Feminism: A Man Hating Activity?

Feminism strives for equal rights - so why are all feminists depicted as ‘hating men’?

‘Why would you be a feminist? All feminists hate men’

New Girl / Via giphy.com

In response to this question, I ask how many people do you personally know who identify as a feminist? How many of these individuals actively hate men?

The answer often leads to that one person who rampages tumblr and argues every single Facebook post..

Even though the core concept of feminism is to promote equal rights? Why do some people refuse to be associated with feminism due to the notion of man-hating?

To tackle this question I will begin by answering the age old question ‘Why does the news never show anything positive?’

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You have to consider the news as a profitable business. In order for a business to grow and make money, it must serve its purpose effectively. The news aims to gain a large audience. The larger the audience, the more profit made. So how do you attract and retain an audience? Outright stating something that opposes a mass opinion will provoke a number of responses. Either you will hugely disagree with the opposition and think about an argument to prove your point, or you will begin to agree with the opposition, making you feel uncomfortable due to an inconsistency in your own attitudes. As humans like order and understanding, this inconsistent belief may make us feel uncomfortable provoking us to justify the inconsistent thought in order to reinstate order.

Whether we are processing an argument to prove our own beliefs and thoughts, or whether we are simply trying to justify an inconsistent thought to ourselves, we are still actively thinking about a specific topic engraining this into our long-term memory. Now answer me this, as a business trying to engage the reader, would you state something that people will outright agree with and most likely not remember, or challenge them? Most people will also go on to discuss opposing views with their friends, in order to confirm their own beliefs. With the support of others, we relieve this dissonant feeling and reinstate order and comfort into our lives by feeling ‘normal’. We like to have our ideas questioned! This makes us develop arguments to strengthen our own attitudes and aim to persuade others to agree with us.

Why do you think people enjoy reading the daily mail?!

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For example, as much as Katie Hopkins says some outright disgusting things, she has a huge audience (even if it isn’t for the right reasons..) and we all relate Katie Hopkins to negativity. With this predisposition in mind, some things she writes are actually justified, but people feel less inclined to share this material in case we are judged negatively.

Is this the same case with feminism? I believe so.

We are constantly seeing stories about how ‘feminists’ have used their gender to place themselves above men. Therefore, these women are not feminists then if they do not believe in equal rights. So why do the media insist on giving them this title? Because it sparks a huge reaction.

Therefore, when we see an article about feminism actually doing something good, internally some will agree with it, but the fear of being judged quite often leads to suppressing their support for feminism. This explains why so many people support the ideal of ‘equalism’ but refuse to be called a feminist even though the ideology is identical.

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If we all stop being feminists and become equalists, eventually the media will engrain a predisposition to equalism with negative connotations.

I am a feminist and an equalist and whatever the hell you want to call it. I believe in equal rights for both genders. It is the ideal that is important, not the word.

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