What's the origin of modern feminism's foundational arguments? (rape culture, patriarchy theory, etc.)

dakru · 2013-09-27T04:59:06+00:00

I think quite a bit of the idea of "patriarchy" comes from Marxism. In Marxism you have two main classes, the bourgeoisie (employers) and the proletariat (workers). They're defined by their relation to the means of production (factories, farms, etc., the things that drive productivity and the economy). The workers make their living by selling their labour to the employers to be able to access the means of production and make a wage, while the employers make their living by owning the means of production and skimming off the profits of the worker's labour.

Marxists believe that this relation is exploitative and oppressive. Consider, for example, if one employee can make $100 of stuff in an hour, while getting paid $10 an hour. Take $40 an hour off for materials and maintenance, and the employer makes $50 for every hour the worker works, while the worker himself only makes $10. (This is an example with made-up numbers to explain the idea.)

Standard Marxist theory considers the bourgeoisie the ruling class of modern capitalist countries. The goal is for the proletariat to take over (in a revolution) and become the ruling class themselves, to get rid of exploitation and oppression. Depending on which version of Marxism you subscribe to, this may or may not have happened in some or all countries that call themselves socialist.

Feminist theory has some pretty clear parallels, except that the role of the bourgeoisie (the ruling class, the oppressors) is taken by men, while the role of the proletariat (the working class, the oppressed) is taken by women. It's standard feminist thought that men as a class have power, while women as a class don't. This is Marxist theory basically one-for-one:

A running theme in a lot of feminist theory is that of institutional power: men as a class have it, women as a class don’t. [from the FinallyFeminismFAQ]

And I don't say this as someone who's hostile to Marxism. In fact, I'm sympathetic to it in many ways (although I can't say I could endorse it completely). But while there are certainly some issues with Marxist class theory I'd point out, it's much more grounded than feminism's take on class. Most importantly, in Marxism people are divided off into two classes and defined as "oppressors"/"ruling class" or "oppressed" by something they actually do. Even if you don't agree that employing someone and making money from their labour is oppressive, at least you can appreciate that someone is being called an oppressor and is considered part of the "ruling class" for something they're actually doing.

In feminism, however, men are seen as ruling class oppressors and women as second classed oppressed not for something they actually do but for a trait they're born with. In Marxism you can see "ok, yeah, owning factories and stores and stuff does give you a decent bit of power by default". But in feminism we're told that men have power just for being men, and that women are oppressed for just being women.

It's like the bastardized version of the Marxist idea of class.

cmcagle · 2013-09-27T05:52:25+00:00

I think the genesis of the term "rape culture" can be traced to this book, copyrighted in 1993. The earliest result for "rape culture" on Lexis Nexis is a January 16, 1994 Washington Post review of that book.

Sexual Violence was reviewed in the same issue. It was written by an NYC sex crimes prosecutor and detailed some aspects of rape culture, though I'm not sure if it used the term.

blueoak9 · 2013-09-27T15:07:13+00:00

Those concepts come out of the Redstockings Manifesto, the founding document of radical feminism. Any feminist who doesn't renounce them is a radfem.

http://www.redstockings.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=76&Itemid=59

2013-09-28T04:39:41+00:00

There is no rational argument or principle behind modern feminism. I cannot stress this enough, on the surface it is a female supremacist movement. Feminism has always been a kind of lesbian separatist movement, that feigned support for equality in the 60's and 70's.

It was morphed by the segregationists(right before the last embers of their power was snuffed out), as a place holder for Southern Matriarchal White(Anglo) Supremacy.

The thing with hate it is, if you snuff it out, it is almost impossible to truly create or recreate(as hate is a powerful emotion that can only be caused by extreme stimuli). It is far easier if you transfer it, move the emotions to a place holder, keep the ability to cause people to distort their perception of reality in favor of a socially agreed upon bias alive, then it is to try and attempt to re-create it.

That is the at core of feminism, feminism's dark heart. So in order to understand the often psychotic mentality of feminism, you have to study old Southern extreme deference to women, and the WKKK/KKK for it all to make sense.

When your dealing with feminists, no matter how benign they seem, keep in mind that they are total, irredeemable psychopaths. They are like slippery vipers, bold face liars and delusional sociopaths.

There is evil in this world, evil that exists without any other reason then that they can. That is the only true reason: "They can". Remove their ability and you remove feminism.

They will use any rationalization, any idea, any concept to justify their actions. They will steal any idea they think will allow them to do what they want to do. It doesn't matter if that idea comes from the Bible, the Communist Manifesto, 2nd Century literature, or ancient Egyptian papyrus scrolls. When dealing with a feminist, imagine you are trying to match wits with the devil.

angryman22 · 2013-09-27T12:11:31+00:00

their feelings.

rightsbot · 2013-09-27T04:26:16+00:00

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Title	What's the origin of modern feminism's foundational arguments? (rape culture, patriarchy theory, etc.)
Author	errythangthizzin
Upvotes	25
Comments	34
Date	September 27, 2013 4:25 AM UTC (12 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/1n87lh/whats_the_origin_of_modern_feminisms_foundational/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/whats-the-origin-of-modern-feminisms-foundational.1162782 https://theredarchive.com/post/1162782

Comments

There is evil in this world, evil that exists without any other reason then that they can. That is the only true reason: "They can". Remove their ability and you remove feminism.