The Problem with Internet Feminism
Feminism is the subscription to the belief that the sexes should be equal. Obviously, everybody who isn’t a complete tosser is therefore a feminist, whether they label themselves as one or not. They can bitch about the girlie nature of the name ‘feminism’ all they want, and profess to be egalitarians but they’re feminists and that’s the end of it.
Now obviously there is a spectrum when it comes to any kind of belief, and the people who refuse to use the word ‘feminism’ despite definitely adhering to a feminist rhetoric are at the lower end of the spectrum. Then, a little further down the line you come across people like me. People who actually read feminist literature and articles and the like about ‘women’s issues’ such as FGM, the burqa debate, and sex workers’ rights etc. People who blog and get into debates about feminism but who don’t allow it to take over their lives in a feminazi kinda way. Which brings me to the other end of the spectrum. The Internet Feminists.
Perhaps you haven’t come across them. Or perhaps you have, but masqueraded under a different title, that could include, but is not limited to RadFems, Tumblr Feminists, Feminazis and Intersectional Feminists.
Yeah. Intersectional. I went there.
The idea of intersectional feminism is great. Taking race, class, sexuality etc. etc. into account when entering into a feminist discussion is definitely something that you should do. Being racist or homophobic is obviously a bad thing. Thus, the principle of intersectional feminism is wonderful. (I’m not going to elaborate on this any further here. You have Google. Utilise it.)
However, intersectional feminism in theory is a lot different to intersectional feminism in practise.
Take trigger warnings, something that have been taken on by intersectional feminists even more than a lamp post pissed on by the baddest dog in town. Now, providing a trigger warning at the beginning of a video or article that may contain extremely graphic violence/sexual violence is one thing. Providing trigger warnings relating to every little thing that might possibly make somebody think of something unpleasant is, at best, unnecessary and at worst, downright offensive. Real life doesn’t come with trigger warnings. I don’t need to be mollycoddled. Sure, if you’re about to show me a decapitation video or discuss how somebody committed suicide in an overly detailed manner, then give me some warning. If, however, you’re going to tell me that one girl pulled another girl’s hair, I don’t need to be warned of the imminent discussion of violence. I’ll be able to cope. Honest.
Treating adult women like babies is not the way to advance feminism. You cannot possibly conceive of every single thing that may trigger a bad memory for somebody, and protect them from it. Hell, some people have crippling phobias of bald heads, or buttons, or chins. Do we need to put a trigger warning for buttons and baldness in our posts just in case one of these people stumbles across our article and needs to be protected?!
Exactly the same thing has happened with cultural appropriation. I get that blackface is offensive. I feel as irritated as the next person when I see a white person with dreadlocks surrounded by Buddha ornaments and thinking that they are so fucking cultured because they went to Thailand for a couple of weeks on their gap yar. I also find it really bloody offensive when deadbeat chavs add a string of plastic rosary beads to their tracksuits to look cool. You’re not a Catholic. Stop it.
However, blatantly ripping off somebody’s religion or cultural heritage for your own amusement is not the same as a white woman wearing hoop earrings (because omfg only black women are allowed to wear hoop earrings, obviously) or the same white girl eating sushi with chopsticks. No, she’s not culturally appropriating black or Japanese culture. She’s just enjoying her food and wearing a cool pair of earrings.
Privilege is another one. Yes, I get that as a slim, able-bodied, cisgender, white western woman, I am more privileged than the vast majority of people on this planet. Yes, I get that my male counterpart is even more privileged than I am. However, do I constantly tell him that he needs to ‘check his privilege’ (read: ‘shut the fuck up’) every time he ventures an opinion to me? No. Do I deny white men, and straight men, and middle class men opinions just because they are more privileged than their transgender black counterparts? No. Because that’s sexist.
Yeah, sorry, sexism towards men exists. (Not going to say ‘reverse sexism’ because it isn’t reverse anything. It is sexism. End of story.)
If I’m being totally honest, I hold the vast majority of these ‘feminists’ in contempt. I’d much rather educate myself about the actual suffering of actual people in Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Niger, Somalia ETC ETC ETC than throw a fucking hissy fit over some white girl getting cornrows on holiday.
I’d rather be glad that Emma Watson has made millions of people think about gender equality than bitch about her for being white.
Priorities, people.
Funny you mention this, because this morning I am writing an open blog post to MRAs and Internet Feminists. Please do come and take a look when it is up :) I would very much value your input as someone who clearly wants to see all sides of the gender politics debate.
That’s a fantastic step and I say that as a man who has been in many arguments with internet feminists who
a) Say that there is no sexism against men and
b) There is no such thing as female gender privilege
I’ve had RadFems and Internet feminists on my blog, far more prevalent now I am talking a lot more about male mental health. Some of their words, though well-meaning, are very unhelpful. “If only men were more like women!” they’d say “here, read this article in Cosmo by a woman that tells men how they should be”. It’s not the place of any woman to decide how men should be.
Other comments are downright disgusting, but I never clear them.
Forgot to address this. No, I wouldn’t call myself a feminist because I think at its core, feminism is about women’s rights, not equality. If it was about equality, it would also be interested in removing female gender privilege and raising awareness of areas where men are disadvantaged (that society values us for our utility and as “success objects”), and for someone who does recognise those things are a problem that need tackling, the word “feminism” becomes superfluous.
You might personally think that is splitting hairs, but I have yet to see anyone give a sold argument for why anyone who truly believes in equality should use “feminist” rather than “egalitarian”.
My post is up now by the way :)
Thanks for reading and commenting :) Hm, I guess we willl have to disagree on that one because I DO believe that a lot of feminist work IS about benefitting men e.g when it comes to them having equal parenting rights etc. I’ll check your post out now :)