3 Unnatural Things Women Do Because of Feminism

I’ve not been very active lately since I’ve been preoccupied with moving to Scotland for grad school, starting grad school, and finishing up a very time and energy consuming scholarship application. But I’m officially settled in and back at the blog! And today, I’d like to discuss three things that the outlandish realm of feminism has inspired some of my fellow womenfolk to do against their feminine nature.

Oh, the horror!

1) Not shaving

As absurd as it sounds, there are women walking among us more civilized creatures who do not shave. Not the armpit hair, not the leg hair....not even those moderately noticeable hairs that can sometimes crop up around the naval. Feminism has these women believing that appreciation for a hairless female body reflects an arbitrary and even unfair standard which our modern society holds for us. And to that I ask: why would we have finally decided to start doing it if it weren’t in our nature this whole time?

2) Casual Sex

Everyone knows that men are the more sexually veracious of the two genders. It’s only natural that men would be too physical to control their own thoughts and desires while women long only to attach themselves to one man. A man making a lewd joke at, following, or otherwise harassing a women who is scantily clad? What else could you expect from him? Men are so sexual they cannot control themselves, while women desire monogamy so direly they are willing to bear with men and their weaknesses. How could such an arrangement possibly result from the cultural conditioning of a male-dominated society as the feminazis claim?

And now the aftershock of the “sexual revolution” has women of all kinds engaging in hook-ups and swiping right on Tinder. The only explanation: feminism makes women think they want things they don’t really want.

So unlady-like...

3) Rugby

Feminism even has women believing they want to engage in dangerous contact sports. Instead of preserving the beautiful delicate features that all of us of the fairer sex are of course born with, they rebel against their nature in favor of sweat, concussions, and grass stains. I don’t really need to explain why this is unnatural...it’s all too obvious. Seriously, when have you ever heard of women tackling each other outside of sexy, panty-clad pillow fights? Nothing else is natural.

Okay, okay, let’s get serious for a minute. Obviously I’m being a bit snarky here. But unfortunately, each of the sarcastic points above was inspired by something I’ve read, heard, or seen in the real world.  

And let’s face it...whichever side of the fence you’re on, you have to concede a substantial amount of power to culture and ideas. If the feminist movement could make women chase after casual sex when that isn’t what we are wired to want-that is powerful. But if the long ideological history of a misogynistic society can influence women to suppress and be blind to their own sexual desires-that is powerful as well!

The stone I’m hoping to put in your shoe is this: what is more likely? That a movement which basically says “Hey, you should just go ahead and do what you want no matter what others think” would make human beings go haywire doing things they don’t actually have any natural desire to do? Or that the pressures of fitting into society and adhering to its interwoven worldview could indeed give human beings a distorted view of their own nature?

For me, the second is much more plausible. And honestly, if we could learn to recognize and break free from the expectations we were never meant to have for ourselves or others, the world would probably be a much better place.

Feel free to comment-but keep it civil, please!

Feminism is not a dress code or a personality type.

Picture taken from dkmz.net

Feminism has no dress code. No, I don’t want women to feel like they should dress sexily simply to cater to men. Nor do I want women to feel that they must adhere to certain standards of modesty simply to cater to men. 

The fact that our lives are still so often judged and regulated according to wants or even “needs” of men is infuriating. But if we as feminists try to make claims about what a “strong, independent woman” or “true feminist” would wear, aren’t we also forcing arbitrary and restraining rules upon women? Granted, I’m sure there are some extremes that I’d be willing to concede as exceptions. However, in the end, it’s up to every woman to make her own choices about her own wardrobe and to wear what she wants and believes to be appropriate for the situation, whether or not men like it (which, by the way, includes the option of men liking it). If she feels naked without a face covering, that is her business. If she feels restricted wearing a bra, that is her business.

This issue has been brought to my attention multiple times over the years, often because of my own treatment from both men and women when I wear shorts or a skirt they deem to be too short. Especially if I’m audacious enough to combine it with a tank top (oh, how will society stand?). Constant wardrobe monitoring of women isn’t shocking in a misogynistic society like ours. It is extremely disappointing, however, when men and women who identify as feminists engage in such behavior.

Of course there are situations where certain clothing isn’t appropriate for men or women...and as long it’s not a double standard, I’m fine with that. But if I’m dressing for another casual day of trying to live my life, why do I need a dress code?

As blogger and artist Megan Gedris puts it, “What makes any article of clothing oppressive is someone forcing you to wear it. And it’s just as oppressive to force someone not to wear something that they want to wear.”

But hey, let’s take it a step further. I’ve also noticed, often from personal experience, that we tend to make assumptions about people’s character based on their personality. Maybe we don’t even realize there is a difference between personality and character. But there definitely is.

People at my university often assumed that my bubbliness and cutesiness went hand in hand with ditsiness and childishness. And, to be fair, since my freshman year started shortly after I turned 17, undergrad was largely an experience of my teenhood. Yet I graduated at 20 with a GPA just .09 away from perfect and with multiple student life leadership positions, several volunteer positions and projects, and a semester abroad at Oxford under my belt.

But this is only one example of how we all tend to judge ourselves and others according to personality traits instead of character traits. Here’s another: Acting like a tough guy doesn’t make you strong. Some of the strongest people I know are my grandmothers-both of my natural grandmothers as well as my dad’s stepmom-who have all experienced a lot through the years. I admire those who suffer with quiet strength and persistence, holding their own while continuing to be a reliable source of strength for others when needed.

Do you see where I’m going with this? And again, not only is this way of thinking common in our society in general (and probably in at least most human societies), but it also seeps into modern feminist thinking and can only be detrimental to our progress. Especially when you consider that many of the stereotypes we use to interpret personality traits glorify those seen as masculine and belittle, mock, or trivialize those seen as feminine.

She wears high heels, you wear sneakers? She’s cheer captain and you’re on the bleachers? Great. You can BOTH be strong, intelligent, independent individuals with meaningful lives.

We’ll never be perfect. But we’ve got to weed the yard sometimes to keep up the momentum and relevance of the movement. And I’d like to suggest that any attempted mold of an “ideal feminist” is a weed that simply has to go.