Why the Feminist Movement Needs Strong and Independent Men Now, More than it Never Did Before

I start off today's entry with various questions revolving around the feminist movement and how it compares today from when it first took off.

Can we as a society truly say that women are better off than they were before? Well, I should rephrase that question and ask more directly...has the feminist movement initiated it's own destruction over the past few decades and if so, is it truly weakening or just transitioning into something else?

*Disclaimer* I ask these questions not to incite any kind of bias or prejudice against women, but to rather open up a discussion on the current state of both men and women and their involvement in today's workforce, home and government. If you believe what I am saying is rude or just wrong, you are entitled to your opinion, but I ask that you read the following post with an open and free mind. 

I have recently witnessed various examples throughout my own journey's that show the repercussions of a society focusing to much on being politically correct. The most common example I can list is the affect on men that this correctness has. It seems today that being a stereotypical man or exhibiting characteristics found in this stereotype is something rather illegal or a social faux pas. No where is this more true than in the workplace. Have you ever felt that having a crush on a fellow female co-worker is something impossible due to stricter rules governing harassment? Do not get me wrong, it is important to have rules and laws that protect women from unwanted relationships and more importantly violence, but it seems that many of these rules have been distorted greatly over the past few decades. Lets look at an example governing the work place and a relationship. Being a man has become quite a tricky thing now a days. If you are not accepted by a female your interested in due to whatever reason, you run the risk of being reported and potentially losing your job or being disciplined. Yes, there are situations where the man may have taken things to far, but I can also guarantee that there are many more situations where a man has been targeted because the girl did not feel he was attractive enough or her type and reacted by being skiddish and thinking the worse of a situation that probably was harmless.

Personally, I feel as if it has become a crime to even tell someone from the opposite sex that they are beautiful or to ask them to go out with me. I know this may sound silly, but I often wonder if my invitation will lead me to a situation involving my discipline and or a record for supposedly sexually harassing someone due to a coffee invitation. This not only makes it more difficult for men to socially interact with the opposite sex in my opinion, but also greatly increases an individuals personal frustation and anxiety. Why is this important to mention and how is it harmful to women? Look around our society, we move at the speed of light in order to attain success within our own lives, when at the very same moment we lack the capacity to actually enjoy the very lives we work hard to create. We as a people have become so isolated, so individual, that we barely make contact with other human beings anymore unless it has been scheduled in advance and is sterile. So bad has this become, that in extreme cases, we arm ourselves with weapons and take out innocent lives in order to compensate for a sterile social life that drove us to madness. I am actually not surprised that more people do not take out their social frustration via violence against women or the general public and to be honest, we are very lucky that this does not happen on a larger scale.

To quote Karl Marx: "The seeds of destruction for a system, often lie within that same system."

Can the feminist movement honestly validate that today's common woman is liberated from the oppression they once lived under? Is the quality of life for a woman and more importantly her liberty any greater today than ever before? As much as I want to say that these questions are pretty self evident, I feel as if lately women are not only more strained and oppressed, but also that men have equally become more obedient and pacified, which has resulted in drastic changes not only within our society at whole, but more importantly within our political leadership. All of this trickles down and inevitably can be used to explain why today we as a country seem to lack the political representation that once enabled us to form together as one and do the impossible. Instead, we are left with a society, where a woman must still strain herself in order to try and have a successful work life and a family and where a man has been told that his natural instincts are wrong and that he is a beast if he attempts to take charge. Combined, this has not only further oppressed a woman, but also made her life more difficult in the sense that she must now be the bridge that keeps the family unit in one piece, while also be the bread-winner. 

This would also explain, why we now have a generation of men whom feel more free and alive while playing war games on X-Box Live than taking charge and going into their community and actually doing something to cause change. Mind you, there are still people who do take charge and both men and women today contribute greatly to the betterment of our society, however it seems like today we see less and less of this as men seem to have become impartial and obedient, while women seem so over worked and stressed that they no longer know what they want. 

Do you believe that some elements of the nuclear family were totally wrong? Can a woman not govern the household and raise a child with the help of a man to provide her with the basic needs she requires? Is it chauvinistic for a man to want to be the bread-winner of a family and provide a good life for his mate? Can men still live a stereotypical life, while still allowing women their own personal freedom? 

I believe that women would live a lot better if we still had a social push that told men to be strong and push forward. Yes, it is ok for men to cry and even more so it is ok for a man to show emotion, especially around his significant other, but I do not believe it is right for a movement that has gained so much authority within our society to tell the opposite sex that they cannot want to achieve or be confident, because it puts women down. One might even argue that today's divorce rates could be a significant by-product of the success the feminist movement has had within society. Women do not need a man to live their life, but what many people do not understand is that children need parents in order to continue their lives and grow up to be strong minded and successful adults. How can we develop the future today, when our family unit consists of parents whom either divorce because they cannot find common ground or whom instill within their children that they must limit themselves in order to not offend someone else. Can we not all work hard and be confident in ourselves and as a people grow together regardless of our sexual orientation, sex or race?   

 While many may argue the opposite, I believe this issue is extremely relevant to the political atmosphere we currently live in. As a society, we need people to be active and inquire about their leadership and the direction of their community. We need to ask questions and challenge authority when required, but cannot succeed in doing this, when we are taught to be submissive in order to achieve political correctness. 

The feminist movement has made great strides in representing the rights of women and their overall status as equals within society, but what it has achieved on paper, it has failed in implementation. I believe today's feminist movement is not only non-existent, but of what remains of it, has failed in not only enlightening society to the importance of equality, but also in transcending the "Battle of the Sexes."

The Affect of Feminism:

On Women:

As women now progress through their young lives, they face ever growing pressure from both their peers and society to conform to certain stereotypes and images. What does this mean? Although women have been encouraged to become more independent and liberated from a dependence on a man, they continue to be shaped by an image that is strongly purported by the mass media. In the 1950's a woman was expected to be schooled in the way of the home and directly focus on how to serve her significant other...99% of the time being a male in those times. 

In modern times however, young girls are statistically more likely to be obedient within the schooling system and thus excel in their studies, which might explain why more women go to university than men. This is the exact point where feminism is failing women, because as a thought paradigm it cannot keep up with Capitalism. On paper, women have gained "equality" within society, but in reality this is not realistic. Women have become more educated, however this does not compute into more success within the workforce, when men are still paid higher wages for the same work. Not to mention, a family now becomes almost like a burden, when economic times are rough and women are forced to take up the slack within the home and the workforce. Have you ever noticed that many different institutions hire women in droves to handle their affairs? I do not want to seem sexist, but I do not believe this is done in an attempt to reflect the education these women have worked hard to achieve, but mainly to exploit them due to the fact above regarding pay. Does it not seem more feasible to hire a workforce of women, when statistically they are more likely be obedient and work for less pay than their male counterparts? Liberated maybe, but not free is the only phrase that properly explains the woman of 2012 and without further discussion, this isn't going to change for the better. 

On Men:

 In the eyes of society and legally, men and women are equals and rightly so. Women should be allowed to walk down the street without fear of assault from a male predator and men should be able to find a woman who does not rely on him for everything in life. However, this equality becomes disastrous when we look at men and women through the eyes of biology. As many different systems within society have been lobbied by the feminist movement, changes have been implemented to make everything more balanced in order to reflect the equality shared between men and women. By doing this however, we have subjugated men and set them up for failure. Before I mentioned how statistically young girls are able to focus more in class and remain still/obedient for their teacher. Well, statistically young boys are the complete opposite. They learn with their hands and love to move around, however now they are being told they are wrong and forced into submission in order to conform to the standards of the class that naturally favor young girls in an attempt to create a balanced and equal environment. 

This is not only detrimental to the cause of feminism, but also to society as a whole. We have generations of men, who have been educated in a paradigm that focuses on making them submissive, not active in their learning and development. This greatly explains why we not have grown men who choose to play 12 hours a day in a fantasy online game as opposed to helping to raise their family or looking for a likely mate if they are not already taken. We have men who have been told their entire lives that they are bad or lack obedience and then we are surprised when they grow up submissive and lacking any true confidence in order to aid them in their adult life. Couple in the fact that many young boys are being raised by single mothers and this problem becomes even more severe as men lack the proper guidance from their fathers that can enable them to become strong, confident and good fathers themselves in the future. This further hurts the political process because we are losing strong able bodied men, who can guide our society to continue doing great things and overcome. We also lose the potential to introduce many intelligent and inspiring young women into politics because they are either to overworked themselves or lose motivation because they may naturally want to start a family of their own. 

The battle of the sexes has been transformed into the strain of the sexes as both men and women now face a society and economic environment that places a lot upon their shoulders. This weight becomes ever more difficult to handle, when the proper social mechanisms one requires are not present due to errors in their own development. This is by all means not the fault of one person or one group, but a systemic grey area that is turning into a pandemic among western society. Canada and the United States more than any other country is facing this problem more, simply because of how integrated our society has become within the Capitalist system.

So, overall I can only leave the initial start of this discussion by stating: Men, it is ok to be strong and confident in yourself and in what you want, but remember that in today's world, we need to promote equality by not only continuing some of the biological stereotypes we have, but also by breaking many of the social ones that restrict us. Men, do not be afraid to make babies and more importantly care for those babies, do not be afraid to change diapers or feed a baby and if your significant other wants to be the bread winner and can financially support your family, do not be afraid to support them in their decision and while doing this live your own life as well! Women, it is ok to let your man do the above and be strong for him, but also importantly allow him to be strong for you, for that is true equality!!!

How do you feel about this? Do you have anything to add or something you disagree with?

Please feel free to comment and as I have stated before...leave a comment after reading this with both an open mind and free one. 

Until Next Time!