Feminism is not a war on men

This archived article was written by: Veronica Tita

Feminism is one of the most controversial topics this past century. Recent years put a new label tagged on to it. The war on men is a fictional war devised to belittle women into believing that gender equality already exists and women are greedy for thinking otherwise.
In 2012, author of “The War on Men” Suzanne Venker, wrote an article for “Fox News.” Venker states there is a decline on marriage rates. “…Modern Women want to get married. Trouble is, men don’t.”
As an author of three books on the American family, she has spent a lot of time talking with men and women. In doing so, men often told her they will never get married. The answer behind that is, “Women aren’t women anymore.
“…Women are angry. They’re so defensive…Women pushed men off of their pedestals and climbed up to take what they were taught to believe was rightfully theirs. Now the men have nowhere to go.” It is in men’s nature to be the providers and care for women. They don’t want to compete with women, they want to love them. If the men of today are slackers and are shying away from marriage, then women should take a look in the mirror and ask themselves why that is.
“It’s the women who lose (with feminism) …women need men’s linear career goals – they need men to pick up the slack at the office.” Think all hope is lost for women? Don’t worry, Venker’s solution is that women surrender to their nature, “their femininity,” and let men surrender to theirs. “If they do, marriageable men will come out of the woodwork.”
Gross.
Susan B. Anthony wasn’t imprisoned for women’s rights so Venker could imply women should “stay in the home.” Her points might be valid if we lived in the 1800s and women were still under the impression that marriage should be their only ambition.
Saying feminism is a “War on Men” is a blatant disregard for all the women who changed society and contributed to the scientific field; Stephanie Kwolek is the inventor of Kevlar. This invention literally saves lives. Mary Anderson invented the windshield wiper. Malala Yousafzai fought for female education, took a bullet to the head and won the Nobel Peace Prize at 17. None of those women, and countless others, could have made the difference if they had simply surrendered to their “femininity.”
Venker even contradicts herself by being a successful author. She is a competitor of men. If men do not want to compete against women, we should all just stay home.
Venker’s pedestal analogy was also irksome. In all fairness, she claims that women have pedestals of their own and feminists convinced women otherwise. To this I say, feminists did not kick men off of their pedestals, but tried to build up their own so they have equal footing with men. That is the building block of feminism – equality.
Yes, radicals exist who wish to see the demise of men, but that is not what feminism is. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines feminism as “the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes.” That’s why men can be feminists too. Women did not build themselves up to dethrone men, but to simply stand by them and be treated like the human beings that we are.
That being said, total equality does not exist in today’s society. If it did, men wouldn’t feel threatened by a career-oriented woman. Women would be able to walk home by themselves at night, because they would be seen as people and not sex objects. We are more than a companion for men. We are more than baby makers. The success women have in the workforce and politics are proof that we belong here. We are strong multitaskers and constructive problem-solvers. We can have careers and raise a family as well. Trust me, we’ve done it. When all the men were off to war, who stepped up to take the necessary factory jobs during World War II? And they did it with families to take care of. I’m not saying men can’t do these things, but we women can too.
This brings me to my final point. If you feel threatened by a strong career woman, there are plenty of strong women who want to be taken care of. Women can do it all, from being the chancellor of Germany to dedicating their lives to molding the minds of tomorrow, and sometimes both. So, for the men who do not want to get married to their competition, there is a compatible woman out there for you.
Feminism is not a war on men, but the long-awaited cry for equality women have always deserved.