Equality or Feminism?

I consider myself a realist and uphold many values treasured by libertarians. In other words, I deal with the situations at hand in the best way possible. Women have been given opportunities in this society never before reached in history. It is not slowing down, and even though one might argue that women are still paid less than men for the same jobs, it has been slowly heading towards equalization. The concept of feminism is one of the most profound and highly necessary movements that we see in today’s society, but like many movements, there are the radicals. Obviously this brings stereotypes which we are all familiar with, such as the “butch” feminist.” To be honest, that stereotype is a load of shit, but I do not completely disagree with the fact that some feminists are contradictive and hypocritical. For instance, to address the matter of economical pay women receive for the same jobs, the fact that women are paid less is obviously not the case of women being less productive or less educated. Women are just as adept, cunning, intelligent, productive, and hard working as men, if not MORE so! The fact is that there I s a law that makes it so aggregately there is a small percentage of women that receive jobs over men who may be more qualified. There is a disturbance in the natural balance of supply and demand caused by affirmative action. Many people may be appalled by this claim, but it is a proven economical observation, that if were the opposite, men would be paid less. What I am saying, is that women who stand and fight against certain equalities need to not be hypocritical by not observing the advantages they already possess that may be affecting the problem. If anyone wants to discuss this controversial theory, I will gladly do so, but in saying this, I consider myself to be more of a feminist than many that I’ve spoken to, simply because it portrays true equality.

59% of Rollins students are women, and only 41% are men. Over 55% of all college students are women, up considerably even in the last 10 years. This is all while media has apparently increased its portrayal of women in the most controversial sexual light. To say the least, women are now highly respected and necessary to the society and economy in America. To say that women have “stopped” their feminist progression is to not look at the facts. I’ve personally recently set a goal to lose weight and succeeded considerably, but setting one goal pertaining to image does not make me give up others, especially if it is a goal that changes lifestyle and not time consumed, or location. If anything, it has helped my self image and made me realize that I can attain the goals I set. I am a better and more confident person because of it.

I have a particular situation very personal to me that I have dealt with since I was a child, but since this blog is for the most part anonymous, and hopefully will continue to be at the end of class, I will share my thoughts. Before I was born, there was a situation in my family that consisted of that family member exposing himself to a teenage girl. To leave out the details, the situation ended with years of therapy concluding that this family member was “uncontrollably” attracted to “petite,” even anorexic women, and of course also a sex offender charge that has actually affected my life. Growing up, I could not join the country club down the road that everyone else could. I could not have that specific family member come to watch my sports activities. Instead, I endured the embarrassment that was handed me in school when students harassed me for something that happened to my family before I was born. Was this a result of the media portraying women as fragile skinny role models? I doubt it, and even if it was, my family member had the right to keep his thoughts and actions to himself. Before anyone decides to come to me and complain how the image of “The Beauty Myth” has affected their ability to participate in social situations, think of this example.

I personally could not have said it better than Citizen Z. “That is not being feminist, so don't call yourself feminist if you are insecure with yourself for not looking like women in magazines. I don't have sympathy or the time for people that are so easily swayed.” One member of the class brought up the point of freedom and the first amendment, which is the right to free speech, religion, the press, and to petition. In other words, we are grounded by the freedoms we have chosen, the best way to live your life is to deal with what positives you have been given, and not let freedom of speech hinder your view of yourself. Instead, like Twiddle Dee said, “I equate the stereotypical beauty with a certain power that this woman has over men or her colleagues.” Look at the positives, the female form in general is a symbol of power over men! Use it or spend your youth complaining about those who do, but you know which method is more advantageous. If you disagree, then move to North Vietnam or Tajikistan and see what rights you would have there.

The Media is part of our right to freedom, look at it in the positive light, and protect your children from its demeaning messages, which by the way is the job of the parent in the first place. As KAM said, “media has become an excuse for people to point their problems to. . . people have to realize is that what is projected by the media isn’t the real world.”

Finally, I also agree with Citizen Z on the count of the porn myth as an illegitimate biased piece of hypocritical literature that should only be credited with the worth of the recyclable paper it was scribbled on. Men may masturbate to “fake” images of the so called perfect female form, but I know that some women use “fake” obejects for pleasure. What’s the difference, women use mental images instead of porn? The bottom line is that both women and men are dealing with a changing society, but for the most part, we have it good.