable, that is. That's because feminism is really just a set of beliefs that are not practical, much like communism. You can go out with a communist and enjoy friendly banter, maybe even sleep with one, but in the end you just can't live with them."
WTF??
I consider myself a feminist, but after reading these boards for a while, I would never say it in the early stages of dating. I feel at the heart of it, that these anti-feminist men really don't get what feminism is all about in the first place. Of course, Susan Faludi in her book "Backlash" states that the men who are really anti-feminist are generally uneducated, underemployed young white males who feel that too much equality has eroded their birthright to power and wealth.
I really don't pick up on this anti-feminism from men IRL. That's why I'm so stunned to read it on these boards.

My intro to feminism was in the 70's when I was in college. I took a class called Sex Roles in American Society. It was very interesting. Of course, there are always some extreme people in every group, but my understanding of feminism was that women & men should earn equal pay for doing the same job, that women & men should be able to choose whether or not to have children, work, etc. I never considered it anti-men either.
I think that if you asked some people "are you a feminist" they might say no, but if you said "should women earn the same pay as a man for doing the same job?" then they would say yes. It's probably a lack of understanding. I haven't really noticed a problem IRL either. I would think that if i met a guy who thought that even though we both worked full time, that I would still be responsible for doing all the cooking & housework, I just wouldn't waste my time w/ him either. Unfortunately, there are still some guys like that out there. Maybe since I live in a major city which has a generally high level of education, I'm less likely to meet those sort of people.
Yeah, that board is a pretty scary place, that's for sure.