Feminism Vs Pseudo-Feminism

There is feminism, then there is 50 feet of crap and then there is pseudo-feminism- the self-proclaimed feminists, the feminazis, the ones that get angry with the ‘Make me sandwich’ memes. There are a lot of self-proclaimed feminists out there. Their fights, however, are proving to be counterproductive. Can we even call those fights? Aren’t they like one of those marriage registry wish lists couples, who hope that they get everything for their new homes without actually having to put any effort or money?

Who Are Feminists?

Feminists are a group or a part of the society that is devoted to bringing about equality of both the sexes. The fight here isn’t about women being superior to men but equal to them. A notion that a lot of insecure men and women can’t wrap their head around.

Again feminists don’t really have to be a tomboy who constantly rallies for ‘Let us wear what we want, why should we fit into stereotypical roles of women, I can wear the pants in the relationship if I want to and so on, you get the picture don’t you? Sometimes feminists are those women who fall into the stereotype like a missing piece of jigsaw puzzle. Their fights aren’t about why women don’t belong in the kitchen. I can’t stress enough on the fact that the battle feminists take up isn’t about being more like the men but about having equal opportunities, to do whatever we want and never ever hear the words ‘.. because you are a WOMAN’

The gender disparity is highly prevalent in workplaces more so than anywhere else. If there are two people (male and female) doing the same work and who are equally capable of doing the job with the same efficiency, the male counterpart is likely to be paid more. This is explicitly why the HR instructs one to never to share the salary details with one’s team members. Because.. well you know why! If you are proud of women excelling in male-dominated fields such as engineering, then show the same pride when it comes to the fields which are not male-dominated. At the end of the day, they are excelling in their field. Isn’t that what should be highlighted? Oh, she’s an engineer and is doing so well? well so is the Writer or the Chef out there. Celebrate all the accomplishments equally.

People never let others be. If working women who put career over everything else are feminists, then so are the women who willfully give up their careers and decide to look after their homes. Since when has feminism, of all things, become so rigid? Even the traditional definition of ‘Feminism’ (fɛmɪnɪz(ə)m/ noun) is a person who believes in the social, political and economic equality of all the sexes. The word equality is right there in the sentence, then why do people mistake it so much as the advocacy to not just uplift but rule everything unjustly. Well, that’s where pseudo-feminism comes into the picture.

So Who The Hell Are Pseduo- Feminists?

They are self-proclaimed feminists but their ideologies are very different from actual feminists.

Pseudo-feminists have ruined the essence of feminism from its very foundation. More and more people are repulsed by the idea of feminism, and generally believe that feminists, or as they are more popularly known – ‘Feminazis’, are sexists. Well, feminazis aren’t fighting to make society and the world a better place to live in. All they want to do is get their way out in the world, make men feel they are inferior to them. Now that’s wrong on so many levels.

If the patriarchal society has inflicted so much pain and oppression by not letting the women do what they want, how are you, the self-proclaimed feminists, any different? You are doing the same thing to the women that society has been doing for years and centuries. The efforts of women and men, who fought for the equal rights of both the sexes, are going down the drain all thanks to a bunch of pseudo-feminists who just can’t keep the original idea intact, and tweak it according to their preferences and wants (not needs, mind you!).

Everyone’s guilty of being chauvinistic/anti-feminist at some point or the other. I was a target of this. At an earlier workplace where I was the only girl on the team, I was often not taken into consideration. It took me a while to adapt to having discussions but when I did I was always talked over. To the point where I had the workplace burst-outs, everyone laughs at. Yep, I had one of those, I thought to myself ‘is it because I am a girl..’ and stormed off the room. Talk about being dramatic.

Pseudo-Feminists And Their Rant

What people often tend to forget is that feminism isn’t the same as female chauvinism and feminists aren’t female chauvinist pigs (as the popular phrase goes- male chauvinist pigs). They just want an easy way out. There are a lot of ways the female gender gets their way. For example, the girl’s quota in education, if you want to be equal to men, why have the added advantage of a quota just for the gender instead of competing for it in a just manner? Some colleges all over India have reduced the cut off percentage to get women into their college. Where is women empowerment in that? Where’s equality in that?

Pseudo-Feminists rant on and on about how terrible men are, or the fact that men just do not face social issues in regards to their gender. Boy! how wrong are you? Wait I used ‘boy’ there, does that make me anti-feminist(read: pseudo-feminist). According to them, men don’t face any societal pressure. But, right from providing for the family to giving up their seat for a woman albeit not even a pregnant woman for crying out loud’s sake. Don’t they have a choice? They are obligated to do all that, why? Because it’s a feminists’ world and patriarchy has already been way too unfair to us. I don’t think giving up your seat on a bus or train is going to change that? Hell, even buses and trains have special ladies section. Well if you are so independent that you can do it all by yourself then why exactly do you want a man to give up his seat for you to sit down? What happened to first come, first serve basis?

I get it that with the rise of the crimes against women all that is necessary, but then again that’s for the safety of a human being and more specifically women. But what feminism talks about is the empowerment of women so that they don’t lose out on anything just because of having the XX chromosome and not the XY.

(Pseudo)Feminism, The Most Convenient Excuse Of All Time

Let’s not forget the fame hungry people who misuse this label for their moment under the sun. Or probably for just a few more likes. If you are the modern woman, who is all about equality then why whine about everything under the sun. Oh, again why is it sun ( so much like son) SEXISM.

“I can’t believe I had to stand in line for so long”

“I can’t believe my date suggested we go dutch”

“I can’t believe that guy hit me, so what I hit him first? I’ll drag him to court on the grounds of physical abuse #feminismftw”

And just to be clear, sexual interests have nothing to do with feminism either. Have all the sex you want or be a nun, just don’t blame feminism for that. You can’t justify everything with feminism. It’s okay to have sex without having to justify it. Who exactly are you trying to justify it to? If you are so ashamed of it then why do it? Why do the crime when you can’t do the time? Deal the fuck with it- your choices, your consequences. And please, oh please don’t use feminism as your getaway card for everything. That’s not what it is for. It has never been and it will never be.