Why do feminists want so much to be like men?

Question

They want to have sex like men, work hard just like men, have power just like men, be 'strong' just like men....shouldn't REAL feminism be celebrating the female, rather than emulating the male?

Answer 1

You have just described one of the biggest hypocrisies of modern feminism. Modern feminism views femininity in women as a weakness and tries to promote masculinity in women. In other words, these so-called feminists are anti-feminine.

Answer 2

I don't know that that is still true. In the early days of feminism I believe that they thought the only way to get the respect and equality was to be like men. The whole time they were fighting the patriarchy they were buying into the whole men are better thing.
Now I think we've come to a place where we can realize that men and women can be different but still have equal opportunity. I hope we're getting to the place where we realize that just because we have different ways of thinking or doing things, that doesn't make one better or worse than the other. The sexes are different to complement each other, not compete.

Answer 3

What women wanted was to be independant just like men. They only knew how men acted so they did the same thing that men did. Women now realize that they can be independant while maintaining their femininity. However radical feminists see this as a sell out to their cause and are fighting it. Which is why the feminist point of view has lost a lot of respect from when it first started in both men and women's eyes. So to anwser your question feminism should be about celebrating the female and feminine qualities. No one, male or female, wants a woman to act like a man.

Answer 4

I'm not sure what kind of feminists you are dealing with, but as a feminist, I'm not interested in becoming a man or emulating a man. But that's just me.

Feminism, when it started, wasn't about celebrating female-ness. It was about equality.

However, feminism has changed considerably, and there are hundreds of kinds of feminism. So, to generalize all feminists as desiring the traits of a man would be a mistake.

If a woman wants to work hard, it doesn't mean she's trying to emulate a man. If a woman wants power, it doesn't mean she's comparing herself to a man. Those are the traits of a hard-working, powerful, strong human being, not just a man. And that's the point a feminism. Those words and ideas are not reserved just for men.

Personally, the definition of feminism means that a woman can do whatever she wants without judgment. So, if a woman wants to emulate a man, that's her business and right as a woman. If she wants to be a stay at home mom, more power to her. If she wants to be a stripper, good for her. As long as she is doing what she wants.

Answer 5

Feminists don't want to be men, they want to be treated equally. They want the same pay for the same job, the same good treatment (without sexual harrassment), the same rights, etc.

It's interesting that you said "shouldn't feminism be celebrating the female, rather than emulating the male?". We wouldn't even be able to celebrate being women if it weren't for all the hard work done by the feminist movements.

Why should men get paid more for the exact same position? Why should men be treated with a higher level of dignity and respect just because their anatomy is different? Why should men have been able to vote and women not? It's called sexism.

It's not any different than racism. It's treating a person poorly based on what they look like. It's wrong.

Answer 6

I wish bell hooks was on this site.

women want equal rights. If I live in the same world as men, and have the capacity to do the same things as men, then why should I be told to live as if I can't do those things?

Am I not alive, or a human being, to you either? Are you not human too?

having sex like men doesnt mean we want to sleep around, it means we dont want to be held to the virginal standard while watching out husbands and boyfriends sleep with whom ever. We feel bad for the women who get taken advantage of as wh0res and S1uts and the men who get off easy.

We want to work hard as men because we are able to work just as hard and often harder. Ever heard of the "second shift"!? The sift a woman takes on after her job where she cooks , cleans and takes care of children (if she has them). Men come home and for the most part rest. Its a woman who takes care of the house, like a maid, but does not get paid.

Of course we need power, you dont know powerlessness until your Emily dickenson, or prostitutue, or a woman who gets the crap beaten out of her and has no way of getting out because she cant survive on her own. The "loving " husband beats her, and no one wants to give her a job because she is a "female" who needs to go back to her "loving" husband.

we are strong, if not stronger than men.

Real feminism does celebrate being a lady. Its that ability to be proud and use our full talents and abilities, not just the ones ascribed to us by society , mostly men who just want eye candy to come home to.

Answer 7

Although The Madlith's comment is quite funny. But feminists don't want to be like men, they disagree over the sources of inequality, how to attain equality, and the extent to which gender and gender-based identities should be questioned and critiqued.

It's more about improving women's position in life from its different sides, such as work (getting paid equally, being treated with the same respect as some men in the same position), education (believe it or not, there are some countries where there are limits to what degree of education women can get), political positions (female presidents are just starting to happen).
Modern feminist political activists commonly campaign for women's human right to bodily integrity and autonomy on matters such as reproductive rights, including the right to safe, legal abortion, access to contraception and quality prenatal care, protection from violence within a domestic partnership, sexual harassment, street harassment, discrimination and rape, and for workplace rights to maternity leave, and equal pay. Many feminists today regard feminism as a grass-roots movement that seeks to cross boundaries based on social class, race, culture and religion. They also argue that an effective feminist movement should address both universal issues such as rape, incest, and prostitution and culturally specific issues relevant to the women of the society in question such as female genital cutting in some parts of Africa and the Middle East and "glass ceiling" practices that impede women's advancement in developed economies.

Glad to see you mention what you think the Real Feminism should be celebrating... i do so once a month.. lol

Answer 8

I have known of two instances where a Man has undergone a sex change operation and has subsequently declared himself to be 'a lesbian.'

On the one hand, that would seem to be totally 'whacky' as the 'operation' would seem in the eyes of the hetrosexual community, to have been a waste. But on the other hand, the sense of ones 'Self' in gender and so on, may well need further investigation ~ as Identity as in gender, or political, or religious or ethnicity or whatever an individual chooses to base their identity on / around, obviously will add to the confusions within society.

So, Who / What / When & Why are you.....!

Sash.

Answer 9

You're assuming that certain behaviors are inherently male and that behaviors/desires have the same meanings in different cultures and different historical moments. If, hypothetically, our culture defined walking the family dog as a "woman's job," yet some men wanted to walk the dog, would you say they wanted to "be like a woman"? Or would you say they wanted to walk the dog, which is a task that had been arbitrarily defined as a woman's task? Similarly, working outside the home was for a long time considered a man's job. When women want to work outside the home, they don't want to be like a man...they want to do something that has been culturally defined as a man's task, but that is not itself an inherently masculine act. Aside from a few biological issues, everything we identify as "masculine" or "feminine" or "like a man" or "like a woman" is culturally and historically constructed.

In Elizabethan England, it was common and expected for men to wear closely fitting tights, and for women to wear dresses and other clothes that didn't disclose their physical forms. Were those men trying to be like women? Of course not. They were adhering to their cultural norms. Today, it's acceptable for men to wear extremely tight fitting pants while playing football, but if they wore similar pants on the street, they would be accused of dressing like a woman, when, in 16th century England, it would have been the other way around. Everything, everything, everything must be taken in context.

Question your assumptions. Ask yourself--why do I think that working hard is something only men should do?

Also, I am dying to know--what does it mean to have sex like a man?!?

Answer 10

I think female aggressiveness or determination is often confused as women wanting to be men. Feminism has nothing to do with male envy. Women have always been forced to walk the thin line of what is women is. In the 70's we wanted to leave home and work, in the 80's we wanted to go home and take care of the kids, in the 90's we wanted to work and take care of the kids. Since then it is not a choice we either work or starve. I like to belive that I am evovling as a women therefore so is my feminist ideals. I love men, I have a nephew, brothers and a daddy, I want the best for them and I believe they want the best for me. It is not about equal rights, it is about respect for what is done or what has to be done. Respect and equality go hand in hand, in the future I hope to find a man that believes that as well.

Answer 11

You clearly have no idea what feminism is. Read a few books, develop a political, historical and social awareness and then try again.
Your selection of things that feminists want to do 'like men' is bizarre and ill thought out. What is this odd theory of yours based on? An engagement with feminist texts and ideologies? I doubt it.