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Grievance Feminism” Is a Threat to Serious Feminist & Humanitarian Issues Janet Albrechtsen, Dr Andrea Den Boer, Christina Hoff Sommers and Brendan O’Neill

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Grievance Feminism” Is a Threat to Serious Feminist & Humanitarian Issues Janet Albrechtsen, Dr Andrea Den Boer, Christina Hoff Sommers and Brendan O’Neill CIS EVENT Monday, 24 August 2015 ANNUAL BIG IDEAS FORUM Why “Grievance Feminism” is a Threat to Serious Feminist & Humanitarian Issues Janet Albrechtsen, Dr Andrea den Boer, Christina Hoff Sommers and Brendan O’Neill Over the past century the feminist movement has achieved truest sense of the term, and why “grievance feminism” remarkable advances in securing equal rights for women in trivialises and sidelines the real issues of fundamental the West, but in other regions around the world women are gender illiberalism. still treated as second class citizens – or even goods and While there are clearly still serious issues to grapple with chattels. Millions of women in developing countries live with in the West in terms of gender equality (domestic and subjugation, domestic servitude, rape, violence, honour killings, harassment, genital mutilation and restricted sexual violence in particular), modern feminism has been education as societal norms. They do not have the rights to hijacked and trivialised by un-meritocratic and bureaucratic their own bodies, their own opinions, their own lives, and quotas, obsession with politically correct language, and the often are denied rights to property as well. They are denied confusion of sexism with misogyny. So much so that many basic freedoms that are accorded to men in those same young women now spurn the label of feminist, equating it countries without question. with vitriolic male-bashing and stridency rather than the essence of female liberty. This session will explore why these issues are not a battle for women’s rights but a battle for human rights, in the In September last year, the newly appointed Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women (popular young British actress unprofessional. But not of sufficient significance to warrant Emma Watson) said, ‘…the more I spoke about feminism, a feminist storm of such magnitude that it eclipsed the the more I realised that fighting for women’s rights has too incredible achievements in space. often become synonymous with man-hating. If there is one This and other comparatively minor issues of sexism and thing I know for certain, it is that this has to stop.” Two months later a furore erupted across the West when a male gender inequality are re-defining feminism in a detrimental scientist from the European Space Agency held a televised way. A wave of constant disgruntlement and offence alienates address on the history-making success of the Rosetta feminist supporters and downplays the humanitarian crisis spacecraft probe landing on a comet for data-gathering and faced by millions of women across the globe. We need to robotic exploration. The address was overshadowed by the restore the feminist cause to its noble and libertarian origins: scientist’s poor choice of attire; a shirt depicting cartoons of supporting equal political, social, economic and educational scantily clad women. Undoubtedly in poor taste, sexist and rights for women – everywhere. Brendan O’Neill One of the great misconceptions about the New Feminism Just think about the phrases they use. One of their is that it represents a war on men. You hear this argument favourites is “internalised misogyny”. This is the idea that from both sides of the discussion, from both the critics of women have been so brainwashed by patriarchal culture the New Feminism and from its champions, too. The critics that they don’t know what’s good for them anymore. The say, “This feminism is a really unfair attack on blokes, and it reason they pick certain courses at university and the should be called off”. And the proponents of New Feminism reason they go into certain, apparently female-appropriate say, “We’ve finally taken the war to the patriarchy, we’re careers is because they’ve been “conditioned” to think that bringing men down a peg or two, and it’s about time we is the right road in life for them. “Conditioning”, according did”. So both agree, in different ways, that this is a new to my dictionary, is the process by which “the behaviour movement which has declared war on men, or at least on of an organism becomes dependent on an event occurring male privilege. in its environment”. That’s how many New Feminists view women: as things conditioned by the corrupt, patriarchal The people who make this argument most often are men’s rights activists, who are the saddest people in the world. environment that surrounds them. New Feminists also claim They live on the internet. They spend most of their time that huge numbers of women have “body-loathing issues”, in discussion forums crying their eyes out. And they blame meaning they have been educated by the media — that feminism for every problem in their lives. The reason they is, brainwashed — to hate themselves. They thoughtlessly can’t get a girlfriend is because feminism has made all internalise society’s alleged loathing of them. women into lesbians or bitches. The reason they can’t get a This idea that women are malleable, fickle creatures is a job is because feminism has taken over the workplace and rehabilitation of the old, foul notion that women don’t know men are no longer welcome. It’s from these people that you their own minds — though now it gets dressed up in the most often hear the argument that the New Feminism is a pseudo-academic language of “internalised misogyny”. war on men, a war on boys, a war on blokeish everyday life. Another argument that the New Feminists often make is that I think it’s wrong to see the New Feminism in this way. women have very fragile self-esteem. This is the reason they Because, if anything, the New Feminism is a war on women. want to censor pornography, get rid of Page 3 girls in The It explicitly calls into question the ability of women to Sun, restrict the availability of certain violent videogames, negotiate public life without the assistance of others. It and keep sexist hip-hop stars away from their nations — calls into question, not so much male privilege, as female because they believe these images and words “damage autonomy, female capacity. It might mock men, but it does women and girls’ self-esteem”. They always say “women down women, and it does them down in a very profound and girls”. It’s a real slight of hand, because in their mind way. there is no difference between women and girls. This speaks I was thinking recently that one of the great ironies of my to their very infantilising belief that these two categories of life, as someone who works in the media, is that pretty people, adults and children, can casually be spoken of in the much the only time I hear open contempt for women these same breath, as if an adult woman’s response to a shocking days is when I’m in discussions with feminists. I come image is no different to what a girl’s response would be: from a family of unreconstructed men. Pretty much every both would be equally damaged, apparently. man in my family works in the building trade. They read This idea that women need to be protected from images is tabloid newspapers, they watch football, they drink booze. based on the notion that they are weak, fragile, less capable And I don’t hear contempt from any of them, from what of seeing upsetting things than men are. is today presented to us, falsely in my view, as the most sexist section of society: working-class men. Rather, I only Another favourite New Feminist idea is that street hear contempt for women when I’m debating middle-class, harassment is rampant. Apparently, over the past few years, media-based feminists, the very people who pose as the the streets have become incredibly dangerous for women: champions of women. there’s catcalling, wolf-whistling, people who might start a conversation with you. And women can’t cope with that, So the New Feminism represents, not a war on men, but a apparently. We are told that society needs new rules, new massive insult to women. It’s a really dangerous reversal of regulations, or at the very least a system of re-education the enormous gains that have been made for womankind for men and boys — to correct their habit of engaging with over the past hundred years. Women have won the right to members of the opposite sex — in order to help women vote, the right to work, they were increasingly being seen negotiate their way through the terrifying public sphere. as autonomous, just as capable and free-willed as men. Now that’s all being undone by the New Feminism, which has This New Feminist view of women as pathetic reaches its pushed a view of women as fragile, always unsafe, lacking terrifying logical conclusion on campus, where female free will, incapable of making autonomous choices due to student leaders create “safe spaces” and women-only the suffocating culture. spaces in which nothing outrageous may be said. They call for trigger warnings on books, particularly books that The Victorian view of women is making a comeback. mention sexual harassment, sexual assault or rape. Even In the Victorian era, women were often protected from works of classic literature that mention rape are now certain printed material which society, or their chaperones, having trigger warnings attached, in case a fragile female considered unfit for them — now New Feminists seek to student should read them and feel upset. It’s worth recalling protect “women and girls” from Page 3 or gangsta rape. the 1960 London trial on whether DH Lawrence’s Lady In the Victorian era there were numerous campaigns Chatterley’s Lover should be made freely available.
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