Caspar David Friedrich, 1818, Woman before the Rising Sun

The Modern Feminist Movement is Infantilising Women

The modern feminist movement suggests that our society needs to make changes to accommodate women, because as a gender we are victims of the patriarchal systems.

Systems which inhibit us from attaining our goals or fulfilling our potential, designed to oppress women so that we can never rise above the man. It is different to previous demands of feminists’ movements, who desired avenues to be opened to women to pursue if they wished. Wanting equal opportunities as opposed to demanding equal outcome.

The idea that we are victims within our own society is demeaning. I don’t feel like a victim and I don’t act like one. But it seems victimhood is a collective badge that we all get to wear by just being a woman, and to those pushing this movement, we wear it whether we like it or not.

They strip us of our personal responsibility. They suggest that every aspect of our lives, even down to our very thoughts, are the result of a culture built by men and served to women. In one act, women are stripped of their autonomy. If, as a woman, you attempt to discuss or disagree with the movement, you are a victim of ‘male thinking’, which you have inherited from our patriarchal society. There is no winning; you are a victim of patriarchy whether you accept that belief or not.

The world is dangerous, and life is very difficult; we should be trying to strengthen young women and make them resilient contestants in life.

The modern feminist movement prefer to lament the woes of life, rather than be able to face them. Life is difficult for both sexes in different ways, because life is just simply difficult. When we attribute trivial and frankly stupid hardships to the ‘suffering of women’ we are painting a ridiculous picture of the world. Are we happy to call ourselves victims because of clumsy advances, wolf whistles, angry words or dated presumptions of a misogynist? There is evil in the world, real malevolence and this is the reality in which we must live, a reality which this movement seems completely detached.

Feminists previously fought so women could have the freedom to be at risk. They fought so women would hold equal rights and responsibilities. Women did not want to be wrapped in cotton wool, they wanted to be equal participants in a world they knew was dangerous. They knew they were formidable adversaries and wanted the opportunity to face the world and all its complexities. They held freedom above all else and were happy to risk safety in order to avail of it. This modern movement is regressing, looking for society to once again protect women from the world. We are taking away women’s chance to be courageous in the face of hardship and malevolence.

If the victimisation of women continues, we could be facing some kind of Huxleyan dystopia.

Victimising women doesn’t serve anyone, not the men it unfairly demonises nor the women it wrongly forces into a state of entitlement and ineptness. We have an individual responsibility to resist when we are being forced into a collective we are not part of. I have no desire to be part of any movement that promotes making life easier for anyone, because it is not realistic. Men and women alike, of the Western World, living today, are enjoying some of the most wonderful times in our history. Relative perspective is a fantastic tool when we are being told of our own woes from a movement, especially those urging us away from personal responsibility.