I don't know my father and I can honestly say that at age 30 it has had little bearing on my life. Just thought I'd share that similiarity. However, a difference is that my mother didn't say mean things about men. In fact, I was partially raised by my grandfather, my mother's father, so I actually grew up with a great male role model. Also, he was less traditionally masculine as he had eased into his role of grandfather and was less the patriarch of the family.
Feminism is as much about freeing men from their roles as it is about freeing women.
And I think that once we have done that we will actually have better relationships with men, because they will be our choice and we will be entering them as equal individuals rather than as one person who needs to dominate and one who expects to be dominated. That freedom to be and choose is exactly what feminism is about. However, this doesn't mean that you can make choices that will limit other peoples' choices. I guess that would be the only thing you can't do. All rights reserved.