"Feminism" Vs. "Equality"

In my last "Male Perspective" column at https://mrxproducts.com/, I called Caitlin Flanagan a "professional anti-feminist" and managed to touch off a huge argument about feminism.  So this column is way, way, way overdue.

Here's the key problem when we argue about feminism: we act like it's a settled thing, and it's not.

There are two feminisms people tend to talk about, that I've observed, and they tend to treat them as interchangeable: feminism as a political force and feminism as an intellectual force.  It's important to sort the two because more often than not, there's a clear line between the two that once you cross, guys either stop agreeing with or have real trouble understanding what's going on.

Feminism as a political force is pretty straightforward: women should have the same rights and responsibilities as men, and have the same treatment.  This is generally called "equality" but it's feminism.  I've yet to meet a guy who wasn't a total d-bag who didn't agree with this.

It's feminism as an intellectual force where things tend to go a little haywire, for guys.  Part of this is that feminism in academia is hardly a settled topic.  There's agreed-upon ground, of course, but then it diverges wildly.  A lot of it, frankly, has little application to men anyway; academic theory exists to be published, not applied.

And, to be honest, there are some incredibly obnoxious and stupid people in the academic world, just as there are obnoxious and stupid people in every walk of life.  This is generally where the "feminazi" stereotype comes from.  But a larger problem is the fact that they don't understand men perfectly, and yet so, so many believe they do, and an added problem is that, especially the undergraduates getting their degrees, some think they speak for all women.  This leads to some...awkward and unpleasant conversations, since it's very hard to explain to somebody that they are not holier than thou in a polite way.

None of this is helped by the fact that feminism is subject to internal politics, just like anything else.  One of the biggest fights brewing right now is whether or not feminism is inherently classist in its construction, for example.

Personally, when it comes to feminism, I tend to agree with the political and simply avoid the academic.  It's not worth it, and, frankly, most of it tends to fall apart outside of rarified air.  I'll just not be a jerk and respect other people, regardless of gender, and I think that should keep me from being a sexist bonerbeast.

Well, to most people.  You can't please everybody.