why do so many people feel threatened by women wanting equal rights/power?

Question

it's not just men, it's women that seem threatened by it also. i know it involves taking away some power that men have over women, but it's not about having power over men, just ourselves. why does female autonomy bring out sexism so much?

MAS-although i don't think you meant it this way, i think you explained why there are women against it

“PortWine”
double-standards, lack of accountability, and complacency, unfortunately, are bound to happen in any sort of power struggle. they exist from every direction. the rigid gender roles in place are a big source of these, and i think it's the conflict between those rigid roles and the struggle for 'female autonomy' i'll call it, that causes those issues.

"CommonSense"
if men must 'allow' women to have equal rights, then women really do not HAVE equal power.

"zombie2wolf"
saying men aren't as suitable as women to raise children is quite sexist, as i'm sure many fathers would say. men DO have emotions and can make TERRIFIC parents. the rigid gender roles you speak of are part of the problem.

"SuperRuper"
are you saying that autonomy and power over ones self is something that women have not fought for, for a long time? i said nothing of membership in clubs, taking over industries. women aren't trying to 'take over'--that's the point! feminism is about personal power, over one's own self and body, and that means a STOP to leaching off men, an independence! people were *created* equal (by this i mean equal VALUE not talents) and they should have equal rights. men fought for those rights, yes, but so have women. I don’t “expect the world and its opportunities to be handed” to me. I expect equal dignity, and equal power over my life that a man has over his. That’s all I want—the opportunity to achieve my goals, on my own.

Answer 1

The women's movement poses some very real threats not only to the patriarchy, but to elitism in general. Feminism goes hand in hand with humanism. There's also religious resistance as well. I'll examine each of them individually.

The former points about men not wanting to give up power are true, but a better word would be male privledge. This is very prevalent. One commenter claimed men worked for it -- but that's forgetting the contributions women made. Men got to where they are through exploiting nature, animals, and women. Now women are demanding their fair share and that's very scary.

As far as my comments about elitism and humanism -- look at it this way. Feminists are liberals, many beleive in health care, social welfare, decent pay, and overall egalitarianism. This is very threatening to industry and corporations. Also, governments don't want to take responsibility for the things that the movement demands in general. Then you have to remember that it's men in positions of power. And that goes back to male privledge.

But it's interesting that feminism points out that patriarchy hurts men too, though not as severely as it hurts women. Feminism offers solutions to the burdens put on men.

As far as religion goes, most of them hate women from the getgo, and that's pretty much what it comes down to, though you can cover it up with as much "family values" rhetoric as you want. It's still heirarchy and male privledge.

It's very complicated, I can only begin to touch on it here. Women's bodies are the battleground. There was a lot of resistance from the old attitudes of men wanting to have access to incubators, cooks, and sex whenever they wanted. That's what patriarchy granted them. But women figured out that marriage and childbearing is a bad deal.

Feminism is just humanism. It's not scary. People need to get over their hangups and let everyone be individuals rather than roles.

Answer 2

Bemused is more the word. I do have trouble understanding people, whether men or women, who confuse equality of opportunity, with equality of identity. " Female autonomy " is no more possible than " male autonomy ". We are one species and neither sex will ever be autonomous from the other. So, bury the ideological ax and come to a realistic solution with the way things really are and not how you want them to be. Women may gain equal rights, if men grant them, but as I said, do not confuse the equality of identity with the rights granted by the ever broadening of justice; men can not cede power and still be biologically male, because the power is part of our identity as men.

PS Lot of lose talk about patriarchy here, without understanding it's evolutionary significance. I know that some women believe that a matriarchy was natural to our ancient ancestors, due to ne real evidence in support and much evidence against. There are matriarchies in the world, but the are very few and seemingly contrived, as communes of like-minded are. They are now being studied by human behavior ecologists and ethologists, though as scientists, they are not as quick to come to a conclusion as social scientists are.

Answer 3

Truthfai For some one which asserts she does no longer get into themes or arguments about men vs women human beings and then went on to bash men for some substantial time, then end off with the snide statement about men being below your 3 inch heels. does no longer pass down okay with men who do easily did imagine that women human beings had a raw deal interior the previous. At 80 one years previous I keep in ideas how women human beings fought, i'd upload very bravely for equality. i imagine they have finished maximum of what they got down to achieve. yet unhappily the outcomes i think have now divided both sex's right into a a clean and more effective nasty warfare of words. and that is who's the more effective effective sex, who's the weaker sex . We see the following on a daily basis both sexes truly abusing one yet another , and in uncomplicated words causing more effective and bitter emotions , i imagine through the years women and men human beings are turning out to be further and extra aside because the contempt for the different grows,

Answer 4

Men are afraid of losing their power and women are afraid that the men that currently control the resources and thus the power will penalize them for working towards equality. Women have been coerced into believing that they have it good. Just like the slaves were told what a wonderful life they had. Stockholm syndrome. Women with low self esteem must find ways to make themselves attractive and they think that if they play along with this nonsense that someone will love them. Pathetic though true.

Answer 5

Most men don't feel threatened by it. They are threatened by the double-standards, the lack of accountability, and the complacency that far too often manifests itself with feminists. These things aren't always there, but if they're there even a little bit, the whole cause is threatened. Feminists need to realize this much more than they do.

Answer 6

Because women are better suited to raising children and taking care of the home then men are. Men can take care of children but they're just not as emotional enough as a woman is to take care of the children. Also people who lived this way for years see it as a threat to society and think that if a woman fights for equal rights and works outside the home than she'll forget her natural duties and purpose which is to take care of the husband, house and children.

Answer 7

People are not threatened by this, they are annoyed by it. Women want to receive the same rights and priveleges men have worked for. They want to become members at clubs that men have built. They want to take over industries that men have built.

I think you will see a change in attitudes when women achieve their goals on their own...rather than leeching off men. And expecting the world and its opportunities to be handed to them.

And yes, I am a woman!

Answer 8

Unfortunately, most men and women know very little about feminism/women's liberation as a movement. They fail to see that it is actually about women having equal rights, and begin to see it as women wanting dominance, which the movement is absolutely not about. Usually, when men especially, complain about feminism, their complaints are actually things that could be remedied by a more egalitarian society. And I have never heard someone who is actually educated in, or knows anything about, women's studies put down feminism - there truly is no such thing as an informed anti-feminist.

My point is, people feel more threatened by what they perceive to be as women not only wanting autonomy, but wanting to "have their cake and eat it too." Unfortunately, since the women's liberation movement is young compared to our society as a whole, there are kinks that need to be worked out and things that may be perceived as women having extra rights, when in fact they are left-overs of a patriarchal society; and in fact, we do continue to live in a patriarchal society.

So it boils down to false perceptions of women's liberation - which begs the question, where did those false perceptions come from in the first place? Well, from those people who are truly threatened by women having *just* equality, aka male chauvinists. It is incredibly effective for them to spread propaganda in order for people to believe that feminism is about more than just equality, and have people turn against feminism for false reasons.

It is also effective to tell women, "you are valued for your looks first and foremost, and feminists are ugly, man-hating lesbians, so if you are a feminist, you will turn into an ugly, man-hating lesbian too."

In a nutshell, it goes

1) men are truly threatened by equality because they lose power - patriarchy is incredibly beneficial for men
2) men spread lies to make feminism seem dirty, conflicting, and about more than simple equality. This causes other to hate feminism as a movement, when really they are clueless as to what it is. They hate what it is perceived to be, therefore they hate the struggle for equality too.
3) men recruit women to their cause by spreading more lies.

Answer 9

men- scared of losing control over women and the world in general. scared of embracing their feminine side. scared to do housework and childrearing--all because society still tells them 'be a man, support your family, leave the kids to the wife cuz you can't do it'-- baseless fears

women- scared of losing the protection of men. scared to take responsibility for themselves. somewhat like a teenager scared to leave home for the first time. overwhelmed by new options. too lazy to stop leaching off men. no confidence that they can do things.-- because society tells them 'look this way, what you can do is of no importance (cook me dinner raise the kids) the only important thing is how you can please men'. objects too long, don't know how to do for themselves.

Answer 10

i have heard this argument so many times...it is actually boring and funny at the same time.

after skimming through the guts of the majority of the answers. i did not get the feeling that when women respond...they keep saying that men dont want to lose power. the women responders paint this utopian society and how we all will float like butterflies and blow kisses to one another in an 'egalitarian' society. i did not get any sense of the constant mention of men's response of equality comes with it responsibility. this part seems to be constantly overlooked.

one woman responder kept saying that men in government dont want to utilize what is basically socialism. has this person ever lived in a socialistic society. i have, i notice one thing that stands out...the overwhelming majority of the people are sub-middle class. just above the poverty line...always living paycheck to pay check with a very large percentage of the population unemployed and a very large percent also on welfare. dont believe me...truly look into the stats of canada. ..our great northern neighbor and see what the median income is, what the taxation level is, what a dollar will buy you there. etc.

nope, the majority of women dont do this type of research...generally, they want everyone to get along and no one suffers. my friend in canada who makes a great living being an executive at a mining company is married to a hippie wife. every morning she says to him 'have fun raping the earth today'. oh, dont forget that she lives in a mansion and has a large choice of luxury vehicles to drive to the save the earth protest.

yes, i agree men are fearful in releasing power to women. why? because women have not truly earned it. the government and social pressures and pushing men into having more women executives in the corporate world. that is great and all but what happens when the woman starts popping out kids?

believe me, i have seen this time and time again in my profession. women are great hard workers, harder than men in most cases BUT once that first baby falls out of their crotch...they transform into 'my family comes first' as it should. now, she has to leave the office early to pick up the kids from soccer prat ice, music lessons, ballet, disco, basket weaving whatever these women think their little genius' are all gifted at. strange how all children are gifted now? even the retarded ones? what happened to kids being retarded? cant even saying mentally challenged anymore.

so the woman who once aggressively climbed the corporate ladder with relentless overtime, great project development from work taken home and social networking...has now become a myriad of developing their gifted genius' into the next messiah, talking to other mothers what the best solution about diaper rash is and endless trips for sports, music and doctors appointments.

so, does this explain to you women now why there are not a lot of women corporate leaders? why there are so few good high profile female lawyers? because once the rug rats come...the endless long hours needed to be at the top of your game just doesnt exist anymore.

remember respect is earned not given...of course, unless you are an american spoiled narrow minded woman who wants everything without truly working for it because she wants it given to her.

BTW - MEN WILL ALWAYS RULE THE WORLD. GOOD LUCK IN TRYING TO CHANGE THIS! I APPLAUD YOUR EFFORTS BUT FOR THE MOST PART, I AM LAUGHING AT YOUR SILLY STRUGGLES!!!