Two Fallacies From Feminists

dakru · 2013-05-28T03:15:12+00:00

It always bothers me when people insist that feminism is "just about equality". It's such a uselessly simple definition--it's like a capitalist saying their ideology is "just about freedom" or a socialist saying their ideology is "just about the workers". It ignores the substance of the ideology in favour of a simple concept that no one can disagree with.

In reality feminism is just a perspective (or rather a group of related perspectives) on equality. It includes things like patriarchy, rape culture, overwhelming male privilege and female oppression, etc. And as we can see on this subreddit, it's entirely possible to have a different perspective on equality.

What's worse is that when you're explaining that you're not a feminist, that's when you hear feminism is "just about equality". We're told that it's basically a synonym for egalitarianism. But you hear a very different definition when you actually expect them to address men's issues--it quickly switches to "well feminism is a woman's movement, it can't be expected to address men's issues".

KRosen333 · 2013-05-28T03:17:24+00:00

This is a really good article, actually. Seems really well written.

Mitschu · 2013-05-28T03:45:06+00:00

The appropriateness and value of an attitude depends heavily on one's social context. So, if the implication that one is a misogynist is negative, that tells you something important about the values of wider culture in which the accusation is made.

Wait, so the fact that being called a woman hater is a very bad thing, means we mustn't live in a culture that enables, encourages, and embraces woman hating?

Whudathunket. So... the fact that we live in a culture that actively hates even the alleged rapist (unless they're female) means we probably aren't living in a rape culture?

Now that's just crazy.

... Good article, worth the read, in all seriousness.

pluvoaz · 2013-05-28T11:04:48+00:00

Unfortunately, big F 'Feminism' is just another group that uses a label to elevate themselves while attacking anyone who dares to disagree with them.

When I disagree with Obama, I'm, a racist.

When I don't support the 'War on SOME Drugs' & the disproportionate number of minorities in prison for drugs & other victimless crimes, I'm a 'libtard' with too much 'white guilt'.

When I support the troops, I'm a Neo-Con, warmonger, or sometimes even a fascist.

When I support smaller government, I'm a Teabagger.

When I don't support war in the Middle East, I'm a unpatriotic.

When I don't support teaching creationism, I'm at war with Christians.

When I support the 2nd amendment, I'm a redneck clinging to my guns & Bible.

When I support equal rights for the LGBT community, I'm some kind of faggot.

When I'm a single Father, I'm deadbeat dad who doesn't pay my child support.

It's just a bunch of grade school bullshit & some folks never left the goddamn playground.

AloysiusC · 2013-05-28T07:27:31+00:00

There's another common fallacy that gets made when people say men are politically better represented than women because most politicians are male. For a group to be politically represented, the politician doing the representing does not need to be a member of that group.

That is actually a sexist fallacy as it presumes men, because of their sex, are unable or unwilling to represent women's interests.

I wish more people would point out this fallacy more as it gets thrown around a lot - as often even as the stupid pay gap myth. And, just like with that myth, this gets thrown in as a sort of justification for anti-male activism.

femdelusion · 2013-05-28T04:35:06+00:00

Is /u/Popsychblog actually Jesse? I absolutely love his blog. It's fantastic.

Deansdale · 2013-05-28T07:52:23+00:00

The often-unappreciated irony of this tactic is that it serves to, at least in part, discredit the idea that we live in a deeply misogynistic society that is biased against women. If the message here is that being a misogynist is bad for your reputation, which it would seem to be, it would seem that state of affairs would only hold in a society where the majority of people are, in fact, opposed to misogyny.

This is pure gold. I have never seen this worded so perfectly.

literallyschmiteraly · 2013-05-28T05:55:43+00:00

I enjoyed the article. I find the whole equality argument tends to fall apart anyway when you switch the genders and say men are also equal to women, they get very upset. You'll see feminists saying "Feminists are for equality and women's rights, and women are biologically superior to men, men suck." Well that's not going to fool anyone but other feminists.

Do I have to do something special to find your blog? Edit: Never mind, I understand now.

2013-05-28T07:00:15+00:00

Very nice Article. Would recommend to anyone.

2013-05-28T23:12:56+00:00

Just two ?

You ain't trying hard enough.

Title	Two Fallacies From Feminists
Author	Popsychblog
Upvotes	48
Comments	32
Date	May 28, 2013 2:54 AM UTC (13 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/1f6d8t/two_fallacies_from_feminists/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/two-fallacies-from-feminists.1172748 https://theredarchive.com/post/1172748

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