I am a gay man and a strong supporter of a womanâs right to choose (I actually volunteer for Planned Parenthood, and give money to campaigns that promote womenâs rights to their own bodies), womenâs access to contraceptives, equal pay for women, and more women in the workforce, but I am not a feminist, and I will outline as clearly as I can why people hate on feminism.
Feminists donât actually promote gender equality, because they deny inequalities exist that disadvantage men, like how custody courts demonstrably discriminate against men, how men serve more time in prison than women for the same crime, and how men are required to pay more in child support and alimony than their female counterparts of an equal financial situation. Iâve yet to see a single feminist complain about the fact that men are required by law to sign up for the draft, to go off and die in a war that they may not support, but women donât have to. This is unreasonable, and I canât support it.
Feminists act as if they have these unfair social pressures on them that men donât experience, completely forgetting the fact that the suicide rate for men is 4 times higher than for women, and that men are 8 times more likely to be depressed, because of the social pressures on them to be financially successful and to provide for their families. When it comes to social stigma, men get the short end of the stick here. This is unreasonable, and I canât support it.
Feminists assert that all alleged female victims of sexual assault arenât actually allegedvictims, theyâre just victims, and if we challenge oneâs victimhood, weâre victim-blaming, chauvinistic bigots (I mean, heaven forbid an accuser actually have to PROVE he or she was harmed by the accused). Nowadays, if a woman accuses a man of sexually assaulting her, feminists immediately insist heâs guilty, and if the court concludes thereâs no evidence to support the accusations, itâs because of âpatriarchy.â This is unreasonable, and I canât support it.
Feminists insist that all behavior differences between genders are purely social, contrary to what decades of peer-reviewed research in evolutionary biology, phylogenetics, anthropology, neurobiology, and endocrinology have demonstrated. Science has shown that gender roles and behavior differences between men and women are more biological than social, yet feminists wonât have any of it. If youâre a woman and you donât feel ânurturing,â thatâs great for you! But this isnât because youâre some beacon of social justice, standing against the strong current of expectation; itâs because youâre an anomaly. Women are more nurturing because of oxytocin, estrogen, and progesterone, and men are more aggressive because of the conversion of testosterone to estradiol in the brain (it isnât some grand coincidence that neutering your dog makes him more docile). As a suma cum laude double major in Neuroscience and Biochemistry, this is unreasonable and I canât support it.
Feminists whine that men looking at their boobs and other expressions of sexual attraction are piggish, and the result of menâs âentitlement to womenâs vaginae.â If you observe the behavior of any high-functioning primate, youâll see the same interactions. Catcalls are not necessarily disrespectful, and itâs not sexist for a man to be upset that you wonât have sex with him. Men are biologically wired to chase after mates and spread their seed. Contrary to what youâve read in your textbooks of post-modernistic nonsense, a manâs libido is much stronger than a womanâs, and just because a man expresses sexual interest in you doesnât mean heâs a misogynistic pig, it means heâs a biological male. (Itâs worth noting that the same communication is present among gay men. Women donât play a part in this, so itâs safe to conclude that catcalls and the pursuit of sex has nothing to do with patriarchy.)
The original ideas for feminism are great, but feminists have taken them to an extreme. You arenât the victims you paint yourselves to be, and thatâs what people get upset about. Last halloween, a girl in one of my classes was dressed like Amelia Earhart. Trying to be friendly, I say, âAre you Amelia Earhart? I love her!â She responds with, âJust because Iâm a woman with vintage pilot goggles on doesnât mean Iâm Amelia Earhart! Iâm whoever I want to be!â Feminists seem to not realize that behaving like a royal bitch doesnât make you an âempowered woman,â it makes you a royal bitch. Feminists also need to understand that dissent does not equal misogyny. I donât disagree with you because Iâm a misogynistâIâm the furthest thing from a misogynistâI disagree with you because youâre wrong. Stop mistaking being contradicted with being persecuted; itâs incredibly annoying, and an insanely unattractive attitude.
I will continue to vote for politicians who understand that women should be in control of their reproductive systems, and that women should have the same opportunities for promotions and raises as men. But I will never support the irrational nonsense that the feminist movement has become.
Womenâs suffrage began over a hundred years ago, and women make up more than half of the population. The gay rights movement began only a couple of decades ago, and gay people only make up about 7% of the population. Perhaps feminists should ask themselves why they fail to garner anywhere NEAR the level of support as the gay rights movement. Hint: it ainât âpatriarchy.â