I'll forever hear people upset, distraught or incredibly happy about current affairs news and I will almost always remain totally nonchalant about everything. It may just be a quirk of being an incredibly laid-back person. There are only three things I have ever seemed to have a solid opinion on: Herbal Tea, Justin Bieber and Feminism. 2 of those opinions are negative, I'll leave you to guess.
The other day, I came across a page on Twitter - '@NoMorePage3'
My immediate thought was "oh for crying out loud."
Feminism, in the nicest possible way, is bullshit. As is misogyny, it's all utter bullshit.
I am, in every sense, going to try and attempt to talk about this from the most neutral perspective I can (yeah, you've already done a fantastic job there, Josh).
The 'official' definition for Feminism is,
"Feminism is a collection of movements and ideologies aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights for women. This includes seeking to establish equal opportunities for women in education and employment. A feminist advocates or supports the rights and equality of women."
I should clarify at this point, I have absolutely no issue against feminists, misogynists or any of their personal reasons for being such. My issue, however, is how these, coined, 'gender defenders' are portraying and delivering their ideals. If a man were to joke about a woman, let's go with the all time classic - "get back in the kitchen and make me a sandwich" joke that seems to circulate the Internet like a virus; it is immediately construed as a sexist joke and the male behind it is almost immediately a 'sexist pig'. Yes, the joke is most definitely not right and does give a sickening male authority vibe.
And yet, when a woman jokes about, let's say "men always leave the toilet seat up!" it is a perfectly socially acceptable comment to make. I for one am fairly good at keeping my toilet seat down, clean and ready for my co-inhabitants. What does that make me?
The concept of Feminism is innocent, and frankly has been a fantastic movement. However the general social stigma that has come along with it, is disgusting. I, as a man, do not want to be considered an authoritarian male hell-bent on dominating and infantalising women, I want to be equal.
I hope it goes without saying that I am trying not to generalize against all feminists, there are thousands of feminists that represent their beliefs soundly and do not adhere to typical social conventions.
"NoMorePage3" is not one of those.
Sexual marketing has been in place since marketing began, making use of sex appeal has and ALWAYS will be on of the primary selling points in a newspaper, magazine or product... Well, depending on what type of product. I wouldn't expect to see Miley Cyrus' arsecrack stuck to a box of tic-tacs.
If a newspaper is happy to publish boobs, so be it. If a consumer is willing to purchase said newspaper with boobs, so be it. If the boob-wielder (I really laughed at that) is happy to have her boobs printed, then so be it. The Sun is renowned for it's page 3. Simply, if you don't agree with it, don't buy it or read it?
The same goes for Male publications of the same sort; I can't even count the amount of times i've seen Channing Tatum's oiled up nipples stuck to a magazine, or David Beckham's tight boxers hugging his penis plastered onto an advertisement. It sells, so they continue to do it.
Hypocrisy is society's greatest downfall. If both genders are to respected EQUALLY then it is not a question of who is a feminist or who is a misogynist, it is simply a matter of respecting each other as human beings, not as a woman or a man.
Yes, society may have some catching up to with women's rights, but it is vital that these movements do not get carried away with themselves. Al Qaeda are one of the world's biggest testaments to what happens when a pure and righteous belief turns sour and begins to become warped.
... Wow, I just compared Feminism to Al Qaeda.
It is high-time that people across the world begin to realise that petty squabbling about age-old jokes is an extremely primitive way of behaving as human beings. It is no longer a matter of treating a woman as woman, nor a man, a man. It is about treating everyone as a human being, no matter what religious orientation, gender, ethnicity they may be."Treat as you like to be treated", as they say.
If history has taught us anything, it's that dwelling on the past is not the way to progress.
Think new.
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