Gender rant to follow.
So I don’t hide the fact that I own the label “feminist.” I know that in many circles feminist is the “f-word” and those who use it despised. And yes, I know that there are different waves and types of feminists. I get that. It’s complicated.
And I also get that one of the reasons feminism is so despised is because some feminists have exchanged misogyny for misandry. Instead of seeking equality of the sexes or even (the preferred imho) respect for all peoples, they promote women as better than men or seek to ridicule, deride, and humiliate men. For the record, I don’t support that sort of feminism. Anything that is based on hurting others in the name of selfish ambition is wrong. No question there.
But.
Sometimes I do wonder if the whole “walk a mile in another’s shoe” approach might be helpful. For some men it might just take being treated in the way they treat women for the message of equality to get across to them. And I’m not just talking about being the minority at events, getting talked over in conversations or having to wear the prosthetic pregnant belly either. I’m talking about the subtle (sometimes) sexual objectification of women. What if when a women got up to speak at an event, her husband was introduced only in reference to his physical appearance? And I thank Mike, my handsome and sexy husband for his support in being here with me tonight…. Or what if after a man preached, the congregants focused not on the content of his sermon but on the fact that his shirt really wasn’t a good color for him? Or how about expressing surprise that a well known women could manage to find such an attractive and intelligent husband? Could we try that for awhile? Do you think it would make a difference (or just backfire and feed the male ego?)
I guess I’m just sick of the references to women that while intending to be complements just continue to objectify and oppress us. It is not a novel thing that a woman is intelligent. And I know I am not a “beautiful” person, so it gets really demeaning when that is how I am referred to – did the person even bother to get to know me or did they just go with the old standby of commenting on a woman’s body? Do men really not get how belittling that can be? So I just think it could be a fun experiment to turn things around and treat men the way they treat us. Even if it doesn’t change things, it could still be interesting. A science experiment perhaps.
(and yes, in case you were wondering, listening to Gwen Stefani’s ‘Hollaback Girl’ prompted this post. shake them bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S….)