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My View on Modern Feminism
Sep. 20th, 2013 07:46 pmOh, boy, this is going to get me skewered...
Let's establish something before I begin here. I am what I like to refer to as an "honorable pervert". What this means exactly is as follows:
- I have a sex life, though not a particularly active one (twice a year is my current record), thus far entirely with prostitutes. I pay them well and try to avoid employing the services of women who are being coerced or abused into the business.
- I view pornography on a daily basis. I have a fairly extensive collection of pornographic DVDs, magazines, and visual novels (also called "H-games").
- I used to be a regular visitor to strip clubs, but have led that aspect fade since I began engaging the services of prostitutes; I figured out that it cost me about the same to have sex as it did to purchase cover, the one-drink minimum, and contact dances, but the former didn't come with as much frustration as the latter.
- I am not sure of my orientation. The only fact I've managed to nail down is that I feel no attraction to cisgender males.
- HOWEVER... I do not approve in any way of violence against any gender, and consider rape (more a crime of power than one of sex) to be an unjustifiable, unpardonable sin. I would never harm someone unless it were to defend my life or the life of another, and do not condone nor accept others being exploited or abused. (We could go around all day as to whether this applies to the adult entertainment industry, but that is not the topic of discussion.)
I say all this as a form of complete disclosure. For you see, I do not consider myself a feminist.
Do I support equal rights for men and women? Of course! I do not believe that, aside from considerations for biology and personality, there should be any cultural difference between males and females. All should have an equal chance to prosper and full access to opportunities regardless of gender.
The problem here is that this is not how feminism is presented in the public arena anymore. Modern feminism has changed, and not (I would argue) for the better.
Listen to what modern feminists say on YouTube, write in their blog or Twitter posts, or otherwise communicate. They do not speak on the issues of equal pay, true discrimination, or lack of opportunity. Instead, they focus on biases, real or imagined, in public and in the popular culture.
This is my issue with modern feminism. Instead of focusing on real extant problems, it has transformed into what I will refer to as "Sarkeesian feminism" - the quest to scour public conduct of anything that could even vaguely be considered offensive to women, whether anyone is actually offended by it or not. The more you look, the more feminists continue to act as what YouTube commentator Thunderf00t refers to as "professional victims", seeking out things to find offensive.
Is this the full extent of the feminist movement? No, but it is by far the most noticeable and loudest portion. And that is why I can't consider myself a feminist - those who are the most influential in the public sphere have turned it into something I cannot support.
Let's establish something before I begin here. I am what I like to refer to as an "honorable pervert". What this means exactly is as follows:
- I have a sex life, though not a particularly active one (twice a year is my current record), thus far entirely with prostitutes. I pay them well and try to avoid employing the services of women who are being coerced or abused into the business.
- I view pornography on a daily basis. I have a fairly extensive collection of pornographic DVDs, magazines, and visual novels (also called "H-games").
- I used to be a regular visitor to strip clubs, but have led that aspect fade since I began engaging the services of prostitutes; I figured out that it cost me about the same to have sex as it did to purchase cover, the one-drink minimum, and contact dances, but the former didn't come with as much frustration as the latter.
- I am not sure of my orientation. The only fact I've managed to nail down is that I feel no attraction to cisgender males.
- HOWEVER... I do not approve in any way of violence against any gender, and consider rape (more a crime of power than one of sex) to be an unjustifiable, unpardonable sin. I would never harm someone unless it were to defend my life or the life of another, and do not condone nor accept others being exploited or abused. (We could go around all day as to whether this applies to the adult entertainment industry, but that is not the topic of discussion.)
I say all this as a form of complete disclosure. For you see, I do not consider myself a feminist.
Do I support equal rights for men and women? Of course! I do not believe that, aside from considerations for biology and personality, there should be any cultural difference between males and females. All should have an equal chance to prosper and full access to opportunities regardless of gender.
The problem here is that this is not how feminism is presented in the public arena anymore. Modern feminism has changed, and not (I would argue) for the better.
Listen to what modern feminists say on YouTube, write in their blog or Twitter posts, or otherwise communicate. They do not speak on the issues of equal pay, true discrimination, or lack of opportunity. Instead, they focus on biases, real or imagined, in public and in the popular culture.
This is my issue with modern feminism. Instead of focusing on real extant problems, it has transformed into what I will refer to as "Sarkeesian feminism" - the quest to scour public conduct of anything that could even vaguely be considered offensive to women, whether anyone is actually offended by it or not. The more you look, the more feminists continue to act as what YouTube commentator Thunderf00t refers to as "professional victims", seeking out things to find offensive.
Is this the full extent of the feminist movement? No, but it is by far the most noticeable and loudest portion. And that is why I can't consider myself a feminist - those who are the most influential in the public sphere have turned it into something I cannot support.
