Equality is a good thing, and I am issuing a call to conservatives who value equality--especially those who have media platforms--to refrain from equating anti-family and pro-death platforms with feminism, to stop calling every anti-family, pro-abortion platform, "feminist" agendas.
Many feminists are pro-family and pro-life, politically conservative people, and do not deserved to be lumped in with groups that contradict their values.
Would it surprise you to know that the very first feminist was a Christian, and that most early feminists were Christians?
Feminism is simply defined as advocating for women full equality with men in all things.
That seems reasonable enough to the modern mind, but historically, the idea was bizarre, outlandish, and to many, utterly evil.
Most importantly, in understanding the extreme negativity attached to the word, it was a word originally defined by men who were violently opposed the very idea of equality of the sexes. Women did not write and publish dictionaries at the time, nor did they have a say in defining the language, so naturally the word was coined and defined from a perspective that feminism was a cultish movement and a social evil.
That seems reasonable enough to the modern mind, but historically, the idea was bizarre, outlandish, and to many, utterly evil.
Most importantly, in understanding the extreme negativity attached to the word, it was a word originally defined by men who were violently opposed the very idea of equality of the sexes. Women did not write and publish dictionaries at the time, nor did they have a say in defining the language, so naturally the word was coined and defined from a perspective that feminism was a cultish movement and a social evil.
The oldest dictionary this writer owns is the 1931 Universities Webster Dictionary which does not contain the word feminist at all but does libel feminism as a "cult."
Regardless of its actual meaning, most people associate the word "cult" with that which is evil, oppressive, dangerous, and false. And that was the bias deliberately infused into the word feminism from the very beginning.
Think
about it. Definitions inform public opinion, and dictionaries are likely referenced
by Christians even more than the Bible! Webster’s initial
labeling of feminism as a cult, was a propagandizing stroke of genius! It was thought
control, discrimination, and bias at its most effective finest.
And it worked.
And it worked.
One pro-family, 19th century, feminist claimed that had she known in advance of the fierce persecution she would endure because of her activism for the full equality of women with men, it is doubtful she would have begun her advocacy in the first place.
 |
| 1943 |
By 1943, in some dictionaries, feminism had been upgraded, somewhat, from a "cult" to a
"doctrine." And in 1955, the word "feminist" finally found its way into a dictionary. It was defined simply as:
"One who advocates feminism."
Is it any wonder conservatives today, even if they support equality, are terrified of the words feminism and feminists? The propagandists have done their jobs well.
Is it any wonder conservatives today, even if they support equality, are terrified of the words feminism and feminists? The propagandists have done their jobs well.
 |
| 1955 Feminism still called an equality cult |
In 1955, the publishers of Webster's Unabridged Dictionary continued their hateful narrative, discriminating against the very idea of equality of the sexes with their "cult" disinformation. (Webster's Complete Unabridged).
Keeping in mind that the word feminism was originally defined by men who opposed any semblance of equality of the sexes, it must be noted that the word has been deliberately biased, from the very beginning, with a hateful connotation that it did not in reality possess.
"THE FEMINISTS" narrative is pure propaganda that has been bought into--almost wholesale--even by those who support equality of the sexes.
It is time to stop perpetuating the lie (even unwittingly) that equality is evil.
An open and objective conversation about equality for women and men is impossible when the words "FEMINISM" and "FEMINISTS" (words that mean nothing more than advocacy for full equality of men and women) are constantly used as a synonyms for every controversial agenda under the sun.
When speaking of the pro-abortion issue, I implore equality loving, pro-life, media commentators and reporters to call them for what they are, "pro-abortion or pro-death
supporters," and not, "THE FEMINISTS."
When speaking of transgender and gay marriage issues, I implore conservative, pro-family, advocates with public platforms to please call them for what they are, "transgender and gay marriage supporters," not "THE FEMINISTS."
The groups that are so often derided as "THE FEMINISTS" actually do little to nothing in advocating for women. So it is unfair to those who truly advocate for equality to lump them in with those who are not true feminists at all, but simply hitchhikers and hijackers of movement that began as a good thing and at its most basic, is still a good thing.
When speaking of transgender and gay marriage issues, I implore conservative, pro-family, advocates with public platforms to please call them for what they are, "transgender and gay marriage supporters," not "THE FEMINISTS."
The groups that are so often derided as "THE FEMINISTS" actually do little to nothing in advocating for women. So it is unfair to those who truly advocate for equality to lump them in with those who are not true feminists at all, but simply hitchhikers and hijackers of movement that began as a good thing and at its most basic, is still a good thing.
Equality is always a good thing
Conservatives, especially those of you who have pubic platforms and large followings, as influencers, I implore you to please stop referring to those in the political far left collectively as
"THE FEMINISTS." When you do this, you effectively lump all supporters of full equality between women and men together. It is tragic disservice to those of us who are politically conservative, pro-life, pro-human, and pro-family, to lump us in with an anti-life anti-family agenda.
Feminism is not evil. Equality is good.
All feminists are not evil. Equality is good
The practice of conservatives (even by those who support equality) of defining pro-abortion and anti-family far left political platforms as "FEMINIST agendas," perpetuates an utterly false narrative.
Equality of the sexes is not evil. Inequality of the sexes is evil. It is inequality of the sexes, that has been the cause of much human suffering throughout history up to the present time.
Inequality causes inexpressible human suffering
Feminism, in its purest definition, is the practice of those who advocate for full equality of men and women. A feminist, is one who supports the full equality of women and men and advocates for the practice of feminism.
What can possible be wrong with that!Equality is a good thing!Therefore feminism is a good thing!
And that is why it is wrong to label groups whose primary agendas are not equality of the sexes, as feminist groups. Call them by whatever their primary agenda is. But please stop slandering conservative, pro-life, pro-family advocates of equality by painting all feminists with an outdated, uneducated, and biased, broad brush.
Woman this is WAR! Gender Slavery and the Evangelical Caste System, chronicles the Christian roots of the women's rights movements, as well as the role of church leadership in suppression of both women's rights and the historical record of Christian initiatives in the movements. Many of the same arguments used to support institutionalized slavery are still used today in suppressing the rights of Christian women through the complementarian movement. This book is an excellent resource for all who desire an in-depth study of the history of gender equality from a Christian perspective.
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I think this is a terrific piece and every woman should read it and learn how we have been duped into believing equality is evil or un womanly! God created us equal- man has tried to deny us equality and has brainwashed us into denying ourselves by every means possible through church and state as well.
ReplyDeleteI have always been, am now and will continue to be a proud feminist. Since the turn of the 20th century feminists sought equality and we have come a long way baby but women hd a serious split into a left and right the 1970's. That split turned the term feminist into a dirty word and half of our women moved away from the term and from the battle to win EQUAL RIGHTS!
ReplyDeleteSince the women’s movement 50 years ago, we have Title IX success, and we have women in the armed forces and in many high offices and representing us in Congress at 17 %.
We have VAWA, sex discrimination laws and fair pay laws but still 4 women a day are murdered by a partner, women are raped on campuses while the rapist has his hand lapped, girls are snatched from their bedrooms or at bus stops, women are being paid less, we are 52% of the population but only 17 % of the government, in the armed forces our women are raped and mistreated.
So NOW and the other organizations rallying for half a century have taken credit for passing laws that are virtually useless to most women unless you need an abortion, birth control or gay rights and while they look good on paper as a list- the majority of American women cringe when they hear the word feminist because it is now associated with what the left spends the last 5 decades bitching about rather than doing something about the equal rights of all females and what we have in common and the equality we all need in our homes, on our jobs, in our schools, in our relationships and in our government from local to federal.
Do not allow the far left to take your femininity away from you. We women hold up more than half society and we do it proudly. We are responsible for everything good, and society would cease to exist without those of us who remain Pro-life feminists!