Clearing the waters

After having the wtf_sexism community spot-lighted on the front page every time I log in, I think I ought to write something about feminism.

As far as I'm concerned, feminism is not about squashing men like bugs (as if it'd be that easy, anyway) and giving women supreme power. That'd just be misogyny turned on its head, and we'd have another major problem on our hands. Blah. In my opinion, feminism is giving both genders equal opportunities.

That means, if you mess up, then it's your fault you didn't land the job. It means that the reason you are denied a service is because of your own actions, not something you have no control over. If there are safety standards that need to be met, both men and women can 'try out', so to speak, and be judged capable or not based on their actions, not gender.

What makes me angry is the perception that feminism is "women versus men", or "a [organization, group, class, specialty] must be split precisely down the middle in terms of gender, where there have to be a certain number of women", or "females should have a lower standard in order to enter". That's not feminism, in my opinion. Feminism is equal opportunities (and opportunities are always chancy) for men and women. Moreover, things like: "Hillary Clinton should have won the election so that America could have a female president" is not feminism. Why? Why would you elect someone based solely on an unchangeable, fixed-at-birth characteristic? It would be far more intelligent to vote for someone who knows what they're doing, is smart and courageous enough to do it, and understands what America needs. If Hillary Clinton fulfilled those requirements (and I didn't follow American politics very closely), by all means vote for her. But vote for her because of what her actions say, not what body parts she has.

I don't want exceptions made for me because I'm female, or I'm male, because my gender is irreversible and I did nothing to "be" one gender or another. I want to be recognized for what I earned. Not for an arbitrary fact decided long ago.

I have a dream, said one visionary man forty years ago, and it seems like that dream is slowly being fulfilled. I hope feminism will achieve the same, but first, we must clear the waters. Feminism is not women against men.