First things first, for those who are hastily typing up "what does Feminism have to do with TRP/PPD" here is what RPers have to say about that.

Earlier today a question was posted here asking why feminists don't encourage women to take on traditional male jobs like plumbing, waste collection or construction to name a few. The idea that feminists and women in general have no interest in getting women into these areas is a fairly common among anti-feminists that you can see if you lurk around /r/askfeminists, /r/MensRights or even the red pill subreddit.

When this question comes up, especially in places where lots of anti-feminists will congregate, it tends to get followed-up by comments like these which reinforce the dominant anti-feminist worldview:

  • "They generally won't answer honestly but it's because that doesn't benefit women."

  • "Because feminism is a lobby group for the interests of woman. Equality is just slogan they use for their marketing campaign. Anyone that does not know that at this point has been living under a rock."

There is something to be said for the way anti-feminists approach this topic, namely, the glaring lack of background research done that makes this question such a pain in my ass. Like the two posts and comments I linked above anti-feminists tend to convey more personal opinion, bluster, and contempt of feminists than any real knowledge or understanding of women who work in trade professions which means we (feminists) have to do their homework for them to even begin the conversation.

And if you think I'm exaggerating or being unfair and cherry-picking bad posts I have some disheartening news for you: this is not the behavior of the lowest common denominator of anti-feminists, this is how their most popular leaders such as Sargon of Akkad, Karen Straughn, Paul Elam and many others conduct their criticism of feminism.

But researching, reading and compiling all this information for people who will hate my guts either way is not the intention here, instead I think it's important to counter this kind of criticism when I can for people who may be in a more open state of mind.

With that said, I'll start off with something sorely lacking in many anti-feminist critiques: some actual feminists thoughts and information regarding women in trade.

Here's a few things we can find out from a quick Google search:

Why aren't there more women entering these fields?

Trade skills have long been the domain of working class men. Feminism, a movement that has struggled with class divisions since it's inception (mainly upper and middle class women will have the leisure time and access to education to see the benefits of feminism) tends to follow the trends and desires of upper and middle class women. Similarly, there is an increasing focus in our culture on having every student go to college and earn a degree. Many factors are at work here making trade skills less attractive to middle and upper class young people.

Making traditionally male, working class jobs more accessible to women is definitely something that has been left behind in Feminism and could use more support as women still only make up a small percentage of trade skill workers. I would say the criticism of not encouraging as many women into trades is valid but has more to do with class divisions we find among both men and women among the middle and upper classes who don't see trade skills as desirable.

Another factor is that many women have and continue to deal with discrimination and harassment on the job which can be very discouraging to those seeking entry or long-term employment.

Going to end this post here abruptly because I'm tired and should have gone to bed two hours ago but I hope a few things are now clear:

  • Feminists do encourage women to enter trade skills

  • There is growing interest among women to learn trades

  • There are women-oriented organizations which aim to recruit, train and support women in these professions

  • We have a long way to go for sure, but the anti-feminist argument that women and feminists just don't care about getting women into trades or "dirty jobs" doesn't carry much weight