Re: My anecdote
@Bahboh - feminism isn't man-hating. Feminism is about trying to make the world more equal for all. (And for those thinking the usual question, It's called 'feminism' because of where it started, in a world where women were legaly chattels, and is still called that because the world (ie: all of the countries, not just yours or mine), as a whole, still tends to treat women less well than men (and even in the country I live in, women still tend to be paid less well than men for the same jobs, on average,according to overnment figures, whilst we're on the subject of pay).
Boys are behind girls at every stage in education now, where you live? Ok, that's a datum that needs to be worked on, and we - us feminists - are all behind doing something about that, but take a look at history, take a look at large chunks of the world right now and see how many women are being denied an education at all.
Cherry-picking one datum that shows an inequality in how well males and females are doing in favour of women - in the country that you live in - doesn't invalidate feminism, as I am sure you're quite intelligent enough to realise.
And if we're talking about equality, why should it be down to just us women to fix the problem of boys under-achieving? Don't men have a stake in doing that as well, or are you denying all respondibility for the upbringing of young males? Are you being a good role-model for them, demonstrating what the benefits of a good education and socially responsible behaviour are?
I'd also urge those critical of feminism to read up on the subject, find out why it has been such an inspiring idea for so many women. Yep, feminism has had (and still does) its share of extremists and weirdos who don't seem to be in quite the same reality as the rest of us, as does every political movement. And it has its share of the inarticulate who feel frustrated that they can't explain well how they feel about it all and that may resort inadvisedly to just yelling and swearing at those who don;t share their view. But it's just as wrong to tar all feminists with the same brush due to inappropriate or even self-defeating actions of a few as it is to tar the members of any group with the same brush for the aberrant actions of a few.
Thankfully, most men I know are thoughtful types, so no, I am not a man-hater, and nor are the vast majority of feminists, who are, believe it or not, heterosexual. But its irksome that the anti-feminists (of whatever gender) trot out the same old bullshit arguments year on year as if with one simple statement they can render feminism valueless. If you're amongst them, then think on this - if you're so dismissive of something that so many women hold dear, then might you, perhaps, be part of the problem?
Biting the hand that feeds IT
