Written By Karina Guerrero
Contrary to popular trends, I don’t identify as a feminist. Denotatively, feminism means the political, social and economic equality of women to men. However, connotatively, the term is far more aggressive. While often associated with hating men, the term “feminist” has built up a bad reputation. Aside from the implications of the term, I have a few problems with the modern feminist. First, feminism acts detrimentally upon our biological intentions. Second, it creates a prejudice among men and undoes the social etiquette of chivalry. Finally, feminism skews the true meaning of equality.
Before I express my opinions, it’s important to first address the connotation of the word feminism. It’s not uncommon for to people associate feminism with radical displays of bra-burning and men-hating. For this reason, I choose not to identify with a term that has such a negative connotation.
Moving onto my first point: feminism disrupts the traditional family structure in a negative way. Traditionally, men have been deemed the financial supporters or the “bread winners” of a household, while women were accustomed to staying home to nurture and raise children. While this may seem like an outdated lifestyle to some, I believe it was the best design. Women were gifted with the awesome ability to give life and sustain life by God’s great design. However, feminism hurts this natural structure by encouraging females to be overly dominant and take over the position of “breadwinner.” I would like to make it clear that this in no way diminishes a female’s ability to be the main financial supporter. I saw my own mother work a professional job while taking care of my brother and I. I also saw my mom sacrifice her career to care for us full time. If my mother never made that decision, my brother and I would have spent our time in child care with little to no discipline. I believe the lack of a mother’s presence can be detrimental to a child’s growth, which is why I am so grateful I had my mom to care for me. While I absolutely believe that women are capable of providing or supporting financially for their families, I believe women have a greater responsibility to take care of their children.
Second, whether intentional or not, feminism establishes a misogynistic prejudice against men and leads to the decline of chivalry. I’ll be the first one to say that men can be misogynists. Coming from a Mexican background, I have witnessed first hand the effects of machismo culture. But I have some great news: not all men are misogynists! I believe there’s a misunderstanding between men being alpha males and men thinking they are superior to women. Feminism has blurred this line. I’ve had several male peers share with me that they don’t feel comfortable sharing their traditional perspectives in fear of being deemed a “misogynist” by professors and female students. This type of environment that feminism creates is harmful to discussion. The point at which a movement silences another group, it has become too aggressive.
Further on the point of gender, it’s not uncommon to hear girls grumble over the lack of gentlemen they come across. I believe this is strongly correlated to women’s demand to be treated like men. It’s unfortunate how uncommon it is becoming for men to hold doors open for women, or for men to pursue girls in a traditional fashion. Many guys don’t ask girls out on traditional dates. On the contrary, girls now pursue guys without the expectation of men paying for the meal, or opening their doors or walking them to their front door. Maybe these are ideals of a romantic, but that sort of chivalry is ruined when women want to be treated like men.
Finally, feminism skews what it means to be equal. When women demand that they are equal to men, they focus on a female’s ability to do the same thing as a man. Feminists so desperately want to be seen the same as men, and to do so ignores the innate differences between the genders. I read an article about racial colorblindness. It said colorblindness is a racial ideology that aims to end discrimination by treating individuals as equally as possible without regard to their other attributes. This sort of ideology is harmful because it ignores the cultural differences that are so key to one’s identity. Feminism does the same. Without acknowledging the unique qualities between men and women, we lose the the characteristics that are key to their identities. No matter how hard we try, men and women will never be equal in their experiences or the way they view the world.
Grace Gaines