My Sexist Feminism

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I like to consider myself a feminist, and when I look around me, I think that I definitely am a feminist. Compared to my friends, and the society I live in, I am a stellar example of feminism.

I believe that women are equal to men. I believe that a woman should have the same rights as men do, and I believe that women need extra rights to protect them and empower them from the stupidities that a patriarchal history has committed over centuries. I believe that women should have the right to choose when it comes to pregnancy, and I believe that it is ridiculous that a woman in Lebanon cannot give her nationality to her kids. I believe that a man has no right to inflict violence, physical, sexual or intellectual upon anyone, and especially not on women. I believe that women are much more than just sexual beings (well, for me, the sexual beings are men). I believe that our history as humans is shameful in many ways, most notably however, in our treatment of women.

Now the real problem begins when I start to think of myself as progressive for having these thoughts. I get this almost “holier than thou” attitude because I’ve figured out that women are equal, and the entire thing has a kind of patriarchal attitude to it, that I’ve come to realize makes my feminism anything but feminism.

Let me explain myself.

There is nothing more sexist than thinking that women should be given any rights. In fact, to make the distinction between the rights of men and the rights of women is, in itself, sexist. The entire mindset comes from the basis that women are inferior to men. If you’ve got the base wrong, then the rest is bound to suck.

Until we realize that there is nothing progressive about demanding equal rights, we’re not going anywhere. It is the same mindset as the new homosexual. We should not have to demand rights that are there for the taking to begin with. What we should do however is try to make up for the fuck-ups of our forefathers.

So, the approach should not be that I have suddenly realized that women should have the same rights as I do, so I am going to give them to her. That, in itself, empowers the man, as if he had the power to decide who gets what rights. It should be that I am in no position to give her anything. She was born with them, and she should have them just for being alive.

I am however, in a position to counteract the actions that have made it so that women cannot have access to the rights they were born with. In these cases, I call for drastic actions. It is a shame that there are still people anywhere that do not have access to their basic rights, and that should be the mindset of any activist, gay, straight, male, female.

Tags: feminism, sexism, thoughts