Today is my birthday. Luckily for me I have an amazing girlfriend who realizes that more than video games or cake, what I actually want most of all is a copy of the best etymological dictionary ever made.
I love them both.
Feminism Done Right
I just read a scathing retort to a recent article called ‘The Feminist Housewife.’ It (the retort, that is) can be found over here at Jezebel.com
I don’t know why I started reading this article. Truth be told, most self-proclaimed feminists annoy me to no end, coming across much more frequently as hypocritical, ignorant, and unwilling to see the entire picture.
Guess what? This feminist is different.
Feminism is not supposed to be about subjugating men. It’s supposed to be about true equality. What Ireland, quoted in the original article, says that girls shouldn’t have to be both boy and girl to be powerful is true in a way. Women shouldn’t have to be boys and girls at the same time because the very idea that being a boy or being a girl comes with its own set of duties and is the complete opposite of equality.
Now I’m not a flaming liberal as Ireland calls herself, quite the opposite. I believe that there are some things at which each gender excels due to inherent differences, but where I differ from the chauvinist I’m starting to sound like is that I don’t believe that this makes one better than the other. I look at the societal side of things as I do the biological. Think of making a baby. Each gender has a pretty specific function that the other could not possibly perform, but they are equally crucial.
Back on topic: I have no problem with stay at home moms. I also have no problem with stay at home dads. I think child rearing is a noble profession. The fact that people have decided there needs to be a political agenda associated with it, let alone a discussion over gender roles, is pathetic. More importantly, it’s erroneous.
Equal does not mean that the person who has traditionally been thought of as lesser is now to be thought of as greater. It means both parties get the same treatment. This concept that equality is revenge is foolish and damaging. This is the sort of bastardized offshoot of feminism that makes it come across as unappealing. The same problem that frequently occurs when dealing with race, or any other issue of equality. Here in Texas, men hold doors for women. Fine. I also hold doors for children, the elderly, friends of mine, people I don’t know, men (no joke), people of different races, religions, etc. See the trend?
Bravo to Tracie Morrissey for writing an article that actually gets things right, and bravo to anyone (woman or man) who understands it. If everyone calling him/herself a feminist understood that simple fact, society would be a hundred years ahead of where it is right now.
I’m sure that there are probably plenty of things Mrs. Morrissey and I would disagree on, but I also think if I ever run into her in a bar, I should probably buy her a drink.
Out of appreciation, not because she’s a woman.
That would be sexist.
