Third Wave Feminist (almost)

With International Womens' Day last week and conversations around Men's movements, I couldn't for the life of me figure out why I call myself a feminist yet do not feel as passionately as a lot of other feminists.

Then I stumbled upon something I had written in 2011 in response to someone's critique about Men's Movements and now I remember where I stand:

There is a long way to go to resolve all that women continue to face. However, it isn't one against the other. I agree that women have suffered for longer and in a myriad of ways in our patriarchal society. But we can't take that to deny that men haven't. 

We can't take men's issues to mean that women haven't suffered or have suffered less. The point being, it isn't one or the other. Society's rigid expectations have made life difficult for both men and women. 

As for it being "another conspiring male effort to over-shadow feminist struggles", well, there will always be those ideologies (and kind of people) around. In order for us to see the problem for what it is, we need to rise above that kind of pettiness that we can expect to notice from both masculist and feminist groups. 

I would willingly go as far as to say that men's movements owe it to feminist movements that made space for them to fight for their rights. Rights that of; being able to be their own persons and not have to be modeled after the stereotypical genders.

The problem of feminism is not just a problem that women face, it is what the society faces. I am a feminist in that I believe in equal rights and suitable opportunities based on needs. I do not see women as a separate group when it comes to equality, or having to fight for equality. Equal rights are a given in our society. Women are just a group with differing needs.

Society is not able to meet all the needs of these two groups, the way they need it. The problem is with further recognition and education.

The effort should go in those areas. It irks me and makes me very uncomfortable when women's struggles are portrayed as a war against women.

The North American society has overcome a lot of rights issues in the last 30-40 years. Not all of women's needs are being met effectively, no. Women still continue to face trouble riding up the corporate ladder, they still do face more violence than their male counterparts. So we need to take action, we need to educate, we need to push for better policies but we need to quit seeing women as victims.

The Feminists of 70's and 80's have fought that battle and have conquered. Now, the problems belong to the whole of the society and even though they are pertinent to women, they are not politically feminist.

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However, if we speak of feminism in the developing world (and the developing world culture we brought  to North America), I am a Second Wave Feminist. We have yet to fight a lot of battles there.