Different but Equal Has a Familiar Ring To It
I think Hollywood does have a dearth of strong characters who are what we think of as traditionally feminine, but I don’t think that’s a reason to shit all over characters like Starbuck or Buffy just because they get to kick people in the head, aren’t stereotypically feminine with their emotions, and generally act like assholes. To limit the definition of what a strong woman looks like is another form of sexism — a woman isn’t really a woman if she acts in a stereotypical masculine manner?
I completely agree that we need more strong women on screen, but from ALL points on the femininity spectrum.
That’s where the feminist movement got it all wrong. To me, feminism and it’s subsequent effects are only trying to get women to be like men, emulating them, and basically saying that the only good way to be is to be like a men and that being feminine or being a woman is wrong. They strive for sameness when they should have been aiming for true equality. Men and women are not the same, but they are equal.
No. Absolutely not.
If men and women don’t have the CHOICE to be the same, they are not equal. Not every woman wants to drive a backhoe or watch football while drinking beer, but they should have the option to do so without being called out for “being like a man.” Not every man wants to stay home with his children or watch a Jane Austen movie, but they should be able to do those without being called “weak” or “feminine.”
You say, “Feminism and it’s subsequent effects are only trying to get women to be like men, emulating them, and basically saying that the only good way to be is to be like a men and that being feminine or being a woman is wrong.” [sic] But have you considered that maybe feminism encourages women to be whatever they want, and sometimes that happens to be something that falls into a traditionally “male” category? A woman shouldn’t have the choice of “being like a man” if she wants? For that matter, who decided one activity or lifestyle was more manly than another? Where do you draw the lines about what is “male” and what is “female” behavior? Is it okay, say, for a woman to like to drink a beer and watch football? Be a CEO? Never get married? Never have children? Have as many sex partners as a man of the same age? Where do you draw the line as to what is “too masculine”?
Do you want someone making your choices for you? Telling you what you can wear, eat, drink, watch, or do? Do you want someone to tell you what you can or cannot be in life? If the answer to those questions is no, then thank feminism. If anyone ever encouraged you to play sports or ride a motorcycle or major in something traditionally “male” or anything similar, then that person was encouraging feminist values whether or not they identified as feminist.
Feminism is not about making women into men, it is about making women into whatever they want to be.
This is a fabulous debate. The major thing missing, from what I’ve seen, is that femininity only works as defined against an equal-and-opposite (and AT LEAST equally problematic) masculinity. Feminism—or, rather, a broader, better way of treating people as humans before sexes—ultimately enables more fluidity for men, women, and anyone who feels a little baffled by the dichotomy.
Besides, androgyny and gender confusion are hot, if somewhat theoretically bothered.
