Feminism in the United States is quickly gaining support from young women who feel they’re being oppressed, while searching for a cause to help define their character. Feminism is a legitimate movement that has not yet reached its full potential; due to lack of acknowledgement of certain “sexist” educational techniques, as well as feminists themselves forcing the issue underneath a bad spotlight. Feminism itself is a movement for equal opportunities as men, and an eradication of the teaching of passive nature in young girls. The issue gets a bad rep from women who are angry at men for one reason or another and believe it to be the solution. The squeaky wheel gets the grease; meaning, in this case, that the outspoken and radically upset activists will be presented to the public more than the average supporter. The anger that fuels these activists turn feminism into a man-hunt convention. It generalizes men as a whole in a bad light, which is extremely hypocritical of feminists since that is exactly what they’re fighting against, only the opposite gender. While this is the main problem, I believe, there are still problems with the argument as a whole. The statistic that women make 78 cents for every dollar a man makes is several decades old, and generally just false. Studies show that when factoring in maternity leave, women are actually the higher payed gender overall.
In the link below is a commercial that uses strong pathos and visual representation that argues a feminist case without offense, very effectively.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjJQBjWYDTs
http://humanevents.com/2014/09/24/heforshe-and-the-problem-with-modern-feminism/
I thought this was such an eye-opening video. It’s amazing to see how drastically the perception of a girl’s abilities changes from childhood to adulthood. You’re absolutely right about feminism as well. Today, feminists are seen as man-hating, hypocritical extremists due to a few outspoken and upset women and that really sucks because that’s not how it is at all.
I liked the video and agree with the your idea on the squeaky wheel gets the grease. While that may be true I am strong proponent for the equal opportunity in the sense that: it should not matter what race creed or sex you are if you are qualified for the job and the best candidate then you should receive the job. While there seems to be a renewed push in the feminist movement in America I found an article that is about an Anti-Feminist movement abroad. http://www.thefword.org.uk/features/2014/08/i_am_a_victim_o
I’m like that the commercial go the point across without actually blaming anyone. I feel like if more feminist campaigns had this type of style, then the whole movement would gain more traction and feminist as a whole wouldn’t be characterized as radicals.
I agree that the radical feminists seem to be the ones getting all the press. It is unfortunate, but the more outlandish the action the more attention the media gives. For this reason, true feminism, true equality is stifled. I see the rhetorical use of the commercial as very emotionally powerful, however the credibility is just a brand name. As a person on the outside of the debate I have no understanding of the source or their trustworthiness. I do however find that their claims are valid to a point. Sometimes men and women make jokes to the other and I feel that those jokes could be rhetorically misinterpreted. I believe that equality comes from disregarding sexism and looking at the benefits to both parties in equality.
The video had a very strong presence and made a great point. I know its common for men to use the “like a girl” line and assume females cant hang with us because its been here for years and we feel we are more superior than women. I believe women now in our generation have developed more confidence, knowledge and have established themselves as superior.
I agree that feminists aren’t really focusing on the universal audience. I feel that if they want to get their message of equality to a broader population, they need to find a better way to deliver that message. I’m a fan of visual rhetoric and I also like how that commercial doesn’t use any offensive notions to get their message across.
I think that as a society we need to start using descriptions rather than just words. Calling someone a “feminist,” “liberal,” “conservative” doesn’t really get anywhere and brings a lot of personal connotations, whereas if we describe the characteristics of that person it will make it more beneficial. I also think everybody has feminist thoughts to some degree because everybody thinks they should have the right to vote, free speech, etc.
I feel like social issues such as this are made even worse when more attention is brought to them. Whether it be race, sex, or ethnicity, the more people talk about possible problems or discrimination, I think they make the problem worse. Similar to how COL McDonald said a recession becomes a recession when you call it one, I think the same applies here. Although I don’t disagree that there are still some evil people who believe one sex or race is superior to another, I believe this is the 21st century, not the 1950s, and society has a pretty good grip on right and wrong.
I feel like the move towards total equality between both male and female is always going to be a long drawn out battle. I believe that there have been significant strides over the past 50 + years. I agree that to get true equality feminists can not go on these “manhunts” by doing that the movement may take a step back.