Western Feminism is Obsolete

[Ibn.AL.Muqafaa]

In the 1960s 2nd wave feminism helped women have their right to vote, equal job opportunities, equal pay etc. Still as a Middle Eastern, women in the Arab world are still treated as 2nd class citizens. I am a social democrat who believes in, human rights, gender equality, support the LGBTQA community, individuality. I am an activist in the Lebanese Campaign “You Stink” with moderate leftist, environmentalist, progressive social democratic views. Today feminism in the west has become obsolete, it is now about female supremacy, and other ridiculous things like scantily clad women in video games, language policing, fat acceptance.
I label myself as an egalitarian, because women in Lebanon cannot enjoy their basic rights like:
• There is no law protecting women, from marital rape.
• Child marriage still exists, a woman by the name of Huda had to get married at the age of 12, her husband forced her to have sex with him since her wedding night. He used to beat her, verbally abuse her, she used to think that this was a normal relationship between a man and a woman. She divorced him, but she still lives in fear, from her ex, as well as from society not accepting her issues, for the sake of her kids.
• A woman cannot travel abroad, without the approval of her male guardian.
• Honor killings still exist.
• Domestic violence was criminalized in 2014, but due to government corruption and wasta, police cannot punish the perpetrator.
• Marital law is governed by the religious courts, hence no secular civil marriage exists in Lebanon so:
1. A woman cannot file for divorce.
2. Christian couples cannot divorce.
3. Child custody according to the Shia court, is given to the father when the child is 3 years old.
• There is not enough political representation of women in the parliament and mayoral councils which is roughly 3%.
• A mother is unable to grant her citizenship to her children and husband. My cousins struggled to find a job because they are Palestinian.
• Sunni women, only receive half the inheritance of their brother.
• Just recently the article 522 which states that the rapist can get away from prison if he marries his victim, will soon be abolished.
However, in the western world, feminism has outlived its usefulness, and men are now suffering and face issues like:
· Female genitalia mutilation is considered an abomination, while male mutilation is a normal procedure most young boys undergo. And don’t tell me that “It is just a piece of skin” so is your eyelid, it evolved there for a purpose. It would be fine if it was done to a consenting adult or a medical emergency.
· Men can be sexually objectified, have u seen in magazines, and porn how men are ripped, as a teen I have suffered from bigorexia, and poor body image thinking that I am too skinny.
· Men & boys cannot express their emotions, when I am in despair I cry when I am alone.
· Women receive 40% less prison time than men, for the exact same crime.
· A woman is capable of raping a man, in the western world many grown women have sexually assaulted young men and boys, but the authorities and society don’t take them seriously. Molly Shattuck 47 sexually assaulted a 15-year-old boy, she gave alcohol, the boy felt violated when he saw her giving him a blow job, she was reported to the police, the Judge sentenced her to probation and to 48 weekends of prison. Nevertheless, Jarred Fogle, who was guilty of possessing child pornography, and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. It is okay if the 15-year-old was sober and gave the woman his permission to receive oral sex. Science has proved that a rape victim can be sexually aroused, but this is only a biological response and does not mean that the victim is enjoying it, female rape victims experience orgasm as well. And it is different if a man is raped by his partner as a foreplay. As well as some women like to be dominated or dominant in bed room. Male vs Female Perpetuation of sexual harassment (social experiment): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRyruagRub0
PS: Some of you reading this argument should stop thinking with their penises.
· Male victims of domestic violence are not taken seriously.
· A woman can brutally attack a man, but if a man slaps a woman he is arrested.
· Male sexuality is now demonized by feminists, according to them if a man looks at a woman or asking her out then he is automatically raping her. And if a man is sexually attracted to a woman, he still understands the concept of consent, and recognizes her as a human being.
· Men now have it a lot harder in terms of dating.
· Fathers still have to pay child support even if the mother has a decent job.
· Male virginity is shamed, boys who have reached a certain age and have never kissed a girl are teased and ridiculed by society, and with respect to dating his status is measured by how many partners has he had.
Some feminists believe that the issues presented above are the product of the patriarchy.
The patriarchy is a social system were men have the power and fathers have full authority over women and children. But if the Western world is still a patriarchy why would it disadvantage western men.
The issues that I have mentioned about males come from the patriarchy, society still perceives men as:
· Horny creeps who always want sex.
· More violent.
· They are the stronger gender, and can defend themselves from rape and violence.
· As the authority figures.
· Because they are not female, the will never understand what it feels like to be a woman so they can only be feminist allies.
· They make the money, so they are expected to pay for everything.



References:
Morber, J. (2013, May 30). WHAT SCIENCE SAYS ABOUT AROUSAL DURING RAPE. Retrieved from http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-05/science-arousal-during-rape (http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.popsci.com%2Fscience%2 Farticle%2F2013-05%2Fscience-arousal-during-rape&t=MzI3Nzk4NDI4Y2IzNDI5ODljY2NiZjdjNzJjMjRjMDZhNDRk ZjA3MSxqbGtWTDBZcA%3D%3D&b=t%3AaR2NgstqJz6roit29761kw&m=1)
Miller, J. (2015, September 4). Molly Shattuck sentenced in child sex abuse case. Retrieved from http://www.wbaltv.com/article/molly-shattuck-sentenced-in-child-sex-abuse-case/7095791 (http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wbaltv.com%2Farticle%2 Fmolly-shattuck-sentenced-in-child-sex-abuse-case%2F7095791&t=NTgxMmEwMGQ4MjEwNTRjOGMyMWYxOTJiZjY5NmY3ZTgwZWVk MTRhNCxqbGtWTDBZcA%3D%3D&b=t%3AaR2NgstqJz6roit29761kw&m=1)

[The Garbage Disposal Unit]

So, the thing is, the issues you describe reflect precisely the necessity of feminism. The socialization of and violence against men, where it exists in gendered forms, is very much part of a patriarchal social order - you say so yourself.
That said, some of the issues you describe are not primarily "gender" issues. In talking about prison, for example, we need to seriously grapple with the fact that the prison industrial complex is an institution premised very essentially on white supremacy. We can't homogenize the issue and say simply "men", but, in the American context, need to emphasize racialized (disproportionately Black) men. So prison sentences always concern the specific ways capital treats particular racialized bodies (eg Black women are delegated a different role within US capitalism than Black men).
This points, again to the necessity of feminism - but broadens the scope - what's necessary is a feminism that grapples with the myriad ways in which patriarchal society uses gender as an organizing principle, intertwining with race and class. Certainly, liberal "I'm with her!" feminism fails miserably in this task. But this is no more a refutation of feminism-writ-large than the politics of, say, the CPUSA is proof of Marx's irrelevance.

[Sinister Cultural Marxist]

Today feminism in the west has become obsolete, it is now about female supremacy, and other ridiculous things like scantily clad women in video games, language policing, fat acceptance.


The notion that contemporary feminism is misandrist is not only a sweeping generalization, it is largely inaccurate. Of course, it is possible to find feminist provocateurs who might say things along these lines, but they do not characterize "feminists" as such (and they are often just trolling)

Things like the "male gaze" and the use of scantily clad women to market everything from games to cheeseburgers is a legitimate issue, even if it seems frivolous next to other issues. It contributes to the social valorization of women who appear physically attractive to men over women over those who appear less attractive.

A lot of the things you list are unfortunate aspects of being a man, like crying being shameful for men. However, feminists often make issue with these social standards, and are certainly not the ones who imposed them. In fact, it is often patriarchal men imposing those norms (men who sleep with lots of women might hold that as a mark of pride and a sign of their dominance over other men in their social group, for instance. It is not feminists who imposed that standard). Haven't you noticed that many of the things you list as being "bad" about being a man relate to the excessive femininity of a man? They are too virginal and inexperienced - they cry and are emotional - men who are too skinny are weak and puny - are all things which are valued in women? And that women who are not virginal, or are cold and unemotional, or are physically strong or chunky - are seen as gross, too masculine, slutty, etc? Many contemporary feminists in the West are actually raising the double standards and metaphysical assumptions in this duality, to a much greater degree than either previous generations of feminists or those concerned with "men's rights". It is also this dichotomy on which women are given lesser sentences for certain crimes or why they are forgiven for physical violence more quickly (they are seen as less rational and more emotional, physically impotent and intrinsically more harmless).

[The Garbage Disposal Unit]

"The first act of violence that patriarchy demands of males is not violence toward women. Instead patriarchy demands of all males that they engage in acts of psychic self-mutilation, that they kill off the emotional parts of themselves. If an individual is not successful in emotionally crippling himself, he can count on patriarchal men to enact rituals of power that will assault his self-esteem." -bell hooks

[criticalrealist]

Haunani-Kay Trask said that she abandoned Western feminism in favor of anti-imperialist, radical Hawaiʿian nationalism. As a result, she made it to the list of the 100 most dangerous Professors in the U.S. As I tell my students, I envy her. Maybe someone will add me to the list, too. :grin: