I am woman, hear me roar! (*meow*)

My questions concerning feminism are as follows:

• Why is femininity considered a weakness?


• Why is it hard to accept that men and women are simply different?


• Why do women have to (theoretically) act like men in order to succeed?


• Why are women who choose a home life, or choose femininity, often ridiculed by feminists?

I don't believe I can answer these questions. I wonder if others often have the same feelings?

Femininity as Weakness

For many years, women were viewed as the "weaker sex". Weaker in every way - mind, body, and soul. I take a firm stance against this idea. I will concede that looking straightforwardly at strength, women are generally weaker than men. We just cannot naturally build up the same amount of muscle mass as men. Okay, that's fine.

In other ways, women are naturally stronger than men - time and time again, women have been shown to have more natural endurance than men (both in terms of physical endurance and pain endurance) - can we say, childbirth?

I believe women are also naturally prone to empathy and intuition in terms of feelings, thus giving women the edge in many interactions, both in personal and professional settings.

In essence, there is no reason to equate women with weakness. We are simply in balance with men - each of us having a set of strengths.

Men and Women are Different

It seems that, stereotypically, feminists want to be the same as men. They want to do the same things as men, and be treated like men [would treat other men] (personally, I say "screw that", but that's just me).

I can't see why it's a bad thing that women are different than men. Should women be discriminated against because of that difference? No. Should women have to act like men to get ahead? No.

As stated earlier, men and women each have their own strengths (as each individual has their own strengths), many of which can be used in conjunction in a team environment to benefit the whole even better.

To say that there is no fundamental difference between men and women is to ignore what our bodies show us - our bodies are made very differently (I'd like to see someone say they are the same!), so why shouldn't our minds be made differently (not inferior, but different)? I see no objection to that. In fact (and I wish I had time to search on the web), there has been controversial research exploring just what those differences are; although, often, the research is ridiculed in light of Political Correctness.

Now, I'm not saying that women should think "oh, I'm a women, I'm good at empathy, I shouldn't go into science" - not at all. I believe that in terms of knowledge and learning, men and women are on an equal footing. Also, please understand that I know these are sweeping generalizations, and as with all generalizations, there are extremes that are not taken into consideration.

Barefoot and Pregnant

Gloria Ironbachs

Peter tells me you don't have a career of your own.

Lois Griffin

No. Life outside my kitchen is so bright and scary. I'm just here because you caught me between pregnancies.

Gloria Ironbachs

I'm sorry you're so hostile toward someone who's fighting so a woman like you can become more than just a housewife.

Lois Griffin

Oh, just a housewife? Look, I'm all for equality but if you ask me, feminism is about choice. I choose to be a wife and mother. And now I'm choosing to end this conversation.

Thank you Lois, of the Family Guy. I have always loved this quote, because I think it rings true with my own thoughts. Men and Women, both, should feel open to choose to stay at home with their children if they feel it is right for their situation. Because some women choose to stay at home and perform some of the traditional "womanly" duties, does not mean that she is in any way less of a woman than the one who goes and becomes the first CEO of a fortune 500 company. I do believe that all women should feel empowered in their choices - One woman chooses to work because she loves her job and it fits her family, the other woman chooses to stay at home because she feels time spent with her family is more valuable than a job (and neither is "better").

In the end, feminism should be about choice and freedom to be what you are happy with. And the world should be nondiscriminitory, offering equal choices for everyone, no matter what sex, race, religion, or sexual preference.