The "Swift" Demise of Equality Feminism

It was about a week ago that Emma Watson made her speech on feminism at the UN. I think about the time that I read it, I saw our dog raise up her head and peer around as though startled. It was to be expected. I can’t recall ever having an audible cringe around her before, but I think one might have registered on that occasion. On the hierarchy of things bringing such a response, celebrities spouting off as though they actually had something wise or original to contribute generally rates pretty far up the scale. This one reset the high bar.

I should point out that I have no personal animus towards Ms. Watson. As an attendee of the “Harry Potter” movies I’ve found her performances quite acceptable. Nothing that I would classify as a standout, but a solid actress for her age. I’m not sure when that became a suitable credential for addressing the UN (I must have missed the memo), but Ms. Watson can sleep easy knowing that the person or persons responsible for approving her speech showed even worse judgment and had much greater reason to know better. Such is the result when government is often directed by social media trends.

Having no ill will towards the young actress, I said a quick prayer for the best of all possible outcomes, that her words would die a quick and silent death before anyone in a position to do further damage would notice. Alas, we live in a plugged in world with a twenty-four hour news cycle. Few things go unnoticed unless the media has a policy, official or otherwise, of studiously ignoring them. Sadly, nothing here met the threshold.

I can honestly say that I found little objectionable in theory about Ms. Watson’s comments. A world where men and women are equally at liberty to pursue their talents and interests, to express their emotions without fear of reproach, is a world highly to be desired. It is also not the world that we live in. Such a world would require people who were willing to allow others to exercise such freedom without objection or attempted restraint, where the boundaries of culture and heritage were infinitely malleable, where people willingly accept the differences of others without condemnation. In short, it would require a world where, for whatever reason, full equality had not only been achieved, but acknowledged by all peoples. I don’t see that around me, and I don’t see it coming any time soon.

For starters, people are naturally biased in any number of regards. So, if by some miracle we did happen upon “full equality,” we probably wouldn’t recognize it, and certainly couldn’t maintain it. The goal also exposes (or should expose to any objective observer) the weakness of the entire diversity, multi-cultural crowd. Every culture on earth created by humans has some form of bias that has been maintained, whether by law or custom. Eliminate the bias, you begin to eliminate the culture. Except, as the same crowd points out, all cultures are supposedly of equal value, and therefore beyond challenge. To paraphrase a Southernism, this dog won’t hunt. It isn’t even allowed out of the kennel.

So, we face a practical impossibility. There’s no way the stated goals can or will be achieved. If they could, it wouldn’t be a problem. The problem lies in all the damage that can be done while people chase this fantasy. I didn’t think we would have to wait long for it to begin, and I was right…

Another performer, one that I had more respect for than Ms. Watson, is Taylor Swift. Often in the past I have admired her singing and writing talent, her generosity, and her business skills. Unfortunately, it seems that she has been exposed to the adulation long enough to believe that she merits the attention on something other than those skills. Philosophy, perhaps. She came out strongly in favor of Ms. Watson’s comments very recently, which is certainly her right, and there are a number of ways that it can be done with little if any harm attached. She didn’t. When commenting on what feminism means to her, she described it as a person who believes men and women should have equal rights, and “to say that you're not a feminist means that you think that men should have more rights and opportunities than women.”

Well.

I’ll give the young woman points for clarity, if nothing else. Either you adopt the word and are with her, and by extension with all of “the good people,” or you refuse and get lumped in with the evil oppressors. Nice choice. And in the meantime, we just forget about all of the “feminists” that have been working so diligently, and successfully, to abolish due process for men on college campuses, destroy men’s athletic programs, and drug them into submission for not being as neat and tidy as little girls.

I’m into my fifties now, and it seems to me that I’ve been hearing about feminism and its goals for over forty of those years. And while I wouldn’t say that most of the people discussing it were willfully lying, things sure haven’t worked out towards “equality” for over thirty of that time. While I applaud the legitimate increase in opportunities for women over that time, it’s not as if a lot of those haven’t been won at the expense of boys and men that have little or nothing to do with a level playing field. As a result, along the way the word “feminism” picked up some pretty ugly connotations. Now a new generation is trying to reclaim the word without doing any of the hard work really needed.

Here are a few ideas: If you want to show that you really believe in equality for men and women, then act like you do. Instead of telling boys that it’s okay to cry, give them a reason to cheer. Provide education that is adapted to their learning style instead of drugs. Get rid of the push for quotas that place people in positions that they don’t merit. Call off the campus attack dogs that are making colleges less and less a place that any sane man would want to be. Restoring due process rights in disciplinary hearings would be a great start. And stand up to take responsibilities as well as rights and privileges. I still don’t recall seeing any “feminist” march on Washington demanding that women go through mandatory registration for selective service. Make your advances the same way that your mothers and their mothers did: by demonstrating competency and integrity in the endeavors you pursue. It’s a lot less splashy than a high profile trial, but it will win your cause a respect that not even an army of lawyers can obtain.

Feminism didn’t turn into a bad word overnight. It took years of double-dealing and gender politics, and a lot of the damage was done by the ones who truly believed in equal rights when they stood by and let the screamers grab all they could. That’s what you have to overcome. Otherwise, we are simply entering the next round of “bait and switch,” and I’m not inclined to set myself up for that. Too much of the movement has relied on government coercion in the past, and this latest effort is starting to show signs that it’s ready to head the same direction. A pretty, pink tyranny is still a tyranny, even if it is pretty and pink, or blue, or the “new black” (whatever that might be.) Stop telling me how I should define myself, and come up with a movement worthy of joining. If you want me to stop spitting every time I say “feminism,” I suggest you get to work.