Feminism's new schism

Feminism has an ugly side, and it is making some women shy away from the movement.

Nour Afara

The Silhouette

The idea that males and females in our society can be equal is just a fairytale, an impossible notion, and quite frankly, something that should not happen. Think about it. Put yourself in a woman’s shoes (and if you’re already a woman, keep your shoes on) and allow yourself to feel every muscle working in your body, the weight of all your exterior organs, and your entire body holding itself up.

To start, a woman’s body is physically different than a man’s. With common sense set aside, there are still groups of people, feminist extremist groups for instance, that seem to think that whatever a man can do they can do as well, if not better. I think this is the perfect time to burst their bubble; physically, emotionally and socially, women differ from men and yet many women carry out a silent war against men. But why is that? As a woman, I feel that I am always, and will always be treated fairly because I am a respectable human being. However, I admit that there are many things that my natural female structure cannot carry out in comparison to a male.

Even if in hundreds of years to come, scientists were to genetically change humans to make them perfectly equal on all grounds, there would always be a sort of sexual distinction causing the gender inequality we have today. I believe that there is nothing wrong with that, for this is just covering basic physical needs.

The feminist extremist movement has vastly progressed over the years. In 1967, the famous Summer of Love shook the world. Everyone heard of the hippies parading through the streets and women burning their bras, declaring themselves empowered women who were going against social norms. They saw that one of the main purposes of bras was to make themselves more physically appealing to men and that the bra was linked to this indirect sexual objectification. Too bad they didn’t know a fellow woman invented the bra. I believe that if women in 1967 who participated in the bra burning and women who support the senseless behaviour today educated themselves on the true history of their actions, they may have done things differently.

Another bubble-burst coming your way; many men enjoy looking at women while they are bra-less. My personal take on this matter is that women are even more objectified through this notorious bra-burning event. The act of hundreds of women running through the streets bra-less and topless is not liberation from social norms but the strengthening of social norms.

Extreme feminism extends into our generation as well and is found in our lecture halls. As this term comes to an end, so does my women’s studies course. I felt that, in the process of studying the struggles of women and their triumphs, men were seen as almost awful beings who think only of sex and rape, and decide on a woman’s behalf if she’s allowed to have an abortion or not.

Though these are short notes on a three-month course, there was still an evident ignorance of the positive role of men in society that contributed to the success of women and vice versa. This again leads to the biggest bubble-burst for extreme feminists: men and women need each other.

I believe that, despite what might have occurred in one’s past, it should not drive them to hate the opposite gender. No one, man or woman, should expect automatic rights because of their sex, and neither should they conform to gender stereotypes.