Hmm. Although there have been truly super posts made in response to the OP - I also feel that the main point has also been lost a little, due to the complexities of some of the replies... and replies to those.
With that I mean as much as, if anything - it’s taken from the viewpoint of looking at the far extremism of feminism and activists thereof.
It’s most certainly also not written in a context of ‘men should be men, strong and for their women’ cringe type way.
I think the point that was being made is more a case of why shouldn't women enjoy being not only treated as an equal, but also the fact that there is nothing wrong in making sure you look after who you love - and more to the point, that it's okay for them to accept you doing so as a result too!
Will definitely come back to this though. x
I agree and you're right. Being treated equal, and nothing wrong with looking after who you love.
The bit I would pull out from that is the title, New age feminism. It has no real solid definition, and it can cover a lot of different areas. This is why there can be many in-depth replies, because the term itself is not a simple topic.
Talking about extreme views and extreme activists is something else, in that sense it can have aspects within feminism of course, but new age feminism isn't a movement driven by a specific extreme group of angry man haters, it is a wide umbrella term with many different branches.
It would be like me judging a whole religion based on individuals who use that religion to justify their own personal hatred and abuse. If we use Islam as an example. I would have to ask myself, are the views of those extremists directly affecting my personal life and choices? and are they representative of that religion as whole?
In order to make that judgement, I would have to read the Quran, research what is out there about Islam, and look into the information gathered by muslim scholars, and make sure these were reliable sources. I would then need to try to understand the views of the individuals with extreme views - note, most people with extreme views have a lot in common across any area, religious or not religious, any gender, etc. Having done this, I could probably see that the extreme views are due to individual belief systems and dillusianial interpretations of scripture to suit these personal belief systems, not the religion itself. On top of this, social media discussions and the way people behave online compared to real life has a huge impact on how we communicate.
Back to new age feminism. If we are talking about current western feminism, it would often include discussing the predominantly white, middle class, ‘millennial’ women. It would also cover the areas of feminism that are not intersectional. And the fact that there are still trans exclusionary radical feminists within this, TERFs for short. These people have no power to dictate what people do in their relationships, to alter laws/legislations, or to control what women/men do with their decisions.
There are feminist writers who say men cannot be feminist purely based on their sex. Most people disagree with this, including me, men can define themselves as one. And men were a big part of the history of how women got their rights (and still are), and how women fought for certain laws to change. Remember, rape within marriage was still legal until 1991. And so many other laws were in place that allowed for the mistreatment of people. Without activists and people fighting for change, laws and legislations do not change. This includes people of all genders and identities, and always will. Online keyboard warriors.. not so much. They're not a part of this.
We can criticise certain parts of feminist theories for days, and feminist writers. I have had a lot of discussions with people who have, in my opinion, horrific and damaging views. For example, the prejudice towards people of colour, transgender community, and ageist opinions. But for every one we can criticise, there are always others on the other side of the spectrum who are pushing for love, acceptance, inclusive behaviours. Both feminists, both completely different outlooks on the world.
One positive to take from modern movements, is the break away groups that focus on how structures impact everyone. Yes, they still use all the resources the feminist movements have brought forward, but they are challenging the ugly and negative areas within it. They are noticing the bad aspects, the exclusionary attitudes, and are trying to create spaces where there is less suffering and more inclusion. Everything evolves and changes, and will continue to do so. We have so much information available to us now, we might as well use it to research everything.
The question is, are you specifically talking about people's opinions in an online setting? i.e. strong opinions being shared about national women's day, gender, and such on social media. And if so, how did this lead to bringing in New age feminism?
Also, the types of people who post those certain things online and try to spread a hatred will always be there, and they label themselves as whatever they wish. I think it is important to not let this influence our outlook on the wider issues, and also to not let this silence those who are actually sharing real important shit, and to not forget that there are people/groups/organisations out in the field putting real work into getting things done.
I have written fuck loads so do excuse me,
these topics are my geeky passion, and all the books I had to buy for my course were too expensive to go to waste. However, my own personal views on the matter of current political climates is that it is time to fly to the middle of a jungle and stay the hell away from it all, I will use the pointless books and essays to make a bonfire, then dance around it with a dildo stuck to my head naked without getting arrested, fab. Will make friends with animals because they have their shit sorted out and I don't need to speak at all. Fingers crossed will not be killed by a silverback gorilla, but if he deems me unsuitable then I'm perfectly happy to die in that manner, probably will be less painful than witnessing the demise of our shitty political parties.
(Here is a really simple outline of feminism
Feminism - By Branch / Doctrine - The Basics of Philosophy
but there are much better and longer pieces about modern feminism.)
