Why do anti-feminists make silly strawwomen about feminists?

Question

Like that we are against women who are stay at home moms when some of us ARE stay at home moms or were or will be or have mothers and sisters who choose it?

Hello! I have No problem with women who Want to stay at home. I have a Real problem with any women who want to limit choices for all of us..

So...Why are you even trying this BS?

Mafia Girl Why do you say that I am a hypocrit?

Chevalier can you give me a link to these posts where feminists are dising stay at home moms?
Thank you.

And I don't have to try to make anti-fems look bad .. you do it on yourself..

Rio I'm sorry but I disagree. It's nice that you are trying to be fair but I see that anti-fweminist arguments are all strawwomen or based on myths or straight up lies.

And I disagree we should listen to everyone because everyone's opinions matter. That's a nice thing to say but the truth is if I don't respect someone's ignorant opinions I don't want to waste my time with it. I'm sorry if you feel different about me.

Super Ruper you have an interesting point there and I would be happy to talk about it in email. :) I don't know the statistics about it either but it seems like very possible that you have something there.

ebmid2 "feminists like you"...?

Mr. Daniel thanks so much! :)

Answer 1

It's a very old radical feminist sentiment expressed 30 or 40 years ago, by a few people who are now dead. A few are still around, and still talk about it, but they are a tiny minority, since the majority of feminists have kids and often stay at home with their kids! But their old tired rhetoric is used as a tactic by anti-feminists and the right wing to scare non-feminists and wind up the women-haters and the feminist- haters.

Phyllis Schafly was and is still one of the best to come up with the wackiest stuff and say "this is what all feminists want"-like she would know! She was the one who talked about the horrors of uni-sex bathrooms, which would be required (according to her) if the "evil" ERA was ever passed. I haven't seen the world end even though they now exist. And who cares? But that's the point, anti-feminists and the right-wing find some silly thing, rant about it, and get the haters a-hating feminists. And it works.

Answer 2

I couldn't agree more with your statement..."I have a real problem with any women who want to limit choices for all of us." That was the most important result of the feminist movement, in my opinion - the ability for each woman to choose the lifestyle of her choice. And when someone comes along to suggest that we shouldn't have that ability, I am first in line to set them straight.

However...that said....(here is comes....)

I am increasingly concerned about the generations that are being raised by the family as it exists today. I have no statistical data to support my theory, but I do believe that a family with both parents working long hours will produce children who are less respectful and productive in our society. There are so many issues and disorders among our young people today that just simply didn't exist when I was a kid in the vast numbers of today. And the link that I draw is the lack of attention from parents in the home. I could be wrong, certainly, as I said - I have no proof of this - just my own connecting of the dots.

So where am I going with this? Well, I do believe all women have the choice to make their own decisions with respect to their lives....but I do think its important that those choices do not negatively impact others (ie. children). I was raised by a SAHM...a good one. And I think it made a huge difference that she was there for us when we left in the morning, and there when we came home.

Answer 3

Sigy, I'm with you 100% about options and unfortunately there are those who belittle other women's choices for wanting to be housewives. All you have to do is to go to the questions and see how a woman who is a housewife is being attacked and felt sorry for. I would like to think those thoughts and statements oppose feminism because feminism is about more options, not limitations---this is why I get frustrated and choose not to associate myself with a label because a loud person can go under a label and ruin the label for everyone else.

EDIT: Mafia Girl, your attacks are baseless and frankly very dumb. You should repeat things to yourself once or twice and see who you are attacking before start typing.

Answer 4

Not all anti-feminist women say this as far as I can tell. You are trying to argue a point by making a hasty generalization about anti-feminist women. The rules of debate require that you do not use logical fallacies such as hasty generalizations as the basis of your point. Many anti-feminist women appear to make perfectly logical and cogent points. We should listen to everyone because everyone's opinions matter.

Answer 5

That is funny a feminist accusing someone of making strawwomen! That was good I assume you are joking being that feminists are the absolute best at making strawmen and mountains out of mole hills. There have been posts here on gws where feminists have said no woman should be a stay at home mom. Some of you feminist seem to be getting pretty desperate inyour sad attempts to make anti feminists look bad even. Nice try but only the worst of the man haters will buy any of this.

Answer 6

You mean about how men and women both have the same rights, freedoms and obligations, like in reproduction, selective service, affirmative action, paternity fraud, false claims of rape and abuse, the many times disproven "wage gap" that demands women be paid for work they don't do or any of the other malicious claims feminists make?

I'll be willing to bet you have no problem with women having many options in reproduction while limiting men to zero options and calling that "equal".

I think, or at least hope, that when you become an adult, you'll realize the sexism that is inherent to feminism. Most women do but sadly many never see it, because it's hard to give up superiority.

Answer 7

I think there are good feminists and bad feminists--smart feminists and dumb feminists. Here is the best example I can find of a good, smart feminist:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camille_Paglia

Here is an example of a bad, dumb feminist:

http://www.susanforward.com/therapist.htm

Answer 8

It's stupid when anti-feminists claim that all feminists advocate certain bad positions. Just like it's equally stupid when feminists like you claim that no feminists advocate those certain bad positions.

The only difference is that the feminists who aren't extremists seem to be unwilling to denounce the feminists who are extremists. And that's why some people dislike all feminists.

Answer 9

They're fully aware how futile arguments like this are. They make them so they can at least look like they have something worth hearing about the issue.

Answer 10

Why are you guilty about yourself that you have to ask a question? I am anti fem and I care a rats dam about any of the fems who wanna work or do what they want. You could never see me saying anything negative to someone about what they do just that I do not follow what they believe only some things though. Working is great and its a womans wish to do so post marriage. This is a debatable forum so stop posting hypocritical comments time and again. Cheers MG