If feminism is about equality between the sexes why isn't it called androgenism?

Question

It seems to me that most words with the suffix ism, like racism, capitalism, nationalism, indicate a belief of supremacy associated with the root word. It also seems that many female feminists that I have met aren't really after equality but are instead after positions of domination over males. Many male feminists seem like supplicants and sycophants to females, and perhaps this does bring some level of equality since it parallels male chauvinism so well.

thank you HDK I tried to put alot of thought in to it.

I am not saying that some women don't want equality Scorch. I am sure lots of women want equality. I am just saying that feminism falls short of equality between the sexes in that it seems to supports female supremacy, and creates equality in that it has created an equal and opposite reaction to male chauvinism.

Thank you Kate Lomax. That is the sort of inspiration, I am looking for right now. That truly sounds egalitarian am I want to hear more about people functioning on those levels.

Thanks for some great answers folks. To those that got their buttons pushed, I hope you can realize that it doesn't help any cause you work for to be more reactive than thoughtful.

Answer 1

Good question.
I do not know any feminists- I know assertive women.
In my circle all my female friends are thoughtful women.
We all expect equality and expect everyone to treat us as they would wish to be treated.
I have a wide circle of male friends.
None of them present as supplicants or sycophants.
I acknowledge that I am fortunate in having the friends I have, but you know the old saying namely:
" You can choose your friends but not your family".

Answer 2

Feminism isn't about equality betwen the sexes as much as it is about denigrating men. From the posts I've read here, there is a level of misandry unequalled. Any credibility or truth in whatever the concepts of feminism are (have gotten lost somewhere along the line) have been severely eroded by many of the comments from so-called feminists on this site.

Answer 3

Because the radicals that have taken over the movement would never tip their hand.

Enforcing equal outcome by strapping men down while propping women up is their solution to try & blur the lines of gender differences.

Their assault on masculinity is an attempt to get rid of it, leaving a feminized being in it's place.

It's the reason people like Bill Maher have routines like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z8j4QJ0oiY

Answer 4

I have yet to meet a feminist who thinks women should "dominate" men. This is ridiculous. It's like saying that abolitionists were anti-white. (Which was said at the time, as well.)

The term feminism is used because women comprise the group which is suppressed, therefore the terminology necessarily deals with their plight.

Answer 5

I find a lot of typical feminist beliefs to be a bit of a skewed view of equality. Male bashing is just one of the problems. One that bothers me is that they say women are equal but in many ways what they seem to mean is that women can become equal to men. This implies that we are not as good as men unless we take on the roles of men. Traditionally feminine roles are belittled just as much as they ever were, despite their importance (where would we be without food and childbirth?). Ideally we there should be fluidity between "male" and "female" roles, with people doing a certain amount of either depending on their personality rather than their born gender.

Answer 6

Feminism is called that because it was started to achieve rights for women. Now, feminists tend to focus somewhat more on women's problems, without necessarily ignoring men's.

Answer 7

Isms do not imply supremacy; I don't know why you believe that to be true. Feminists are advocating for the equality of the marginalized gender. The Civil Rights movement didn't promote equality for every demographic. It was specifically fought to guarantee Black rights.

Your term implies that gender equality already exists, but feminists don't wish to promote that myth.

Answer 8

Entertaining idea, though I don't know if I agree with it completely, surely some women simply want equality.

Answer 9

"many female feminists that I have met aren't really after equality but are instead after positions of domination over males. Many male feminists seem like supplicants and sycophants to females"

Can you give any examples? I am so tired of sweeping statements like this with no justification.

Answer 10

If that was what feminism was about, or what the suffix 'ism' denoted, you might have some sort of point.

As neither is, in fact, correct, your question is entirely moot.

Cheers :-)