So, if everyday feminists recognise their leaders do not advocate the 'core beliefs' of feminism, why do..

Question

So, if everyday feminists recognise their leaders do not advocate the 'core beliefs' of feminism, why do they refer to themselves as 'feminists' when it's so obvious the label means nothing anymore?
By labeling as 'feminist' you're effectively saying "I advocate misandry, female supremacy, child abuse, defending abusive mothers, criminalizing male behaviours, etc. etc." - yet you state this is NOT what you seek, so WHY label yourself this way?

Franzia: No, I personally have not taken Womyns' Studies, as I said previously (and was misquoted on) I was strongly persuaded not to by some tutors at my college.
Anyway, getting onto your insulting yet pointless post, I have read a LOT... Thank you.

BTW, is Dworkin your idle? You seem to hold similar amounts of contempt as her.

When I say 'leaders', I'm (again, as in my previous question) referring to the fact that most people associate 'feminism' with self-proclaimed leaders of feminism, such as NOW.org and the likes of Mary Daly, A Dworkin; people who are 'looked upto'.

Rebel F: although I respect your opinion on the 'feminism issue', are you not aware of the bomb threats to government... the bomb & death threats to individuals (Erin Pizzey, Strauss, etc.) and the death threat to England's Prime Minister - all from the 'original' feminist movement? It seems, they made their own name bad... no antifeminists needed.

Answer 1

I advocate none of those things. I only demand that our society be controlled by free markets, and thus, if a female can make it better than a man, so be it.

Answer 2

I think many of the women here that claim feminism still believe it is what it once was supposed to be. That is to say it was supposed to be about leveling the playing Field so women would have more choices. But what it has become is something that is an abomination to everyone who values equality and justice. And sadly some people don't see how it has changed into a hate group. The KKK says it is a pro white group not a group that hates minorities. Sounds kinda like what the feminists are claiming doesn't it?
Franzia 's answer is further proof do most feminists here agree with her. She is obviously a man hater look at her answers. She is the type of feminists the anti feminists are fighting against. If you are call yourself a feminist but only want equality then I have no problem with you. But when an anti feminist makes a remark about feminism or feminists we are talking about the kind of feminist that she is.

Answer 3

Yes, an excellent question and I've noticed a number of professed feminists claiming that feminism has no leaders or that its leadership is unknown. I fail to see how any movement can continue to exist without leaders? And it seems like the core beliefs of 'feminism' mean something different to everyone.

Answer 4

Rebel F makes an interesting point. Not having any leaders. There's the problem I was trying to put my finger on.

It's like a giant cluster fark that anyone can join in on.

Without clear objectives and membership rules, you're going to have all sorts of idiots with different views of the same group within your own group (this is bad). How the heck is that going to accomplish anything but looking foolish? Chaos is fine in some places, but it's certainly not helping feminism.

The fact that name is directly associated with the female gender means you're going to get all kinds of man haters and female supremacists in there. Which is staining the name and defeating the purpose of the whole thing at this point in time. You can't fight discrimination with more discrimination.

Always remember communication 101. It's not what YOU believe the message is, it's what your target audience believes it is.

Answer 5

well, when i first started posting here, i knew nothing about the _current_ feminist movement, only that of the past (getting laws passed to make rights equal & all that good stuff) and i wanted to be associated with *that*

but now, i'm forever labelled, even though i'm not really in line with most of the current leaders' comments. i wouldn't mind if people understood what it was i *actually* believed, but many tend to assume the worst. (extremist)

Answer 6

Maybe they are too lazy to come up with something of their own. Lets all lable us nazis pointing out all the time that we dont mind jews and think democracy is a o okay. That way we should understand what all the fun is about.

To all those who say feminism is not identifiable by leadership bla bla bla, Nazism was alive and well in many countries of Europe and even America, yet we manage just fine to assign it a leadership. Dont see why we shouldnt be able to assign a gang to feminism.

Answer 7

Feminism doesn't *have* any leaders. It's more of an idea that's accepted by a lot of people. The "leaders" are the ones that need to go (and stop using that term to refer to themselves), not the rest of us.

Besides, if the rest of us abandoned the term "feminism" now, then it would eventually go down in history books as an overall negative movement. I cannot allow that to happen because of the hard work and sacrifices that the original feminists made. It would be an injustice to them.

Answer 8

I believe in the concepts of 'justice', 'loyalty', 'honor', 'respect', 'freedom' and 'democracy'. Who then would My 'leaders' be if I had to name Them? The simple fact of the matter is that people and their attitudes continually change and bend with the winds of time. Even as You read this reply the views of feminists in this forum are being imperceptibly altered by our points of view. Isn't this what You are actively seeking?

Answer 9

Feminism has no identifiable leadership. Every feminist has a different set of beliefs and values. Those who preach equality but practice misandry cannot be called feminists.

Answer 10

What an interesting question and what a good debate.