Feminism faltering

That’s what this feminist says:

O Survivor, Bootylicious and Independent Woman, you were sweet relief in an otherwise macho, misogynous music video scene. So imagine my surprise last week when I heard the lyrics to their new single, Cater 2 U:

“My life would be purposeless without you. Do anything for my man. I got your slippers, your dinner, your dessert and so much more . . . anything you want just let me cater to you. I want to give you my breath, my strength, that’s the least I can do . . .” The DC girls continue: “I’ll keep it tight, I’ll keep my figure right, I’ll keep my hair fixed, when you come home late, tap me on my shoulder, I’ll roll over, baby I’m here to serve you.”

Beyonce, did I miss the part where you abandoned your feminist attitude for the belief that to sustain a relationship, women should become part golden retriever, part hooker? Fetch his slippers, go on a diet and provide sex on demand even when he’s been out with the boys until 5am?

Is this the shocking new retro face of feminism? Older feminists have been voicing their despair recently about young women’s disinterest in feminism. And like many generation Xers, I find myself straddling a generational divide of attitudes to the f-word. On one side are the baby boomer feminists who are bewildered and bitter that the young have no respect for the battles their feminist predecessors fought or the freedoms they won. On the other side are the generation Ys (18- to 26-year-olds), who would prefer to eat a box of hair than call themselves feminists, a word they unilaterally associate with bra-burning shrews who wave placards. In the middle are those of us who understand we can be feminists without placards or sensible shoes.

This week I asked several dozen colleagues under 30 if they considered themselves feminists. Without exception, they said no. Virtually all thought feminism meant campaigning for women’s rights. Hairy legs were mentioned a lot. Many pointed out they couldn’t possibly be feminists because they didn’t go to protest marches and liked men who opened doors for them. I wonder if their responses would have been different had I quoted the actual definition of feminism (the principle that women should have economic and social rights equal to those of men) and asked if they agreed with it.

In reality, few young women have ever experienced gender discrimination. They take their reproductive rights and other freedoms for granted. And in many ways, this is what Germaine Greer’s generation fought for. Equality being as unremarkable as the air that we breathe is a significant victory.

Tell a 20-year-old that it’s less than 100 years since women earned the right to vote, own property, access tertiary education or be employed after marriage and she will look at you blankly, as if you’re talking about life before the wheel or (gasp) mobile phones were invented. For generation Y, it’s no longer about having it all; it’s about living the life they want.

With nothing to prove, many young women are embracing traditional feminine pursuits like scrapbooking and girly icons like Hello Kitty. They no longer feel like they’re letting the team down if they don’t strive to “have it all”. They watched the have-it-all generation and noticed that when the dust settled, many of them didn’t have very much at all except high levels of disillusionment ...

Source

Posted by jonjayray on Sunday, July 10, 2005 at 08:14 AM in Popular Culture
Comments (5) | Tell a friend

Comments:

Posted by Andrew L on July 10, 2005, 08:28 AM | #

Jee wiz John , Have you been working late in the Lab, are you sure this a real woman and not just one pandering for the George Michael’s cheque book.
Poor old Germaine she will hold out till the Islamo womens movement is up and running, ha, yeh that would be interesting.Front seat for that Forum.If we live long enough.

Posted by Mark Richardson on July 10, 2005, 10:00 AM | #

I recall being surprised by the lyrics of one of Destiny Child’s previous songs: “I want a soldier to look after me” - not exactly a feminist hymn either.

The article itself is the usual feminist confusion. There’s a claim that feminism means equal economic and social rights for women.

But if all that feminists sought was the right to paid work for women I doubt if it would be looked on with such hostility.

Feminism wants to “liberate” women. From what? From those things which impede a woman’s “right to choose”.

What might impede a woman’s liberty of will? First, a dependence on other people, especially on men. So feminists want women to be independent or autonomous and they therefore promote the glamour of the single girl lifestyle in which career, shopping and casual sex are the main values in life.

A woman’s choices are also impeded by the fact of gender itself - by the unchosen “biological destiny” of being born a woman.

That’s why feminists, despite talking all the time about choice, don’t like the choice you might expect many women to make: the traditionally “gendered” choice of marriage and motherhood.

So you get a conflict between the inborn nature of women and a “liberationist” ideology.

Little wonder that many women reject the image of the ideological feminist.

Posted by john rackell on July 10, 2005, 10:19 AM | #

Beyonce and Destiny’s child are black singers/groups. Doesn’t this have something to do with it? Parrotting Steve Sailer here, but black women are having to compete for the diminishing eligible black male pool against high black incarceration rates, low educational attainment for black men, and competition with white females. The economic explanation is that black women are just lowering the price on the goods.

Also borrowing from SS, this post seems to assume all womens interests are the same. But black women and other ethnic women have never been the male haters like white women have been since feminism began(imho). It’s not surprising they don’t sing from the anti-male venom-laced hymn book.

Posted by Geoff M. Beck on July 10, 2005, 04:11 PM | #

Mark will like this one: http://www.vdare.com/taylor/right_to_offend.htm

Posted by Svigor on July 10, 2005, 07:43 PM | #

John, good post but remember that black females are highly aggressive relative to white women, so these artists are preaching to a different choir.

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