“The more I have spoken about feminism, the more I have realized that fighting for women’s rights has too often become synonymous with man-hating.” – Emma Watson
Although there are various definitions in regards to the word feminism, one is most common: the advocacy of women’s rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes. Therefore, anti-feminism is just the opposite; it is a belief in which men and women are not created equal and their social expectations evolve from simple biological truths. Not only do women expect equality, yet grow frustrated when compared to male, but they also approach inequality issues by solely focusing on the wrongs of one of the genders. With social media being the platform for all controversial discussions, there are various issues in regards to feminist taking away the rights of men in order to benefit their potential rights. Issues like abortion, by not letting men have an input on the choice, custody rights, where women are more ‘fit’ just because they have the status as a mother, and even false accusations of rape, in which women destroy a man’s life in order to claim an event where their rights as a women were ‘taken away’, which in fact never happened. Therefore, the question then becomes: why are women making feminism a fight for superiority, rather than for equality?
A concept: women do not empower women, men do rather. With abortion being a mainstream topic that commonly divides the two political stances of left and right, feminism has taken the controversial topic and formed it to be a choice only a woman should be able to make. A recent study published in the journal Public Health found that “most men carry the pain of abortion for years” and “as a male you are expected to be strong, yet abortion encourages him to act without concern of the innocent and destroy any identifiable and undesirable outcomes of his sexual decision making.” While feminist would argue that abortion should only be chosen by the female — due to the sole reason of it not being the male’s body— an anti-feminist would argue that there shouldn’t be a choice at all. With the understanding that an anti-feminist believes in giving men the credibility they deserve, the act of going against God’s word— a man in which created all— would be hypocritical. The second chapter of the first book of the bible, Genesis, states “Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.” To claim that a man should not have a say in the choice to perform an abortion, would be to also say that a woman never needed the strength of a man; a woman’s body has never been solely her own. God created woman from man, for man. A women’s strength is reflected off of the expectations of the dominance of a man’s power. However, The Washington Post states that “a lot of feminist rhetoric today does cross the line from attacks on sexism into attacks on men, with a strong focus on personal behavior.” Therefore, women struggle to find their power when solely focusing on the importance of their own gender; men empower women.
The father’s rights movement is a movement whose members are primarily interested in issues related to family law, including child custody and child support that affects fathers and their children. Members assert that too often the courts presume that a mother should have primary custody of a child— some are too easily influenced by false claims of abuse. Not only does this movement conflict court rooms, it also troubles mothers— who claim to be feminist— by not letting their gender solely win the custody battle. Andrew Jones, a 46 year old technician in North Carolina, faced a divorce in 2014 and struggled deeply with custody over his two kids. The attorney, he said, “kind of gave me the feeling that she hates men. That all men are dogs and men don’t want to be in their child’s lives.” In the same article covering Jones’ story, it states that “In many cases, judges still consider a woman the more neutral caretaker, a stubborn holdover from the decades in which mothers only worked at home.” According to recent studies made by Census, eighty-two percent of mothers have primary custody of their children, compared to twenty-nine percent of man. These statistics not only reveal the inequality among genders, but it also emphasizes scenarios in which women are not always the ones facing inequality issues. While feminist would argue that there are only a few instances where men are treated unfairly compared to women, an anti-feminist would counterclaim with the idea of quantity over quality.
Due to the strong pursuit of feminism and its members, men now do not possess several distinct rights that women do: one of those rights being protection form sexual victimization. The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network reports that ninety percent of rape victims are female, yet the other 10 percent that are male are disregarded. However, male rape victims are not the only cases that are disregarded; false accusations of rape made by women are also ignored and not punished. Feminist insist on joining movements: they feel as though their voices become stronger when a community is formed. However, when are the truths ignored, and the aspiration to be a part of something idolized? The #MeToo movement is a movement against sexual harassment and sexual assault, giving people a sense of the magnitude of the problem. Although
there are many cases in which women have broken down a boundary of secrets when finally speaking upon their awful experience, there are several instances where women have falsely accused men of sexual wrongdoing and have yet to face consequences because of it. News headlines grasped onto the Baylor Star, Shawn Oakman, when found not guilty of sexual assault against a Baylor graduate student on Friday, March 1st, 2019. The women accused Oakman of rape on the night of April 3, 2016, yet due to the lack of evidence found he was acquitted by jurors in Waco’s 19th State District Court. Oakman states, “But it was never about me. It was about everybody who was around me. They slandered my name, they fired my coach. I felt like all that was on me.” This case not only shows how one woman’s need for community— her pursuit to be a part of something— can destroy a man’s life, but it also reveals just how impactful one’s gender can influence the beliefs of society. Feminist need to face consequences when wrongfully accusing those who simply empower over them; as a women, power will always be above.
While feminist argue that their movement is benefiting the way of life for the next generation, an anti-feminist would like to argue that the next generation should use the power of a man to their advantage. By solely focusing on one gender, and slandering the name of the other, society is no longer able to be equal, yet face more inequality rather. Issues like abortion, custody battles, and false accusations, are only a few examples of how feminism, and the empowerment of women, is negatively affecting today’s society. Anti-feminism is a belief in which men and women are not created equal and their social expectations evolve from simple biological truths; there is a genetic make-up in all humans, in which prove that men withhold more power and strength than women. God did not mistakenly take Adam’s rib to form Eve; he preformed this act with the sole purpose of empowering women with men.
Jaden's Journal 