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Feminists often claim that women are so oppressed and that it’s so hard to be a woman and that men have it so much easier. I don’t see how this is empowering at all; telling people that they are constantly oppressed (when they’re not, not in the West anyway) is dangerous and demoralizing. It is causing conflict between people and giving radical feminists a chance to protest against problems that were never really there in the first place. As a female (and black female, to be precise) I have never once felt ‘oppressed’ because of my gender.
To quote Caitlin Moran; it’s a good time to be a woman. What about all of the privileges that having a vagina currently gives us?
Child custody. We all know that if parents split up, the mother can take full custody of the child. If a guy gets a girl pregnant and she decides to keep the baby (and can let the dad have no say in the matter) then the guy is expected to pay child support even if he is never allowed to see his child. A woman can not let the man ever see his baby if she wants.
Men carrying our heavy bags. If there’s a guy around – friend, boyfriend, sibling, dad, you’re sorted. Hand over the baggage to him and let your arms freely swing by your side. (I’m pretty weak so I take full advantage of this privilege.)
Shorter prison sentences. Statistically women serve shorter sentences than men. I was in trouble for smashing up glass bottles in public several months back (I wasn’t taken to custody, just had to pay a £60 litter fine) but I remember being taken aback at how nice the police were to me. I barely got a slap on the wrist for acting like a crazy fool. If I were a guy you can bet I’d have had thunder and shackles rained down upon me. (It should be noted, however, that men are more likely to commit violent crimes, such as assault and murder, than women, so this argument does not necessarily hold as much merit.)
School. If there’s one thing I remember clearly from school it’s that guys were always given the harsher treatment, from both male and female teachers. Guys were more likely to be in detention, guys were more likely to get told off or yelled at for not doing the homework, guys were more likely to get excluded. Maybe this is again because guys simply behave worse than girls do, but I always felt that if I had done something wrong, I would be less ‘chastised’ for it than if I were a guy.
Men buying us shit. Drinks, food, paying for dates, spend spend spend money on the lady. A guy can spend money on a girl and the girl can literally decide to drop him. Not that we entertain this, it’s just how it is. Men go out and fight wars and work long hours at home for the safety and provision of women.
We can wear trousers and skirts! Girls can get away with wearing pretty much anything – feminine clothing or masculine clothing. If a guy wears a dress or make-up he’ll get called all sorts of awful names. But girls? No one will bat an eyelid if I wear a skirt and top one day or jeans and a hoodie the next.
Lesbians. Gay men are definitely way more ostracized than gay women. Girls kiss each other, hug each other and generally display freer affection towards each other. I love kissing girls on the cheek. We check out each other’s bodies and call each other hot or not; not because we’re sexually attracted to girls, but because it’s socially acceptable for girls to compliment each other’s appearances.
So that’s just a few examples. Women in the West are not oppressed; if you want to see oppression go to Saudi Arabia. Remember to always check your privilege!
I don't want to get involved in the Victem Olympics here, but the minor things that irritate me are when customers at work say "You look like a big, strong guy, could you lift this for me?" I want to say "and you look like you could make a lovely sandwich." More irritating are those Social Media posts inspired by the Marilyn Monroe quote: "Yes I'm bitchy, but if you can't handle the worst of me, you don't deserve the best of me." Can you imagine a man saying "if you can't handle my mood swings and verbal abuse, you don't deserve the best of me"?
But far more serious, why is it ok to collectively brand us as Rapey and Toxic? Yes, there is "Rape Culture," in Sudan, or Saudi Arabia,but not in this part of the world.
Lol yeah rape culture is a silly concept in my opinion. Our culture does not glorify rape, and rape has been around since the beginning of humankind just like any other horrendous crime. It's a psychological issue, not a 'feminist' one.
Of course I agree with everything you said here.
My husband is taller and stronger than me so sometimes he helps me reach or open things that I'm struggling with on my own. In the reverse, sometimes when something needs to be plugged into a tight place etc., I help him and plug the cord in because my hands and arms are smaller and better fit in the smaller space etc.
I think it's so important not to ignore gender *differences* because they're part of what makes us who we are. Part of the alleged oppression from women/Feminists is simply the fact that they're not the *same* as men, rather than *equal*. And "same" and "equal" are two different things.
Exactly. Men and women should be treated with equal respect, but of course we are not the same. I don't think we're 'extremely' different, but of course there are differences otherwise there would only be one gender.
Agreed. As far as "extremely" different, it really depends on what aspect you're talking about. Some things between males and females are extremely different but some things are only subtly different, it really just depends.