Why is it wrong to ask for a definition of feminist in a forum that is called Gender and Women's Studies?

Question

Does this not indicate the level of sexism in this world?

http://ca.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AqXscog0qh3E7AkafT5WfIggGAx.;_ylv=3?qid=20071024061948AAdU8kB

Please view the responses to this question.

Answer 1

hopscotch - well, feminism was about choices afterall! haha

there is nothing wrong with asking the question. what is "wrong" is the level of hate that gets returned.

there have always been resistance and backlash to feminism, and many other movements (civil rights, indigenous rights).

when women first started wearing pants, they were ridiculed. when women fought for the vote, they were demeaned. many were called man-like. the 70s was the same, chauvinists did nothing but taunt women (you can't do this...you can't do that...you belong in the kitchen).

today it's not much different...we still have resistance, ridicule and contempt. same old story.

only difference is today we have a group of organized men (and women) called fathers rights. (there are many legitimate groups). however, the evil ones are vehemently attacking us.

all i can say is...perservere. every feminist - male and female - in the past had to do the same. geez, it took them over 70 years to get the damn vote.

don't be a 'fair-weather feminist" - take the good with the bad. we have our setbacks and we have our successes.
fight on, sisters...and brothers! ;-)

Answer 2

It isn't wrong to ask for it, but the act of asking for it plays directly into the hands of those seeking to undermine the concept from what I have seen.

The reason is this.

Feminists have struggled over the last 40 years or so to achieve a consensus on the definition of feminism and this is reflected in the near universal definitions available in modern dictionaries.

As the linguists and the feminists agree what a feminist is, there is no special need to "debate it" or we risk denigrating the language to the point where people use the same word, but mean totally different things.

Taken to the extreme, if we are going to do this we may as well just bark at each other.

There isn't really a debate about feminist means for anyone who takes the time to look it up in a dictionary.

*Edit to address additional details* - your reference entirely proves this point. A few sensible posters have done the obvious thing and referenced wiki, or the dictionary, or simply answered in an accurate way. Amidst that is what can only be described as a flame.

This forum allows for any question which fits within terms of service, however, as with most things on the net a little bit of savvy goes a long way, and someone who uses YA as a substitute for the dictionary is well...read between the lines.

The question referenced provides no additional details, no hooks, has likely been asked how many hundred times before on YA alone?

As for the level of sexism (on that Q) 5/12 given answers were sexist (and wrong) 2/12 were highly informative and correct, 2/12 were simply wrong, and the remaining 3 referred to accurate sources. Par for the course from what I've seen here.

Answer 3

Why do we women ask "why?" when we don't need to and shouldn't have to?

This IS called Gender and Women's Studies NOT

Bitter Boys Cowardly Trolling And Raging On Women

OR

Insecure Women Who Want To Turn The Clock Back For The Rest Of Us.

Of course Elle M has a total right to ask for a definition of feminist here.

And I'm not going to ask why she got a hard time for it because I don't feel that I have to ask. She should not have got a hard time for it. Simple as that.

I would ask what the hell is wrong with some people in here?

Answer 4

Hey....I don't know if it indicates the level of sexism in this world, but it certainly speaks volumes about the tone and tolerance in this forum! Questions like those are, I'm assuming, are what this forum was supposed to be all about in its creation. I would like to think that the brains behind YA didn't sit around and imagine a program where people could act like children and make fun of eachother. But thats what it appears to have turned into - along with all of the other 'controversial' categories. It would appear that intelligent debate is not possible, and even the 'just for fun' questions have lost their fun. We have blatant hatred living right next door to downright ignorance and stupidity...and its not a good neighbourhood to live in anymore.

Answer 5

I don't see anything wrong with asking for a definition of feminism, especially since feminism is a social movement that has been given incredibly bad press by right wingers, conservative religious and political groups, and anyone who has an axe to grind against women in general.

I don't know if the attacks that are suppose to be responses in this forum constitute reality of any kind. I don't see the level of sexism present in this forum in society at large, since this forum has a few nut-cases who spend their lives in YA! creating multiple accounts, asking countless offensive questions, and who spend their time voting for their own questions and answers. Frankly, I'm glad they spend so much time in here, society is safer with them in here than out in the real world.

Answer 6

There is nothing wrong with posting the question on this forum. It is that our history has proved that this country has not been to keen on Woman's Rights, And different Ethnic groups female face different problems. A white woman was a minority, but a black woman was a minority within a minority.
It is a very complex situation.

Answer 7

There's nothing inherently wrong with the question, but I suspect the asker was trying to stir things up, knowing the usual haters, collaborationistas, misguided chicklettes and trolls would take over.

Answer 8

OK.
My answer was legitimate.
New poster on here.
Liable to get torn to shreds by our in house Trolls.
I stand by my answer to this post.
I never want anyone who innocently asks a question to get beaten down.
You and me can withstand that.
Many cannot.

Answer 9

It isn't wrong, I just think it's kind of odd to ask for the definition here rather than finding an instant answer on a site such as dictionary.com.

Answer 10

I suppose I'll find out why it's wrong to say that Elle M probably just made the mistake of asking during the wrong time of the month.