Why modern feminism is illogical, unnecessary, and evil | Psychology Today

First, modern feminism is illogical because, as Pinker points out, it is based on the vanilla assumption that, but for lifelong gender socialization and pernicious patriarchy, men and women are on the whole identical. An insurmountable body of evidence by now conclusively demonstrates that the vanilla assumption is false; men and women are inherently, fundamentally, and irreconcilably different. Any political movement based on such a spectacularly incorrect assumption about human nature – that men and women are and should be identical – is doomed to failure.

via psychologytoday.com

I think the world is still unfair to women, though in my opinion the equality gap is certainly closing (at least in American culture). In many many ways men and women are exactly the same, but we need to recognize and celebrate the ways in which we are truly different. Defense against everyday battles may sometimes force a narrow lens on this topic, but the long term strategy must involve both equality and uniqueness between genders.

I guess you could just go further with this topic and work towards the ideal that while we are all alike, EVERYBODY is fundamentally unique. I don't like being stereotyped as a heterosexual male, or as an atheist, or as a person who likes Van Damme movies, but each of those traits play a role in the formation of my identity.

While arrogant assumptions destroy harmony, I think light-hearted ones can actually benefit relationships. As long as they are respectful, easily overridden, and as long as people being assumed upon don't take themselves so seriously, I think mild assumptions can increase honesty and break down barriers in getting to know each other.

May 11, 2010

Missy said...

You always seem to pull ideas together & sum them up so well...either that or you have a gift of making everything sound peaceful... so would you hit a woman...jk

Colin Mathews said...

Wow - thanks! And if she hit me first and if my retaliation was of equal strength...I don't see why not. :)

kemiller2002 said...

Couple of things:
1. Psychology today isn't very highly recognized as an "authority" on psychology (It's considered pop psychology).
2. He makes broad generalizations without presenting any scientific evidence to back it up.
3. His definition of feminism is well wrong. The feminist movement is to ensure social, economic, and political equality between men and woman, not that they are the same.
4. "Finally, modern feminism is evil because it ultimately makes women (and men) unhappy.....American women over the last 35 years have steadily become less and less happy, as they have made more and more money relative to men." He brings up no evidence to support his claim, and he assumes that money is the only motivating factor for happiness. This idea has shown to be incorrect in the field of Organizational Behavior for both men and women. Assuming that he is talking about the United States, he also makes no statement about the social and political changes that occurred in the last 30 years regarding the death of feminism in the United States, because of the Regan and the Republican Party.

Interesting thoughts! I agree that the article doesn't really provide a debate-ready perspective, but his general thoughts hit on a feeling I've had more than once: namely (re: conversations about the status of gender equality), an over-compensating shift towards ignoring that we are biologically different creatures. The first example that always comes to my mind is the differing ratio of white and gray matter in male and female brains.

Women aren't men and men aren't women; there's so much to be learned from exploring each others' perspective and applying it in our personal lives.

Also, you're right that he mentions money a few times, but to his credit, earlier in the article he says "the fact that women make less money than men cannot by itself be evidence that women are worse off than men, any more than the fact that men own fewer pairs of shoes than women cannot be evidence that men are worse off than women."

everinbluejeans said...

Alright, it gets points for being an "interesting" perspective, but where's the data to back up all his unequivocal statements? How does the author define psychological fragility? And how does he apply this definition? How many (definitively) psychologically fragile men did he study to arrive at the conclusion that men are, in general, more psychologically fragile than women? I won't even touch the incredibly sexist, agist, and flat-out insane notion of "reasonably attractive, young" women secretly ruling the world with their vaginas. The perspective presented would be more interesting if it were based on something other than what appears to be blind conjecture and a rough time with girls in high school.

May 12, 2010

I guess I should be a little more clear that I don't stand for the entire article. I probably should have changed the auto-created title of the post as I really just wanted to comment on the quote that I pulled. Most simply: men and women are not completely alike; while we need to protect our equality, we also need to celebrate our differences.

Thanks for the good discussion!

I didnt read the the entire article. I just read your quote and then your summary/ideas on it and I thought it was good. I agree with you and see what you mean...I like the statement "equality and uniqueness between genders."
Im not however very interested in reading the article and debating where his facts come from...I just liked to hear your/the quotes prospective, compare it to mine, and create new thoughts or points of view.

I agree with the idea that recognizing the fundamental differences between men and women is vital to our coexistence, but we also need to acknowledge that many of those differences only exist because we live in a traditionally patriarchal society. I don't mean to imply that patriarchy is inherently bad, just that it's the way our half of the world lives. The Mosuo in China, for example, are one of the last matriarchal societies in the world. The women control agriculture, livestock, and fiber production. Children are conceived in "walking marriages" - a woman invites a man to her hut for the night, but he has to be gone by sunrise - and raised entirely by female relatives. The men have virtually no responsibility save to stay attractive and virile long enough to mate.

It's true that there are fundamental differences between men and women, but aside from the obvious one, they're not biological in nature. It's interesting to try and sort out how much of what we feel is absolutely true is just what we've been taught our entire lives, you know?

May 13, 2010

I like your last sentence 'everinbluejeans' ...completely agree with that

Oct 29, 2010

Cafer Önen said...

feminism that women demond all teh rights as a human....
http://nedir.antoloji.com/feminizm/ ,but; women and men are different because of innately. therefore it isn't expected that women and men think or behave the same .for example weaknesses of women are flashy things that jewels, furs...the weaknesses of men are women and similar things. As a result they are different...this does not mean we give them different rights. The only way we can get over the problems to build empathy. I think people find it easy to empathize with character...and must respect each other...because we are intelligent creatures...by the way I have learned english for 9-10 months...I maybe have writed very well...

Oct 31, 2010

rabia19 liked this post.

rabia19 said...

I find feminine equality, but it is extremely certainly the idea of power over women. According to situations women's and men's are not equal. status of people already know it will mature. And in general makes it happy. While some people are not equal at creation, otherwise the war adventure. Also a reflection of personality.

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