Time for some mythbusting.
I guess the best way to start is with a “My goodness the things people are allowed to say on the internet!” Seriously though, “this is scary” ran through my mind the whole time I was reading this website….http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Evils%20in%20America/Feminism/feminism_is_evil.htm . Yup, you guessed it, I chose to bust some absurd and irrational myths that I found on this website. In actuality, every single thing written on this website should be busted but for the sake of time, I chose some gems. So let’s do this thing.
Myth #1= a lot of different myths in two sentences: “The feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a Communist, anti-family, anti-Christian, political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their babies, practice witchcraft, abandon homemaking and become lesbians.”
Hmmmmm, I shall pause here for an introspective moment…… I don’t find that I hate families, on the contrary I hope to have one someday, babies too. Anti-Christian? Nope, I don’t have a problem with Christians, I do have a problem with common beliefs that women within this religion must abandon all their opinions and desires and simply be mindless puppets who look to men for the authorization to think. Furthermore, this belief is not as widely held as many believe and I do not find at all that my religious beliefs exclude me from advocating for equality and progress for women. Quite the contrary. Communism? No, sorry. I must have missed some flyers or something being handed out in the commons because last time I checked, feminists wanted equality in terms of access to jobs, opportunities, etc. I want to not be excluded from the same opportunities as men or treated as a second-class citizen. I’m not asking that everyone equally share their personal belongings with me. Also, maybe this is just me being bad at history but, communism was NOT particularly enlightening for women. Gut check anyone?
Mandatory practice of witchcraft is not a part of the criterion for being a feminist, nor does it seem to bear any relevancy to the feminist political strategy. Homemaking? Well, I can cook, clean and cuddle babies with the best of them (and use alliteration). I also know a lot of men who can do the same and I resent the assumption that because I am a woman, I am naturally equipped to fill this role and thus, the home must be my sphere and my sphere alone. Perhaps this writer missed that stay at home dads are a growing trend in America? A pretty cool one too if you ask me. And as for becoming a lesbian, I would just say that I know a lot of feminists who aren’t lesbians (such as me) and I know feminists who are lesbians. So the myth that feminism automatically turns women into lesbians is false. Whoops, who knew that one??! (I’m thinking of a word right now, start with an h- and ends with –omophobia). As for feminism making women leave their husbands, this seems silly in the context of a society in which half of all marriages end, I would like to see the study that can confirm this in any way. And I also know married feminists, oops well, that makes the prior claim seem invalid….
Myth #2 (well actually it’s a lot of different myths in one really big, offensive statement): “Women are supposed to be feminine, sweet, and loving. When a woman does a man’s job, she becomes like a man in her thinking, in her actions, et cetera… Ladies ought to be feminine, sweet, lovely and charming. Men ought to be strong and masculine, rugged and decisive. I’m opposed to anything that makes a man and a woman act alike, think alike, look alike, dress alike, or talk alike.”
Wow. That was a fun one to read right? Here I go!
“Women are supposed to be feminine, sweet and loving.” What in the world is feminine? That seems to me to be a socially constructed idea about the traits that women encompass as opposed to men, there’s a lot of variance as to what being feminine is and is not. The person who wrote this statement has a conception of femininity that is very ambiguous and vague, as well as entirely subjective. And as for sweet and loving, that is not a trait exclusive to women; men can encompass this as well.
“When a woman does a man’s job, she becomes like a man in her thinking, in her actions, et cetera…” This is silly. Sorry, there is simply no way for this author to draw a line in the sand and say, “this is a man’s job only and this is a woman’s job only.” For every example provided, I can pretty much guarantee that if it’s a job, a man and a woman have both done it. This standard seems problematic in determining what a man’s job is and what a woman’s job is. Professors, doctors, nurses, teachers, lawyers, etc… the list is infinite. Quite frankly, this is an impossible task and a silly one. I would also like to say that I have worked with many men, doing the same job they do, and I am very much a woman (Although I am sure the author of that post would accuse me of becoming like a man because I try to think and speak for myself- a trait not necessarily always encompassed by men so it goes both ways).
“Men ought to be strong and masculine, rugged and decisive.” I can only laugh when I read this sentence. I was telling internationalcupcakebandit about this description of men and she blurted out that “this sounds scary!” To which I have to agree to some extent and also point out that my standard for ruggedness is Hugh Jackman but I don’t feel that every man has to encompass that trait
(Although it would be very nice). This is again just a subjective idea of beauty and behavior. And as for men being decisive, women are too. And men are emotional too.
The blog continues on and on. Happy Reading and remember that every line should be refuted, I simply didn’t have the time. Good luck on finals!!
ShoutOut! James Madison University 
While I appreciate the myth busting, especially the myths you chose to debunk, my only concern is with you’re handling of the ‘feminists are communists’ claim. While I’m certainly not a communist, my views on property and economic systems certainly aren’t in line with capitalist ideology. It just feels like the implication you’re making is that because feminism is concerned with equal access to jobs, feminists must be capitalists as well. Maybe I’m just reading too far into it, but I don’t want people thinking that they can’t be a feminist AND a communist, or any other ideology that disagrees with capitalist ideology.
EDIT: Also, communism was not particularly enlightening for anyone, assuming you’re referring to the USSR’s version of communism. The major problem in that instance was that while expounding Marxist views, Lenin had a specific idea of how the communist revolution would occur (Marx tended to be vague in his discussions of how the revolution would occur). Lenin believed in the need for a ‘vanguard party’ that would lead the uneducated masses; the result of which was a brutal totalitarian state, not the sort of egalitarian society that most communists envision.
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To reiterate the previous comment, a large portion of second wave feminists WERE Marxists. Helen Gurley Brown who declared herself a feminist came under fire from people like Gloria Steinem and Kate Millet for adhering so vigilantly to capitalism. The idea behind this is that capitalism breeds competition and almost always results in a group being marginalized, and that is always women.
Regarding Russia, during Lenin’s reign women experienced a great amount of equality. It wasn’t until Stalin that they became so overtly oppressed. Lenin believed that revolution was not possible without the active participation of women. And women in the DDR experienced a great amount of equality compared to their American counterparts. When Germany merged after 1989, East German women experienced overwhelming oppression by their Western counterparts.
While I don’t think that you HAVE to be Marxist to be feminist, I also think it’s important to consider that we all subscribe to different politics beliefs, not just capitalism.
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