Throughout the 1990's, every third victim of criminal homicide has been a woman. Such ignoring of gender conflict can be seen in the attitude toward feminism here. Another well-educated computer expert proceeded to lecture me on how women and men are different, as he thought science has amply proven. My friends and fellow students in women's studies have even advised me to stop labeling myself as a feminist and referring to my field of study in order to avoid such reactions. If a woman admits that there is inequality, she also has to admit to herself that she isn't as successful and equal as she would like to believe, explained Ronkainen.
Discrimination is denied to preserve one's own integrity.
Feminists are also associated with fanaticism and excessiveness, which have always been especially undesirable qualities in Finnish culture. Pietik inen and others point out that many women find it perfectly logical to say they support equal rights, yet don't call themselves feminists. Feminists create unnecessary, trivial fuss, which is also out of keeping with Finland's nice girl image. People who have these kinds of values, which is very popular at the moment, don't see or don't want to see that there could be factors that hamper one's success, like gender, social background or skin color. Not surprisingly, many people don't know what feminist groups have accomplished.