Let’s
Set the Record Straight:
Myths
and Truths about New Feminism
I read a very disturbing article
recently on the “feminist” backlash against “conservative” women in
politics. It was chocked-full of hateful
slurs and name-calling. However, what
was actually most disturbing to me (because
honestly sticks and stones, right?) was the statement from a liberal
feminist remarking that these women are cutting off feminism “at the knee” and “setting
women back decades.” One feminist
academic wrote of a conservative female politician, “Her greatest hypocrisy is
in her pretense that she is a woman.”
I believe every woman ought to have a voice, whether or not they disagree
with me. Also, whether or not old
feminists want to admit it, we do all
share a common womanhood and can all
claim to be woman. ALL of us women share the dignity of being a
woman.
Yet, these loud, “old feminists” have
caused some confusion and much misunderstanding as to what the New Feminism
Movement is all about. Just the fact
that there needs to be a “New Feminism Movement” must strike at the very core
of their ideology, so naturally they want to bite back.
So, we’re here to set the record straight. The
following are a list of myths and the actual real Truths about New Feminism
that dispel them.
1. False: New Feminism wants women back
where they were sixty years ago.
True: New Feminism is not about looking
back, but about looking forward. New Feminism admits that society wasn’t in a
perfect place then and there were many things that needed change. New Feminism also concedes that in some
respects old feminists of the 1960s might have had good intentions and made
some positive changes for women.
However, NF believes that there were many mistakes made. New Feminism seeks to elevate the dignity of
women in society by celebrating her womanhood and building respect for her
femininity. One of the goals of liberal
feminism was to use technology to rid us of gender. NF does not believe being genderless (or
actually being more like a man and less like a woman) is raising the true
dignity and worth of womanhood. NF is
saddened by the pressure that women could only be “equal” if she is rid of her
gender.
2. False: New Feminism is against women
having careers.
True: New Feminism celebrates a woman’s
‘feminine genius’ in whatever role she chooses to live that out! Whether she is a single, working woman, a
stay-at-home mother, a volunteer, a working mother, a religious sister or any
role she chooses, NF embraces the words of Pia de Solenni when she says,
“whatever she does, she does as a woman not as a genderless creature.” NF also emphasizes the beauty of every
woman’s motherhood whether physical mothers or not; NF celebrates the gift of
the mothering spirit that every woman brings to whatever she does. What New Feminism does not approve of is the
pressure women sometimes feel to choose having a career over being a physical mother.
This pressure comes along with a disdain for motherhood, as if being a
mother, bringing life into the world is “less worthy” than a career in
society. NF is not against women having
careers, but NF is against the negation of the value of motherhood.
3. False: New Feminism doesn’t resonate
with the average woman.
True: The pride in just being a woman
is very real and dear to the average woman. Why do songs like “Man, I feel like a woman!”
and “I am woman, hear me roar!” resonate with power and pride in each woman’s
heart? Because unlike the intellectual
ideology of liberal feminists, most women love
being a woman! If you would give her
a choice between a world that actually elevates, greatly respects and honors
her womanhood and a world that says she must be genderless or manly in order to
be equal, the average woman would not take long to make that decision. We do have a common womanhood, and the
“average woman” is a lot smarter and more aware of truth than some
intellectuals give her credit for.
4. False: New Feminism wants to take
away women’s “sexual freedom.”
True: New Feminism wants women to be
truly free. There has been a
perpetuated lie that “sexual freedom” is equivalent to women’s equality. What is meant by “sexual freedom” is the idea
that with contraception and abortion, a woman can be free to have sexual
encounters with whomever she wants, whenever she wants without being “burdened”
by her fertility. The underlying
ideology here scorns the womanly, and sees her ability to bear children as a
burden, a hindrance to a “really fulfilling” life. The ideology that perpetuates this pursuit of
unharnessed sexual indulgence is once again, seeing womanhood, her femininity,
her very body as a negative. What this
unbridled rush for sexual fulfillment misses, is that like any pleasurable
appetite, overindulgence can quickly turn into addiction. Not only are women then no longer really free
but women in a life of casual sexual encounters often feels used, objectified,
and pressured. She does not feel equal
nor respected.
In contrast, New Feminism wants women to
be truly free. In the support of the
dignity of her womanhood, NF empowers a woman to be in control of her whole
self. NF desires women to be fully
respected and be able to thoughtfully choose when to have children, but not in
disdain of her womanhood but in total recognition of it.
5. False: New Feminism is not real
feminism because it is against abortion.
True: New Feminism is the only real
feminism because it, like the earliest feminists, is against abortion. NF believes that a woman does not have to
shed her womanhood to be equal. Within
the very nature of woman is a tendency to care and mother others. When we tell her she must choose abortion,
choose to end her motherhood of this child, in order to be free to live a
“worthwhile” life, we have failed her.
Women deserve better than abortion.
NF supports every effort to support women and children and believes no
woman should have to choose between herself and her child. As one woman said, “I’ve had two babies I
didn’t keep. One ended in abortion and one in adoption. I can live with the adoption; I can’t live
with the abortion.” Abortion hurts
women; we must help them have other options.
6. False: You can’t have “real” feminism
if it embraces “conservative” values.
True: The New Feminism Movement is not
associated with a political party, but chooses to stand with women, all women. NF seeks to raise the dignity and respect of
all women in the eyes of society as well as raising respect for what is
inherently feminine.
7. False: Anything with the word “feminism”
is ultra liberal and against traditional values. (You see the misinformation comes from many sides!)
True: New Feminism seeks to elevate the true dignity
of woman. If one would read through the
values listed above about NF, you would find a great deal in common with
traditional values. The one thing NF is
not afraid of, however, is moving forward.
Often, people holding to “traditional values” can dig their heels in to
protest what they find as offensive behavior around them. This is a stagnant understanding of the
person. Yet, if we anchor our
understanding in certain truths, we can with great confidence move forward
unafraid of being swayed by the times, but able to balance truth with modern
necessity.
It is only a small start, but we hope
this helps begin to clarify what the New Feminism Movement is! Please visit the New Feminism facebook page
to for further conversation: facebook.com/NewFeminism
your
friendly new feminist,
Theresa
Well,
that’s my view of it and I welcome yours! (Please comment
below! And please use initials or first name or even pseudonym instead of
simply “anonymous” so we can have some way to distinguish each person in the
discussion. Thank You!)
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