Feminism: The Good and the Bad (draft)

										Feminism: The Good and Bad
	Bell Hooks claims that feminism is supposed to be about gender equality, but some feminist women end up hating men. The rise of men hatred is going make more men resent women, and in turn fight back. On the other hand, if women chose to do nothing then gender equality will not fruition. Most organisms, including humans have two distinct sex organs. Sex organs determine the role that an animal or plant has on the survival of a species. Females normally become the protector of their offspring, so they can not wander far from them. This leaves males with the responsibility of gathering food for females and their offspring. For millions of years, our progenitors roamed the earth and sea for sustenance. The male and female roles are genetically encoded into us, but with the rapid industrialization they are being questioned. Prior to the 20th century, women were even considered men’s property, thus they had no rights. With the help of men who saw women as equal partners, they protested against the widespread discrimination. American women are considered almost equal to men, but in other countries it is not so. Gender equality is necessary, but feminism is not the answer.
	The majority of countries are still structured around patriarchy, where even the male kids have more power than their mothers. Patriarchy of course still exists in the U.S.A. as a remnant of Catholic religion dominance. In Catholicism, there is a deeply held belief that women have to subjugate to men. Women are believed to have been created from a man’s rib, so they owe their life to men. Religion has such a stronghold on people that they will believe anything that their religious leaders tell them. I grew up as a Roman Catholic, and in my society it was ok to beat up women if they stepped out of line. Furthermore, family honor came first and divorce was seen as irreligious and shameful. Abused women withstood frequent mental and physical abuse, to avoid tainting their family’s honor. The most shocking thing I heard as a child was of a man nailing a lantern to a woman’s head, because she kept moving while holding a lantern. In addition, I witnessed women being beaten by their husbands in dozens of occasions, and I was powerless to do anything about it as a child. Vicious women abuse happens in every society, no matter how gender equal it is. Men can also be physically abused by their wife, but it is considered so shameful that many men do not talk about it. Feminism is a movement that seeks to undue some structural inequalities, but it is being radicalized and is causing biological problems.
	In the 21st century U.S.A., male and female roles are merging into a homogeneous one with shared responsibilities amongst couples. One side effect of equality is androgyny. In South Korea, many teenagers of both sexes wear the same clothes and have the same haircuts, so there is no distinction from males and females. Feminism is not normally associated with androgyny, but it can become an issue when searching for a member of the opposite sex to copulate with. Androgyny is spreading through the internet, but it has yet to take hold in the U.S.A.. The internet makes it easy to organize for equal rights marches, such as feminism and LGBT movements. Gender is no longer an accurate description of humans, as there are mixes between traditional male and female features. Documents that ask for a person’s gender or if they are a father or mother are discriminatory, as they follow the duality of male and female genders. A few weeks ago, I watched a documentary about a lesbian couple who had a baby in a hospital. The hospital would not let her female companion register as the second parent, because the baby name registration form only had mother and father as options. Discrimination against lesbians is very common, so some turn to feminism.
	Hooks mentions that white supremacist males actually supported feminism, but in return feminists often excluded black women from the equal rights movements. Many white feminists were also heterosexual and shunned lesbians, so lesbians formed their own feminist groups and excluded non-lesbians from joining. Women who express their opinion against feminism online are verbally assaulted and shamed by feminists. Many feminists online use selective arguments to ignore the facts and further their matriarchy goals. Feminism started as a movement for equal rights, but I see it as a failed movement dominated by personal vendetta’s.. Religious women will carry their biases against others to the Feminism movement and make it worse. Feminism might try to be passed off as a gender equality movement, but after equality the end goal is for a select few white heterosexual females to dominate both men and other women. In other words, discrimination will not vanish but rather shift focus against men and black women.
Feminism was and still is a good movement for women to pursue equality, it is just not a true gender equality movement. LGBT movement is the evolution of feminism, as it pursues true equality for everyone.
	There is two further issues with feminism: objectification and abortion. Women can dress the way they want, to include tight yoga pants and open cleavage tops. Feminists claim that there is objectification of women’s bodies, but for males there is the same thing. By societal standards, men are not supposed to wear dresses, while females are not supposed to wear “men’s” clothes. People adhere to these standards, so that they can attract a mate. Another issue is the female dominance over sex. Hooks claims that men pressure women into sex, and that is true in some cases. However women control which mate they want to have sex with, and many women have sex with a high number of partners, that are often very masculine and end up beating them. Feminists seek to end female violence, as it is a major tool used by men to subjugate women. Freedom of abortion is another focal point for feminists, but I disagree with recreational abortion, it should only be used in cases of sexual abuse. Promiscuity is no excuse for abortion, as it hurts the female body and mind. Feminism was a good start for women’s right’s, but it has major flaws that can not be overlooked. Hooks pointed out some of the flaws, such as racism. In conclusion, all the flaws make it less efficient for gender inequality.