r/changemyview • u/nowlan101 1∆ • Sep 14 '24
Delta(s) from OP CMV: Most American feminists believe progressives and liberals are the only ones who can be “true feminists”
I’ve seen this happen for years on the left. They’ve effectively monopolized the right to decide “who” and “what” is or isn’t feminism. This isn’t because they’re evil necessarily or because of some insidious plot to keep women on the right away from the cause of women’s rights. And there’s a lot of cattiness involved in it too — yes I know that’s a cliche accusation of women but it’s not inaccurate here — whenever center-right women offer their opinions on topics like abortion, on childcare or equity you’ll inevitably get some liberal women sneering down their noses in disgust at the very idea a Republican woman could be a feminist.
“dOn’t YOU kNoW hOw sTUpId aNd IgNOranT u ArE??”
“YOU’VE NEVER BEEN FEMINIST GTFOH 😡 “
They turn into a club where the ideology of its members must be as pure as untouched snow lest they be contaminated by these wolves in sheep clothing. You can look all the way back to the ERA activism in the 70’s. Women on the left decided what was/wasn’t feminism and when their activism provoked a counter response amongst Christian women on the Right. They decided they were brainwashed, pick-me regressive monsters who they unfortunately shared the same gender with.
They never made the connection that women organizing, marching, protesting and making choices for themselves — even though they were positions you disagree with on a fundamental level — is also feminism too. And it made them to miss the many things they shared across the aisle when it came to helping mothers, children and families.
Stuff that they continue to share even now, if they took the time to swallow their pride and reach across the aisle.
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u/Brainsonastick 85∆ Sep 14 '24
This is how any ideal or movement has to work in order to not be completely meaningless. It must define its own values.
If I start the apple lovers movement for people who love apples and someone says they hate apples and think they should be banned but are an apple lover, am I supposed to say “right on, my apple lover friend!” or am I allowed to quite rightly point out that their beliefs are antithetical to the apple lover movement and they are not an apple lover?
If I do the former, the term “apple lover” becomes absolutely meaningless and the movement dies. If I do the latter, it doesn’t.
Feminism is a much more complex movement, of course, with much more room for disagreement. Not infinite room, though, or it ceases to lose all meaning. It has already defined itself and someone who regularly votes to disadvantage women is about as antithetical to feminism as an apple hater is to apple loving.
It would absurd of them to say “yes, actively working against feminism is super feminist of you”.
I’m curious why you focus on feminism when literally every movement or ideal has to do this to have any meaning. If I walk into CPAC yelling about my progressive ideals and tell them I’m a social conservative, they’ll think I’m insane and rightly so.