Thinking exercise: try to remember what happened in your head a few seconds ago. At the time you read the title of this article. Perhaps the word "feminism" triggered a slight mistrust in you, or perhaps it was actually a slight satisfaction.
A crystallized debate
Generally speaking, the word feminism no longer leaves people indifferent. Because the debate on feminism is one of those debates that sociologist Daniel Kahan calls a crystallizeddebate. Which means that it is one of the societal subjects on which people build their identity. Basically, if you're progressive, you're a feminist, if you're conservative, you're not a feminist.
In the US, Daniel Kahan has studied the issue of guns, creationism and global warming, which are leading examples of such debates. And the least we can say is that on these subjects individuals are frankly less rational than on more technical and less exciting subjects.
On crystallized debates:
- we are less inclined to believe the experts ;
- our opinion is shaped by our political affiliation ;
- we're less able to objectively evaluate arguments that support the opposing view.
Why it is a serious problem that feminism is crystallized
The problem with that is that in these kinds of debates we are less constructive.
We have an unfortunate tendency to react to the latest news item (the individual who said "I'm a woman", the last silly sentence of Marlene Schiappa, a woman who sprayed a manspreader with bleach (which was false information, by the way)...) rather than analyzing the fact in depth.
Because we're going into a faction logic: it's them (the feminists) against us. I've already had someone stop listening to my arguments and call me a "social justice warrior". She identified that I belonged to the other side of the crystallized debate, and there was no point in talking to this side anymore.
My concessions
So to minimize any endless debate, I'm going to state here what I mean when I say I'm a feminist. In fact I think most people who are not feminists are not feminists because they fall into the trap of crystallized debate.
Maybe you think that being a feminist, for you, means:
- perfect parity in all areas of employment
- the elimination of the concept of gender
- prohibit men from talking to women on the street without prior written permission...
tudy carefully the latest debates you have had on the issue of feminism. If you fall into generalizations such as the ones I have just mentioned, I invite you to ask yourself questions. "Did I not judge my interlocutor because he did not correspond to my political identity ?” “Did I really give him non-judgmental attention ?“
I know that I sometimes fall into these traps, too. When Macron utters one of his shock phrases against the poor, the unemployed or migrants, I rejoice inwardly because, in my eyes, it shows that he belongs to the oligarchy and therefore that he is against me. However, these sentences do not in themselves contribute to any debate, and in order to be critical, they should be ignored.
Here's to you, who doesn't like feminists
The phrase I hear very frequently is that feminists are too vehement. And what I think is going on in the minds of anti-feminists is that they have many, many examples of feminists who have gone too far in what they say, in what they do.
But beware of confirmation bias. In all political camps there are abusive or aggressive demands. Are feminists more vehement than nationalists, neo-liberals, communists, anarchists, LGBT, vegans, yellow jackets?
I don't think so. And I am open to any evidence (= scientific study) that would show that feminists are more aggressive than other groups.
What I want to convince you (if you don't like feminists, that is) is that you probably actually agree with the majority of the causes that feminists defend. Simply because they are under the label of feminism, you reduce their words to exaggerated or unfeasible demands.
Because being a feminist is just asking that society treat men and women equally (like fighting a racist cause, for example). In many ways, women suffer simply because of their sex (and men too, in fact, I think that both genders would benefit from a fairer society).
There are some rather objective examples. Let's forget the word "feminist" for a moment, because if you think you're anti-feminist you're going to get a kick out of it. Simply, there are facts based on a gender difference that are regrettable. I think that everyone, whether "feminist" or not, would prefer women to be less of a victim :
- of sexual assault...
- of the sexualization of their bodies (much worse than for men)
- of discrimination in hiring
- a lack of strong female roles in the cinema
- …
Conclusion
I have not quoted everything and I have not given my full opinion on the issue of feminism.
But whatever your opinions, the main point of this article is the same. The next time you fall into a debate, try to :
- Don't judge the other person by their political affiliation ;
- find out what you agree on with the other person ;
- don't put on the table cases where other members of your interlocutor's "side" have made fools of themselves ;
- really understand the substance of the other person's theory.
Obviously this article is true for any debate. I just chose feminism because it is perhaps one of the most crystallized debates in France (along with vegans, yellow jackets and politic of party).
But crystallization kills the interest of the debate, so it's a huge obstacle in the development of your critical mind.
1 comment
Salut
Tu apprécies aussi le Kriss Papillon?
Alors, je suis femme, qui se disait féministe, et qui aujourd’hui est passablement, comment dire, déçue? par le féminisme.
Le féminisme est une bullshit.
Pourquoi?
Simple. Il ne fallait pas demander l’égalité, mais demander à ce que notre spécificité de femme soit reconnue et respectée (my authority).
Exemple? Pas forcément travailler à salaire égal, mais recevoir un salaire, que l’on travaille ou pas, pour avoir le choix d’allaiter pendant 2 ans, de mettre les enfants à l’école ou pas, etc… Mal au ventre? Ok, pas de problème, reste chez toi…
Ence qui concerne, je te cite :
“Je pense que tout le monde, “féministe” ou pas, préfèrerait que les femmes soient moins victime :
of sexual assault...
of the sexualization of their bodies (much worse than for men)
of discrimination in hiring
”
Bien sûr! Mais il y a tellement à dire encore…
Alors je sors mon sein, et j’allaite quand bébé à faim.
Delph