Julia McDonald

I haven't had many hands on experiences with them. When I hear MRA, I think men who are striving for gender equality. Online, there's a lot of negative stigmas attached to this label too, just like feminism. I think it depends again on your understanding of the term. Some radical feminists seem to attack anyone who identifies as an MRA. I however don't see why I wouldn't support them if what they are trying to achieve is equality.

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Sexism exists for men too. In the courts, Women have family rights while men have family obligations.

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http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/fl-lf/famil/stat2000/p4.html

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The statistics for child custody are outrageous. Women won total custody around 80% of the time between 1994-1995 in canada. Shared custody was usually only done about 13% of the time. If those statistics aren't proof of gender bias and unjust then I don't know what is.

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And what about the rights a father has to his unborn child ?

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http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/man-pleads-guilty-to-killing-his-unborn-child-after-tricking-his-girlfriend-into-taking-abortion-pill-8806853.html

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This man was given jail time for tricking his girlfriend into taking "abortion pills". Of course I feel no mercy towards him in this situation, as he took the child away from his mother. However, What if the story was reversed ? Women get abortions against their partners wishes all the time. I understand that yes, it's the woman's body and it will be her 'burden' for the next nine months, but you are taking a child away from his father forever. You are denying that child life, and you are denying the father his own child who has offered to care for him. If a women were to get an abortion against her partners wishes, and she was facing up to 13 years of jail as a result, there would be feminist riots.

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Men are facing injustices like this all the time. Men are objectified and oppressed too. I'm sounding like a MRA now, but if being an MRA means striving for equal rights for men, then I guess I am one.

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Sexism exists for all genders, and equality is the only solution.

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I think it comes down to people not fully understanding the title that they are using. I am a woman who identifies as a feminist and still loves men. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminism Here's the wiki page for feminism. Not once in the intro does it describe a feminists as someone who fights mens right or hates men. This is because if your beliefs were to truly fall under that of a feminist you would simply want equality for men and women, that's it. A man or woman who wishes for female dominance or simply claims to hate all men is a misandrist. People just need to understand and accept the difference is all.

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The reason for these stereotypes and behaviour is because of the original, and quite radical feminists. Did you know that "bra burning" was actually first used as a catchy headline, and never actually took place previously ? It was suggested, but never actually took place. Feminine items including bras were just thrown into garbage cans in protest which is pretty much harmless. If I could throw away my bras and still be able to quickly descend stairs without discomfort I would, but until that day, my bras will stay a friend to me. Anyway, the radical feminists in the 1960s and 1970s were extreme, but only because they needed to be. Some women in to days day are still following the same habits, which are mostly unnecessary because we are much closer to equality than we were 50 years ago. Nonetheless, a stereotype was created in which we are labeled with incorrect assumptions.

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I don't mind if people assume these things of me. I mean, you can think I'm a lesbian all you want but that won't insult me, nor will it change the fact that I am straight. People who know and respect me wouldn't think these things of me just because I claimed to be a feminist, and even if they did they would prove themselves wrong just by interacting with me ! I know myself and my beliefs and I'm comfortable with them.

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People who pride themselves in being "anti-feminist" can feel free to do so ! To each their own and as long as they respect me along with everyone else, I'll respect them. Someone who claims to be anti-feminist however usually have motives similar to knowing or hearing about radical feminists or misandrist and have enough understanding to recognize that this is over kill and wrong. So again, we come back to the problem of not fully understanding these titles and instead of disapproving of misandry, they take aim at all feminists. "Feminazi" is in the same boat. It's a slang term used to describe radical feminists, and a new stereotype was created.

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Pit Bulls is an interesting analogy, there are so many well trained and friendly Pit Bulls out there. But because some Pit Bulls are poorly trained and aggressive, all Pit Bulls are seen this way. Its the same way with feminists.

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P.S. Did you know that the Dachshund has been found to be the most aggressive dog breed ? In second and third place are the Chihuahua and Jack Russel Terrier. The more ya know.

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Wow ! Great vocabulary, I had to google vehemently haha.

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I think I just grew up a little bit. I started to realize that sexism still exists for us girls, and then I saw that it exists for boys too ! Being surrounded by the media all the time you read a lot about different injustices and that was a big eye opener. Just watching TV, women are sexualized so often, from commercials to the actual programs themselves. On top of that you see ridiculous characters for men too that are mostly fictional ideas for how they should, and 'do' act. I'm a feminist now because I realize that I, along with the rest of the people in my life, are being directly affected by the way women are treated. I also believe in equality for men because women aren't the only ones affected by sexism. I believe rape culture is a serious 'epidemic' of sorts in today's society and that something is very wrong for that to be true. I'm also an Equalist because I disapprove of the gender stereotypes that put our boys and girls into pre-made boxes of what they should be and how they should live. I believe that people, no matter what gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, lifestyle, whatever, that you should be treated with just as much respect and be given the same rights as anyone else.

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I changed my mind because I opened my eyes to what's around me and learned that because of what I believe in, I can comfortably identifying as a feminist. There's a poor stigma attached to doing so right now due to the incorrect relation of Misandry to feminism. (Not saying that someone can't be both). personally. I love men ! Some of my closest friends are male, along with many other feminists. Even men can be feminists if they choose to identify as one ! Feminism is NOT female domination/male oppression. It's equality, and equality is something that I want.

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Hopefully that answers your question along with any others you may have ! If not, feel free to shoot me another !

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