Feminism

I've always been amazed with feminism. While there is an inarguable gender gap, I don't understand how focusing on one gender is supposed to, in anyway, bring out "equality". Here are some examples; While it's true that women in the Middle East are treated absolutely disgusting, the men don't have it all that much better. Granted, they aren't being stoned to death for getting pregnant after being raped. However, men that live in a hostile area, are automatically seen as an enemy. So while women are being mistreated, men are being killed. Simply for being a man, in the wrong neighborhood. It's true that being an attractive woman, walking around in a bad area, you could get raped. That's a fear I will always understand. However, if a man finds himself in a bad area wearing the wrong color, he may find himself being the victim of a drive by. Living in a rather... unstable community (to say the least) I have heard stories, and seen first hand how gang violence effects men. I have not seen or heard of any stories of women being victims of this. Feminists really like to point to double standards that favor men, yet most of these double standards they mention, are in no way true. When is the last time you congratulated a man for sleeping around a lot? My friends and I, always refer to men who sleep around a lot as "man whores." That is in no way, a term of endearment. It's quite frowned upon actually. Double standards, do however exist. Some that favor men, some that favor women. Domestic violence is a big one. When women are the victims of this, it is taken EXTREMELY seriously. When men are, it's laughed at. Hell, even I have a hard time keeping a straight face when I imagine the man who is getting beaten by his wife. I find that my issue with feminism is mostly rooted in the fact that they believe women are the victims, because they are women. When a woman is beaten, raped, or has her rights stolen, it's not a feminist issue. It's a humanitarian issue. While the feminism your parents grew up with had specific goals and a powerful message, today's is all about throwing sticks and stones at men, and painting absolutely minuscule issues as major problems with society. All of my life, I have heard one feminist that I deeply agreed with. I can't seem to remember her name, she was big on YouTube. She managed to speak of women's issues, without blaming men. But most of all, what she did that truly earned my respect, was her video on the Disposable Man. She actually spoke up for a men's issue. The first time I've heard a feminist, speak of an issue pertaining to having a penis. That is what gender equality should be about. It should be about looking at the gap between men and women, and asking how we can close that and be as equal as possible. While there are genetic factors that make it truly impossible to be completely equal, I feel that society has been going the right way. While feminism does do some good at exposing the sexism against women in advertising and pop culture, it fails to expose the sexism against men. The Damsel in Distress comes to mind. Her videos on sexism in video games was intriguing. She made a good point when she said that women are always painted as the one's in need of help. However, she didn't point out the fact that it's always MEN who are painted as the one's who are expected to sacrifice themselves to save a woman. It's truly incredibly, how feminists believe that you can create gender equality by focusing on the plights of one gender.