This is something a little bit different and a little bit closer to home.
This is not a book review, but something I feel passionately about and am interested to hear what others think.
I have been exposed to various Ted Talks, YouTube videos and verbal discussions about sexism, equal rights and feminism and I wanted to hear what others had to say. It has really struck me quite deeply the things I have seen/heard. I consider myself a feminist in every way, I want equal rights for both men and women. While I appreciate the differences such as physically men are usually taller, stronger and faster, I also believe that women should be allowed to take on 'male' roles such as firefighter, policemen, plumber etc along with office roles and the like. There is still a glass ceiling and I wish to see it eradicated. I will post the YouTube links below for you to watch if you wanted to see in more detail but these are the overviews of what I saw:
So this all started earlier in the week with a YouTube video I was told to watch. This particular video was something a literary professor had put together. He was recently fired from his position for keeping said video online and has since received a wide range of varying responses to all of this. The video itself was showing the differences between men and women. This covered topics such as the choices women make for convenience (around social patriarchy), how women cower from male type roles such as armed forces and are inferior in those roles, how if there were no men there would be no one to work the agricultural, long distance travel, oil and deep sea fishing jobs (among others) and therefore the population would decrease by 90% due to starvation. And also how the protector role in society requires courage. Across the board men are prone to less fear than women when facing crime, public speaking, darkness, cancer and heights. Women startle more violently, hearts race faster and they sweat more, therefore making the man more courageous a gender and in turn more of a protector. Please do see the video using the link below as I feel I could not convey the message as clear as the video itself.
Link: The Patriarchy Paradox
Another video I saw was by a woman 'facing her enemy'. A successful documentary filmmaker, she has long called herself a proud feminist. Therefore when the situation arose to interview members and heads of the the Men's Rights Movement she thought it was a great way to continue to stand up for what she believes in, by pinning down the root of sexism. However along her journey she realised that instead of listening to these men she was waiting for her time to strike, to find the blame in them. Instead of listening to their pains she found herself fighting to compete with who has it worst. She has heard through her own diary entries throughout how her views have changed dramatically and she now realises where her prejudices were. She has since removed herself from the feminist title believing that she now stands for both men and women equally.
Link: Facing the Enemy
Both videos I have explained above are brief descriptions. They do not cover everything that is said so I do urge you to watch these if you are keen to interact.
For different reasons I have a problem with both videos. With the first video, this educated man teaching our children has shared a video on his YouTube (that his students use for help with essays and exams) that states women are more scared of the dark, heights, and cancer(!) among others than men... That women choose not to be in the armed forces and run away from these roles therefore leaving them for the men to do. He also touches upon how a family unit is a man and a women, additionally with children. The men and women procreate together therefore that is the only correct family unit. Throughout the video not once does he say these are his own views, it is merely a view to be debated, however I notice he does not have another video counteracting or debating what this video says. I was horrified and shocked at this video and had to pause several times to calm myself. I was angry that these same views were being celebrated in the comments and how parents and previous students are outraged that he was removed from his teaching position for this. I agree with freedom of speech but in a position of power and influence over young minds surely removing him from his role was the exact thing to do? What are your thoughts?
And now with the second video. I like her and I appreciate everything she was saying. Sometimes it doesn't matter what gender you are or what position you are in you will always try to compete or are simply waiting for someone to hang themselves with their own words. I agree that men's rights are equally important. I feel for men who are wrongly accused of rape, the men in abusive relationships and those who lose their children in divorce. But I disagree that she no longer calls herself a feminist for this reason. When did the word get abused so much? Her removing this word from her association I feel is a bad move. Women for years have been insulted for being a feminist, they are labelled men haters and told to go burn their bras. But I see feminism as equal. I appreciate men have their strengths and so do women, but together we should not be dictated in our roles in society or our roles in the workplace purely on our gender.
These videos and conversations this week have really shook me. I would be very interested to hear what other people thought of these videos and about my responses. Please do feel free to open up a conversation round this. This is a safe space and bullying/rudeness will not be tolerated.
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