Double Standards: Sexism and Feminism

I agree with most of the things you said. http://www.kawapaper.com/d/1509-3/Kawapaper_LuckyStar_0000042_1920x.jpg

Some people think feminism = man hating. Which is true for some feminists. Its not a valid argument against the fact that women should have equal rights. Pay decreases not only affect women but they also affect families. Sometimes kids only have their mother to depend on. Likewise I think that men sometimes have valid arguments on double standards too. It is a lot harder for a man to get full custody of a child. Overall I agree with feminism but I try not to blindly follow trends. Every issue needs to be thought out. On the flip side there is misogyny and it is immoral and disgusting.

The interesting thing is that the complains that women and men face come from pretty much the same societal problem. The same thing that tells workplaces that women shouldn't have high positions because they'll just quit to have a family is the same thing that says men can't take care of kids as well as a women. Women are expected to have kids, men are expected to not be able to care for kids. Men can't be battered because women are physically weak and thus men who get beat by women are not men, etc. As a feminist, I'm against this hyper masculine culture that hurts both men and women alike

"You should have zero say because the issue does not and will not ever pertain to you. Women should be able to do what they want with their bodies (I’m sorry if this sounds like bullshit but it’s true.) Anyone should be able to do what they want with their bodies because….it’s their body." This is why I never talk negatively about suicide. Ultimately if a person wants to kill themselves I think they should be allowed to legally. If their situation is complicated and they have children or families, it's terrible, but no one should judge. No one should call that person a coward. You don't know what they were going through or have lived through. But back to the topic, yes I agree. "On a side note: There are some countries that even let women take sick days for periods. Which is awesome and kudos to those countries because sometimes periods can REALLY suck and take a toll on you physically, mentally, and emotionally." This is progressive thinking. So is a 30 hour work week. Americans wouldn't know how to handle it or what to do! Le gasp! *scream face* http://www.slate.com/content/dam/slate/articles/health_and_science/explainer/2012/05/120503_Exp_Scream-EX.jpg.CROP.rectangle3-large.jpg "Usually a guy can sleep around and this is viewed as a positive thing, but if a women is sexually active she is ridiculed and called a 'slut'." I don't discriminate, I've totally called guys sluts before. XD "I also hate that some people think all women should do is take care of the house and make babies..." Unfortunately this is true. I think we're getting better but in one of my philosophy classes at uni I was a proclaimed and labeled agnoistic, there was one atheist, and the rest of the class were either jewish or christian. Our prof always wanted to hear what the atheist and I had to say about topics. I said something once along the lines of "there is more to life than religion and more to life than getting married, having children and raising a family..." A girl responded, "Like what?" I couldn't help but pity her for a second but instantly responded, "having a career, exploring and traveling, meeting new people, discovering new things..." Like this had never occured to her but it was just a simple idea. I have never had a family mindset. I have never thought HEY I REALLY WANT TO BREED AND HAVE LOTS OF KIDS! I don't understand people who think that way, never have. "Don’t even get me started on beauty standards and the pressure women/girls have to go through dealing with that. Especially teenaged girls. I’m so tired of hearing about girls hating themselves and even killing themselves because people liked to make them feel like they weren’t good enough in their own skin. It is completely despicable (and yes I know this can also happen to men and boys, but that is not what I am talking about right now.)" This too is very disappointing. I think we are getting better. I think people are getting more accepting of body types but then for all those you see that are accepting it just takes one internet forum to bring that shattering to the ground. MO has been guilty of this on several occassions. You will have people come in that you consider friends even and comment that it's so unhealthy and then on the flipside of the coin participate in making fun of someone who is different from them. Everyone's struggle is different. Nobody had the same parents (DNA), opportunities, wealth, etc. and all those things factor in. We would be better off if we were all blind. (sorry I keep editing LOL... I'm adding this next bit) Nobody wants to be overweight or obese. If they had a choice where they could swap bodies they would take it in a heartbeat. I think people forget this. This is why fat shaming doesn't work. Heavy weight people know they are over weight and don't need anyone to tell them. What they need is support and encouragement to get better.

Hmm...now I need to formulate my opinion on this matter... First of all the inequality in wages. Back in the day when women were obligated to be homekeepers and men were the primary bread-winners they made more money simply because they had a family to support. Women who entered the workplace in this era were mostly single. Now, skip forward to today times it is a lot more even, but we haven't fully transitioned to equal pay. I'd say that wage equality is better than it has ever been, though. I fully support equal pay. About dressing provocatively: here the issue gets a little bit more grey. I'm totally against harassing women that dress provocatively. However, as a guy I know how difficult it is to suppress perverted thoughts when looking at women who show more skin. Especially in highschool when boys are horny as hell. We get horny if a chair has too many curves. Seeing too much skin would distract boys in school. That's just how boys are built. Just as women have periods, we can't change that fact. For that reason I support not dressing provocatively at school. Some schools take it too far by nit-picking, though. Some shoulder-blade showing is unnecessarily strict to ban. Standards of beauty and bullying around that is still a big issue for women, similar to how men are bullied when they are not very "manly". From what I read women are the biggest perpetrators of beauty-related bullying. The best defense against it is hard-lined punishment for bullies. I personally like the public shaming approach. For example, two boys who were harassing a gay boy were forced to hold hands with each other in front of the whole school for a day. They broke down in tears. Give them their own medicine, I say. I totally disagree on this point: About the difference women pay for beauty products. It's not because of sexism. It's not some conspiracy by men to stick it to women. It's because of supply and demand. Women buy far more beauty products then men, therefore they cost more. It's economics. If you want to save money, just buy the male version, screw the cap off, and pour it into the feminine looking bottle. Bam, problem solved.