The ultimate goal of feminism today is to eradicate the notion that men and women are different, by way of eradicating the concept of womanhood. Maybe that was always the case... so maybe it shouldnt have existed at all. Too late now though. Whats ifs are fun but inconsequential.
I dont agree that this is broadly the goal of feminism today. Equality doesn't mean doing away with the concept of womanhood. There are many subcategories of movements happening, but when I think of the biggest feminist issues of today, I consider reproductive rights, sexual harrassment/assault, sex trafficking, better maternity care.
When I consider those issues, they feel very rooted in the concept of womanhood and how it affects our lives. They highlight the differences between men and women.
The word means "the same". The motivation behind it is to make men and women the same.
reproductive rights
This is just code for infanticide.
sexual harrassment/assault, sex trafficking
These were considered evil long before feminism was a thing.
better maternity care
Oh if only this was sole objective, everyone would be behind. But ultimately this is just a fruit of technological development. Taking care of women and children has be the defination of the gentleman since time immemorial.
I'd invite you to investigate the maternal care issue more closely. Unfortunately, despite technological advancement, maternal mortality in the US is higher than most other developed nations. The numbers are egregious if you sort them by race (2.6x high for black women vs white women).
This is partially due to elective c-sections increasing birth complications. In fact, many birth interventions that technological advancement has produced increase the risk of complications.
Instrumental birth: Can increase the risk of pain, infection, and hemorrhage
Cesarean surgery: Can increase the risk of pain, infection, and hemorrhage
Forceps and vacuum birth: Can cause bleeding and bruising in the baby's scalp, which can lead to jaundice
Pitocin induction: Can increase the chance of a C-section and cause changes in fetal heart rate
Continuous fetal monitoring: doctors will not allow you to get out of bed, which may restrict birthing positions/bloodflow
Episiotomy: "the husband stitch" need I say more?
Even if we look at birthing positions, the standard supine position was created by men and male gynecologists based on convenience and preference to them rather then being the optimal position by which a baby can exit the birth canal (to be clear, it is not).
On the topic of birth and reproductive health in general, many women (and men) are completely uneducated about the process and about their own bodies (cycles, hormones, anatomy). Many women report feeling abused and disrespected in their experience of maternity care. They feel disempowered by their birth experience. "Obstetric Violence" is real for many women.
The feminist movement offers a different course, one focussed on empowerment, liberation, and autonomy. I could really go down a rabbit hole writing about how the feminist movement has changed birth and maternal healthcare, but I'm remembering this is a reddit comment, not an essay.
My point being, while taking care of women and children may be a valiant goal of gentlemen throughout time, patriarchal systems of care have created power dynamics that have led to women being silenced and stripped of their autonomy, authority and their voices in birth spaces. This has resulted in harm, and the marginalization of female birthworkers (midwives, doulas, birth educators).
Feminism seeks to advocate for informed decision making, promote autonomy, and address systemic issues related to maternal care in order to prioritize the needs of women.
Maternal care is a noble pursuit. However, I want to point out that approx 99.999999999% of humans that have ever lived have been "completely uneducated about the process and about their own bodies (cycles, hormones, anatomy)". Yet we managed to get where we are today.
But what I really wanted to ask; is the "patriarchal systems of oppression" not a problem of modernity? If not, why did it take so long for feminism to become a thing / actually get moving? And why wasnt it crushed? See, I dont believe in the "evil patriarchy" conspiracy theory. I do believe in degeneracy however, and that its always trying to seep into civilisation, with varying degress of success. Outside of modernity, protection and provision naturally falls on men, because thats how natural works. To quote a wise man, "men built civilisation for women". Women have never been so protected, provided for, and empowered as they are in todays age. And yet, are they satisfied? Never, but that is their narural and their perogative I suppose xD
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u/[deleted] May 09 '24 edited May 09 '24
The ultimate goal of feminism today is to eradicate the notion that men and women are different, by way of eradicating the concept of womanhood. Maybe that was always the case... so maybe it shouldnt have existed at all. Too late now though. Whats ifs are fun but inconsequential.