Can You Be a Semi-Feminist?

davis says:
Mon, 17th Aug 200912:35 pm 

Thanks for the shout-out, Sarah – clearly I should have checked back after I posted originally. I just wanted to address Casey’s first comment, hopefully WITHOUT inciting personal attacks about my character or moral worth. Because, you know, what I post on the comments of College Candy are a really good way to determine whether or not I’m a bitch.

But first, I’d like to address Georgina’s comment because it really fucking pisses me off. When she says “feminists are just fat, ugly women who no guys will give the time of day so they become feminists” she’s putting into words what I believe is one of the major road-blocks to equality: the idea that a woman who sticks up for herself and her gender, and puts forwards radical notions such as “men and women are equal” must be an ugly dyke man-hater. Well you know what, bitch? http://feministtruths.blogspot.com/2007/10/feminists-good-lovers.html

Suck it.

(God damn, I’ve succumbed to petty name-calling and insulting. Damn. Oh well. I’ll try harder to keep my PMS under control. (Please, for Christ’s sake, note the sarcasm))

Maybe I’m just beating a dead horse here, but I think Casey raised important issues when it comes to discussing the very essence of gender and gender-differences. She believes (if I have understood this correctly, feel free to correct me if I’m wrong) that men and women were created differently, and that men should do some jobs, and women should do others. You can’t argue that men and women are biologically similar – we got boobies. It’s pretty obvious. But there’s a difference between same and equal. Yes, men have the leg up on women for certain professions, particularly those that demand a certain amount of physical aptitude. Testosterone gives men the ability to gain more muscle mass than most women can hope of gaining, while women are biologically wired to have more fat than men – it all comes back to breeding. Women need more fat in order to support the babies.

But just because we’re created physically differently doesn’t translate into being unequal. I think that the only restrictions on whether a person can do something is aptitude. There are some women who innately have more testosterone than others, and they are able to gain more muscle mass than their more estrogeny counterparts. Just like there are men who, try as hard as they might, find it hard to gain muscle weight. It’s just genetics and biology. Does that mean that a woman can’t work a construction site if she’s good at what her job entails? God no! A person’s ability should determine whether they get hired, not their gender. Does it mean that men can’t be day-care providers? Fuck no! My brother is way better with kids than I’ll ever be. I’d much rather have him look after my child than someone like me.

And, can I please point out the horribly misogynistic remarks made by what I can only assume are dudes looking to rile up a few of those crazy feminazis out there? THAT’S what women should be fighting. People who belittle any attempts made by a female to assert her individuality by resting on old man-hating, bra-burning hairy dyke stereotypes. So stop hating on each other and hate on them.

Cheers.