#121 ·
Ryan Wood98 said:So, I suppose this is an instance of a woman who does NOT actually want gender equality.
Perhaps she wants all the same rights and opportunities that men have, but she also wants to retain all those extra advantages that come from the current "unequal" status quo.
It is something a previous commenter touched upon—it seems to be part of human nature to crave as much power as possible. Not necessarily equal power, but just... more.
A completely different question regarding feminism could be raised here: do feminists even have a legitimate right to represent the interests of the entire female population?
Can feminists advocate for equality on behalf of women (assuming for a moment that they truly are advocating for equality) if most women DO NOT want equality? What if they prefer a "Prince Charming" type who opens doors for them, provides for them, and comes home saying, "Honey, I'm home," while they live out the life of a housewife from an American TV sitcom?
Do we actually have any data that would allow us to claim we know what the female population wants, and are feminists truly representing those desires?
True. The system is teeming with brainwashed individuals. But the question remains: should we judge a system's effectiveness by how successful it is at laundering minds?
A second instance: even though inheritance laws are technically egalitarian, it is more common than not that women waive* their inheritance in favor of male relatives.
* "Voluntarily." Because that’s what one does. Because that’s how things are handled. Because it's the custom. Because it is the only socially acceptable way to behave.
We exist within a framework that is equal in theory, yet profoundly unequal in practice.
And no, I am not a victim of this system. I possess the resources necessary to manipulate it to my advantage. That doesn't mean I am oblivious to the fact that these resources aren't available to everyone—that mine were merely a stroke of luck regarding my birth—nor am I unaware that manipulating the system is simultaneously an act of conforming to it, which inevitably chips away at one's sense of human integrity.