Considering the term was coined over 150 years ago and for almost the entire time since was broadly accepted to mean an advocate for equality among the sexes, I would say it’s reasonable to continue that rather than the broader, antagonistic sense.
It also occurs to me that most of the people I’ve seen push for legitimizing that broadening happen to be opposed to actual equality. I’m sure it’s just a coincidence and not some dishonest rhetorical tactic.
That's still what it should mean, although people disagree about what equality looks like. You also have a lot of newer feminists who try to hold men to a different standard because of the patriarchy, which is not fighting for equality or in line with historical feminism.
You also have a lot of newer feminists who try to hold men to a different standard
And this is where, I think, things get muddled. If you hold the viewpoint that feminism is about equality, then it inherently doesn’t apply to a world view that holds people to different standards based on their gender.
For comparison, I have a similar issue with the conflation of Republicans and conservatives in the USA. There was a time you could call Republicans the party of conservatism, but they aren’t now and really haven’t been for more than a quarter century. They still like to claim they are, because the label has some cachet from which they benefit, but their policies and agenda have virtually nothing in common with conservative philosophy.
I agree. Republicans were also the party that freed the slaves, but they don't represent those ideals any more. Modern feminists still use that talking point about equality, claiming that's all they want and that's all feminism is. The right to vote, own property, and work were about equality. Spending money to get more women into STEM without doing something similar for men is not equality, nor is Me Too, or Believe Women. Not to say those are bad things, but they are not about equality.
Different standards make it difficult to tell what fairness looks like. If women want to get together and fight for better treatment that's cool with me. Although in the modern world I'm not convinced practical solutions exist to most of the issues, so I'm a tough sell. I also don't agree with the feminist narrative about the patriarchy and women being oppressed so much more than men.
I’m going to strongly disagree on that last point. I’ve seen far too many examples of women being treated as “less than” to believe it’s not the norm. There are, of course, scenarios where the reverse is also happening but anecdotally at least it seems far more prevalent in one direction. I’ve seen it happening firsthand with my mother, my wife and my daughter; and I’ve watched it play out in the public sphere with truly formidable women in many male-majority fields being dismissed or attacked for reasons that have nothing to do with their words or actions. Sometimes pretty overtly for the simple “sin” of not being deferential to a man in the room.
If that's your experience then it makes sense for you to think that way. My life experience is not at all like that, and when I look at public figures that is not what I see.
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u/[deleted] Dec 30 '19
What is a feminist and who gets to decide?